mastercard

Review: SoFi Mastercard

⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The SoFi Credit Card is a straightforward card for everyday purchases. There are zero fees, and you can get 2.2% cash back on everything, which makes it an attractive general-use card.

In early 2023, they added an extra 1% back for certain travel-related purchases. And as of 4/1/24, customers can get a 10% bonus on points earned, giving 2.2% or 3.3% cash back on everything (previously 2% or 3%). Note that Direct Deposit is required for the best rates.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3x points for trips booked through SoFi Travel (powered by Expedia)
  • 2x points on everything else
  • 10% points bonus with Direct Deposit enabled

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Review: Ness Wellness Card

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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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Benefits and Differences Between Mastercard World and World Elite

Reference /

Mastercard credit and debit cards have different benefits depending on the type of card, the bank it was issued at, and which category it falls into. Mastercard’s categories include World and World Elite. We’ll take a look here into what the different benefits include.

Note that some foundational benefits are expected at all times, like Visa cards. If your card is lost or stolen, you can lock it and/or you won’t be held liable for unauthorized transactions. Most modern cards should also have EMV chips, a tap-to-pay (NFC) feature, and mobile wallet compatibility.

Standard Mastercard

Standard Mastercards have limited benefits. Little more than the basics you’d expect from all cards.

Basic/security benefits:

  • Mastercard ID Theft Protection: “Monitor your credit file for fraud, receive alert notifications about suspicious activity and get assistance from a resolution specialist.”
  • Mastercard Zero Liability Protection: “you’re not responsible in the event someone makes unauthorized purchases with your card.”
  • Mastercard Global Services: “Get emergency assistance virtually anytime, anywhere and in any language. Report a lost or stolen card, get an emergency replacement and more.”

Partner benefits:

  • McAfee: 30-day free trial to McAfee Total Protection and discounted rate for the first year of your subscription.

Other potential benefits:

  • Price Protection (if you find a better price after purchasing something, you may be refunded the difference.)
  • Purchase Protection (if your purchase becomes lost or damaged, you may be refunded some or all of its value.)
  • Extended Warranty Protection (if your purchase has a warranty, it may be extended for a term of up to 3 years.)
  • Return Protection (if you need to return a purchase but the merchant won’t accept the return, you may be refunded some or all of its value.)

World Mastercard

World Mastercards add a lot of benefits and perks compared to the Standard tier. They’re often roughly equivalent to Visa Signature cards and rarely have annual fees.

Basic/security benefits:

  • Mastercard ID Theft Protection: “Monitor your credit file for fraud, receive alert notifications about suspicious activity and get assistance from a resolution specialist.”
  • Mastercard Zero Liability Protection: “you’re not responsible in the event someone makes unauthorized purchases with your card.”
  • Mastercard Global Services: “Get emergency assistance virtually anytime, anywhere and in any language. Report a lost or stolen card, get an emergency replacement and more.”

Travel benefits:

  • Priceless Experiences: Access to tickets to various events
  • Mastercard Golf: Access to various golf events, tee times, and tips
  • Complimentary travel services
  • Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee: “Book a three-star or higher hotel stay through the Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services program, and should you encounter problems with the hotel, a Lifestyle Manager will work to make it right.”
  • Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee: “If you book a qualifying prepaid hotel rate through Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Service and you find the same exact hotel stay for less, we will refund the difference.”
  • Mastercard luxury hotel and resorts portfolio: “Amenities and upgrades at more than 3,000+ properties around the globe, like complimentary breakfast for two daily, amenity credits up to $100 and more.”
  • Free nights, car, RV, air: “Enjoy free nights at partner hotels, status upgrades on car rentals, savings on air and private jets.”
  • Mastercard Airport Concierge: “Dedicated meet-and-greet agent to escort you and your loved ones through the airport at 700+ locations worldwide.”

Partner benefits:

  • Lyft: If you take 3+ Lyft rides in a month, you’ll get a $5 credit towards a future ride.
  • DoorDash: $5 discount on your first order each month, plus a 3-month free trial of DashPass membership.
  • ShopRunner: Free “online membership that unlocks free 2-day shipping and free returns at dozens of top stores, including Under Armour, Cole Hann, Bloomingdale’s and more.“
  • McAfee: 30-day free trial to McAfee Total Protection and discounted rate for the first year of your subscription.

