Christmas and the gift giving season is usually here faster than we expect. As you begin shopping for yourself and others we want you equipped with the best credit card on the market. There are many choices for each financial lifestyle stage (borrower, spender, saver) and reward goal (cash savings, college savings, travel, debt transfers). At HIT our focus is on developing savers and our credit card recommendation is to simply put the most money back in your pocket.
There is plenty of competition in the credit card market, which is a benefit to the cardholder who can seek out the best deals (or finish reading this blog post). The competition has led to credit cards with no annual fees, and a slew of perks like airline miles, reward points, cash back, and sign on bonuses.
Credit card companies offer these incentives because they earn 2-3% each time the cardholder makes a purchase. This 2-3% is called an interchange fee and is charged to the merchant making the sale by the credit card company. There are other profit centers that credit card companies have, such as interest on a debt, but as savers we do not succumb to these. This is why we have gone out and searched high and low for the credit cards that return most of this fee back to us, the cardholder.
Going into 2020, they are going to be the Citi Double Cash Card and the Fidelity Rewards Visa Card. These two cards give back most, if not all of their interchange fee revenue. Their incentives are straightforward, they have no annual fees, there are no spending limits, and cashback is 2%.
First and foremost, these cards are for the saver who always pays off their monthly bill on time and never carries a balance. Second, these cards are simply for those of us who want to put more cash back in our pocket. For example, if you spend $5000 month over an entire year, you’ll earn an additional $1200 from the 2% cash back.
Before deciding if 2% is enough incentive to apply for one of these cards, review the highlights and drawbacks of each card below.
The Citi Double Cash and Fidelity Rewards Visa Credit Cards Highlights
- 2% cash back on everything
- No cash back spending limits
- No annual fees
- No rotating categories
- Drawback – 3% Foreign Transaction Fee
- Bonus – Fidelity will give you $50 if you spend $500 within the first 60 days
- Drawback – Required to have a fidelity account to receive cash back (direct deposit)
Important Reminders:
These cards are recommended only if you are a saver and always:
- Pay on time
- Pay off the full balance
- Do not use for balance transfers
- Do not use for cash advances
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