2% Cash Back? Not Really...
Written: Jul 11 '00 (Updated Jul 12 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: flat 1% cash back
Cons: better to receive 1% rebate in cash and then spend/invest it yourself
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| pofig37's Full Review: Edvance(r) Platinum MasterCard (Fleet Bank) |
Recently, the credit card that I was using terminated its cash back program and I was forced to search for a new card. Rebate cards are most useful when you pay your balance in full every month, so I was looking for the card with the highest rebate and no annual fee. I've ignored interest rates and other charges assuming that I will never have to pay them.
In my search, I came across an offer for Fleet Edvance card which offered $50 EE Series U.S. Savings Bond for $2,500 spent. That amounted to 2% cash back and looked like the best cash back deal around. But since I didn't know much about savings bonds, I've decided to research it a little further.
A quick search on Google confirmed my fears: EE Series U.S. Savings Bonds are sold at half of their face value. So the immediate value of a $50 bond is in fact only $25, and the effective cash back with this card is only 1%. While savings bonds earn an OK interest (5-6%), I would much rather receive $25 dollars in cash and invest them myself in something other than bonds. Flat 1% cash back is still a good deal, but there are plenty of other 1% rebate cards with rebates that are easier to use than savings bonds.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
pofig37
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Member: Alex Bernstein
Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
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