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About LinkBacksMy Schwab visa was sold to FIA card services and resold to Bank of America. The Schwab rewards were generous direct cash deposits into a linked savings account. No point system. (My American Express card also works this way.)
The Bank of America Visa, however, looks generous on the surface but they translate cash rewards into points and require substantial points for minimum actual cash back. It's a scam.
So, which cash back programs actually give cash back in the percentages advertised, and which ones convert to points as a way to reduce the actual benefit? The Chase Freedom card, for example, has a generous sounding reward scheme, but do they use the point system? Which cards, if any are true cash back arrangements in the percentages advertised?
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Green Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2012
- Location
- Florida
- Posts
- 1
Direct Cash Deposit vs. Points From Your Card?
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Centurion Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Location
- Texas
- Posts
- 542
FIA Card Services is a unit of Bank of America. It is the former MBNA, or at least a piece of it.
The FIA Fidelity Amex gives 2% cashback. The award comes in the form of Bank of America Worldpoints, but it is a true 2%. Perhaps you should look at your Schwab card again and see what the true percentage is. Or you could call and ask. If it's like the Fidelity Amex, you can redeem for cash after earning 5,000 points, which is worth $50. You get two points per dollar spent, so the reward is a true 2%.CARDS (and why)
FIA Card Services: Fidelity Amex (best cash back excepting 5% cards), Fidelity Visa (spare)
Chase: Freedom (only for 5% reward categories, purchases under $10), Sapphire (not in use), Amazon Rewards (for Amazon purchases only)
CapitalOne: No Hassle Rewards (no foreign transaction fee, my only MasterCard, not in use)
Amex: Blue Cash Everyday (not in use)
Discover: More (only for 5% reward categories)
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Centurion Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2011
- Location
- New York
- Posts
- 303
BofA Cash Rewards is not a scam, the rewards are 1% base, 2% groceries and 3% gas. They also give a 10% bonus for putting the rewards into a BofA checking/savings account. They require increments of $25.
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