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Review: Chase DoorDash Mastercard

⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

In March 2023, Chase launched a Doordash Mastercard. It gives cash back on most food or delivery-related purchases. The immediate value of the card is unclear. Whether or not you’ll personally benefit depends on your budget and spending habits. Most people probably won’t benefit, especially since it rarely makes financial sense to use Doordash on a regular basis.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 4% cash back on DoorDash and Caviar orders
  • 3% cash back at restaurants
  • 2% cash back at grocery stores
  • 1% cash back on everything else

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Review: Chase Instacart Mastercard

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In July 2022, Chase Bank introduced a credit card for Instacart. If you’re not familiar with Instacart, it’s a delivery service for groceries and other goods. You can choose to have things delivered or pick them up yourself, although in either case, note that many stores have higher prices when ordering through Instacart.

If this sounds overly limiting for a credit card, that’s because it is, in most circumstances. Let’s take a dive into the benefits and alternatives. This might work well for some people.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 5% cash back at Instacart
  • 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase’s site
  • 2% cash back for dining, gas, and streaming
  • 1% cash back on everything else

SIGN UP BONUS

As of March 2023, the public sign-up bonus is a $100 Instacart credit plus one free year of Instacart+ (normally $10 per month or $99 per year). Although this is a low bonus, you do get the credit immediately, and there are no spending requirements.

It’s probably worth waiting for a higher offer. In summer 2022, the card had an introductory $200 bonus, and briefly had a $300 bonus in February 2023.

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Review: Capital One Savor

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The Capital One Savor Rewards Mastercard is a low-fee card which earns unlimited rewards for dining, entertainment, and more. For most people, alternative cards are a better option, especially the no-fee SavorOne from Capital One. Savor might be worthwhile for the first year in some circumstances, especially with Capital One’s new Uber partnership. Long-term, however, it’s a questionable choice.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

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Review: Citi Premier

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The Citi Premier Mastercard is a mid-tier credit card which earns cash back in popular categories. The card can pay for itself, but since it competes with no-fee cards, the value is questionable. Premier may have more limited applications than similar cards. It isn’t a must-have for most wallets despite appearing decent on the surface. Its main draw is the consistently large sign-up bonus and transfer partners.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3x points on airlines and hotels
  • 3x points on dining
  • 3x points on groceries (excluding delivery)
  • 3x points on gas
  • 1x points on everything else
  • $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit

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Review: Chase Freedom Flex

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The Chase Freedom Flex (CFF) Mastercard is a rotating-category card like the Discover It Cash Back. Both earn a limited 5% cash back on select quarterly categories. However, CFF adds bonus categories for enhanced year-round rewards, and points are worth much more through the ”Chase Trifecta.” Chase and Discover are a good team whenever their categories don’t overlap. If the Freedom Flex sounds familiar, it might be because it’s an upgrade of the bank’s older rotating-category card (Chase Freedom Visa).

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • 5x points on rotating quarterly categories (on up to $1,500 in spending)
  • 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (flights, hotels, car rentals)
  • 3x points at restaurants (including takeout and delivery)
  • 3x points at drugstores and pharmacies
  • 1x points on everything else
  • Chase Offers

Click here for 2024 categories.
Click here for 2023 categories.

Categories typically look like:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Grocery stores or gas stations, plus 1-2 other categories
  • Q2 April-June: Amazon plus streaming/retail
  • Q3 July-Sept: Gas stations or grocery stores plus entertainment/streaming
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: Paypal plus Walmart or wholesale clubs or department stores

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Review: Apple Card

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The Apple Mastercard was released in 2019 and has become a fairly popular credit card for Apple fans. Issued in partnership with Goldman Sachs, the card has zero fees (no annual, over-the-limit, foreign-transaction, or late fees). Apple claims to have some of the lowest interest rates in the industry. The interest part is mostly irrelevant because all credit card users should always pay their balance in full, on time, every time. However, this card may help people build healthy habits, especially the younger crowd. Experienced credit card aficionados may want to look elsewhere.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 2% cash back when using Apple Pay (iPhone or Apple Watch) except for select stores which earn 3% cash back, including Apple purchases
  • 1% cash back on everything else
  • Metal card (titanium)

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