There’s a lot of credit cards options. A Lot of options. And there’s always new ones coming out.
As a consumer I like the variety of options. It’s not like other products or services where there is only a handful of options – or less – to choose from (I’m looking at you cable and satellite TV).
I’ve shared in the past about a few of the top cash back credit cards as well as what I recommend for a first card, but today I want to talk about the best cash back credit card you have never heard of.
I was only recently exposed to this card but I think it deserves to sit at the top of the list when it comes to cash back credit cards. It’s that good.
The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
The best cash back credit card you have never heard of is the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card. This card offers the highest cash back on the market with it’s flat 2% cash back bonus.
Regardless of how widely known the card is, it’s undeniable that this card leads the pack when it comes to cash back credit cards. Besides the flat 2% cash back offer, it also has no annual fee. Additionally it offers all the standard credit card perks such as 24/7 support, travel and emergency assistance, zero-liability fraud protection, and identity theft recovery services.
An additional feature that I like about this card is that your cash back rewards are deposited directly into your Fidelity account. From there you can either cash it out to your bank account or use it to invest. This is a great feature because it’s easy to treat cash back rewards like free money and use it on things you otherwise wouldn’t purchase (don’t worry – it’s okay to splurge once in a while).
Why is this card not wider known or written about? I think it primarily has to do with Fidelity not marketing the card as aggressively as other credit card issuers market their cards.
How the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card Stacks up to Other Cash Back Credit Cards
So how does the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card stack up against other credit cards? Let’s compare it to a few of the other top cash back credit cards.
- Cash Back Rate
The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card offers a 2% cash back rate, which is comparable to the Citi® Double Cash Card which offers you 1% cash back when you use your card and 1% cash back when you pay your bill, for a total of 2% cash back. It’s 0.5% higher than the Chase Freedom Unlimited which offers 1.5% cash back (though Chase Freedom Unlimited does offer 3% cash back on purchases within the first year up to $20,000).
- Revolving Category Bonuses
The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card does not have any revolving category bonuses where you can earn more than 2% cash back, but neither does the Citi® Double Cash Card or the Chase Freedom Unlimited card.
- Annual Fees
The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card charges no annual fee, but neither do any of the other three cards I mentioned. This is typical for a majority of cash back cards.
- Sign Up Bonuses
The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card comes with a $100 cash bonus when you make at least $1,000 of eligible purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account.The Chase Freedom Unlimited card does not offer a sign-up bonus, but they do offer 3% cash back on all purchases made within the first year of card opening (up to $20,000). Finally the Citi® Double Cash Card offers no sign up bonus.
Assuming we go off of rate alone, why is the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card better than the Citi® Double Cash Card? The only real differentiating factor is that the Fidelity cash back rewards go into your investment account. While I don’t think there has been any research around this, you can imagine that someone who has the cash in their investment account is more likely to invest it than someone who has it deposited into their checking account.
Have you heard of the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card? Would you use this card as your default credit card? Why or why not?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I think the Fidelity Rewards card is a great take on cash back rewards. Plus, 2% on every purchase is the new “gold standard” in my book as flat-rate cards. The shift from decades-long 1% rate to 1.5% or 2% in recent years is becoming more evident.
Personally, I prefer this offer over apps like Digit or Acorn because the money goes into my primary investment account and I use cash back credit cards. These two apps are good if you don’t have a credit card, but, many people would never think that an investment brokerage would offer a cash back card.