health

Review: Ness Wellness Card

⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

UPDATE for 11/15/2023: The card is shutting down. Rewards can be redeemed through 11/22/23 and balances must be paid by 12/19/23. According to a new message on their home page, “…the short answer is we’ve simply run out of money. We’re a venture backed startup and always anticipated raising more funding… but haven’t been successful there.”

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Initial review from April 2023:

The Ness Wellness Card (issued by The Bank of Missouri) is a health-focused charge card running on the Mastercard network. It’s a complex program with a lot going on here, so let’s take a deep dive to check out the potential of this card.

First, you need an iPhone or iPad to be eligible, running iOS 14 or greater. This unfortunately limits the pool of people who can apply for the card by about half. Ness notes that “We may not be able to award you points if we are unable to obtain your Health Information from Apple HealthKit.”

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $349 annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 5x points on “health and wellness” which includes grocery stores, select restaurants, meal kits, vitamins, pharmacies, healthcare services, athletic apparel, and more.
  • 2x points on everything else
  • $200 annual health and wellness credit (applies to purchases earning 5x points)
  • $200 annual “healthy activity” credit, awarded as “up to 56 points per day”
    • 14 points for 30+ active minutes per day
    • 14 points for 10+ “mindful” minutes per day
    • 14 points for 7+ hours of sleep per day
    • 14 points for 6,000+ steps per day (ideally you want to get 10,000 daily)
  • Up to $360 in annual Sweetgreen credits: spend $75 in a month to get a $15 credit (can do this twice per month—Ness advertises this as “Every 5th & 10th Salad Free at sweetgreen each month“). The $75 can include the $10/month cost for Sweetpass+.
  • Various other credits and discounts

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The Top 10+ No-Fee Cards For Health: Pharmacies, Drugstores, Gym Memberships

Credit Card Roundups /

Americans spend more on pharmaceuticals than any other country. More people could also benefit heavily from consistently going to the gym. As such, let’s explore some credit cards to maximize rewards in these health-related categories. What’s best?

 

1. Chase Freedom Unlimited Visa or Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard

Both cards earn 3% cash back at drug stores, pharmacies, and restaurants. Unfortunately, gyms and fitness clubs aren’t included here.

They have the potential to earn more through The Chase Trifecta. This can easily become 4.5% cash back (or more) when combined with a Chase Sapphire Reserve. The Sapphire Reserve is also one of the only known cards to include some health/medical insurance when traveling (100+ miles from home). It’s not much, but it’s something, in case insurance doesn’t cover all your expenses. (Or if you have zero insurance.) The Chase Sapphire Preferred can also increase the value of points, but it’s inferior to the Sapphire Reserve in this case. The downside is that annual fees become involved with this strategy, so you’ll have to do the math and see if it makes sense beyond a year or so.

 

2. American Heritage Credit Union Cash Reward Mastercard

AHCU Cash Reward gets an unlimited 3% back at pharmacies, home improvement stores, gas, and groceries. Earning cash back in four categories is always a good deal. Anyone can join this credit union with a $5 donation during the member application process. Gyms and fitness clubs don’t seem to be under the 3% umbrella here.

 

3. Venmo Visa

Venmo earns 3% cash back in your top spending category each billing period. One of the valid categories is “Health and Beauty” which includes “Drug stores and pharmacies… and cosmetic stores that sell beauty products. This category also includes sports and recreation facilities that require membership such as health clubs, tennis, golf and swimming clubs.” This may not cover all gym memberships. It’s still a fairly flexible category.

 

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Credit Card Issuers: Upgrade (4 Cards Reviewed)

Credit Card Reviews, Credit Card Roundups /

Upgrade is a California-based fintech company launched in 2017. They offer personal loans, a free checking account, and four credit cards. Sign-up bonuses are rare but may be possible from time to time. Otherwise, none of their cards have annual fees or sign-up bonuses. All of them say “No fees and set payoffs bring your balance down faster so you pay less interest” and “Combine the flexibility of a credit card with the low cost and predictability of a personal loan.“ Autopay is required for lower credit lines. All credit cards have the potential to be Visa Signature cards. Credit limit will typically be between $500 and $25,000 although Upgrade says they’ll go up to $50,000 in rare cases.

In general, Upgrade appears to be a company for people who’ve had some financial difficulties. You can qualify for their credit cards even with below-average FICO scores. Low fees or APR aren’t especially compelling for rewards-seekers and credit card churners. These groups never pay interest on credit cards and maximize their spending for cash back. It’s a different demographic than most banks, although Upgrade has potential benefits for most people.

You can check to see if you’re prequalified for a card without any impacts to your credit score.

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