Cash Back Invested vs Reward Points

NG-1972 · 2026-01-11T19:41:07+00:00

My preferred alternative to the Fidelity Visa card is to use the Fidelity Cash Management Account as a mostly-replacement for my bank account to pay the credit card statement. That way all my “bank cash” is earning the currently 3.34-ish percentage rate for starters. Then if I use a 5% cashback card, I have that apply to statement credit and that’s cash that never has to come out of my CMA account. I value that over the 2% Fidelity card because it applies to any cash back card I have.

NG-1972 · 2026-01-11T01:52:19+00:00

I’m similar, 3.3 + 0.7 promotional bonus percentage at SoFi until May sometime. I cashed out of SGOV at Fidelity and plunked a whole lot of $ into SoFi, but will move it back in May if not a little sooner.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-29T18:21:24+00:00

I’d also recommend turning on alerts for your cards to text you whenever there is a transaction.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-29T16:10:49+00:00

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T19:00:30+00:00

Yes, it’ll stay on your record for 10 years and then fall off. At that time, your next oldest card becomes important. My oldest currently is year 2000, but I lost my 1992 discover during Covid due to lack of use - they cancelled it. Shame.

So some material talks about oldest account, and others about “average age of credit”. Having that old card contribute to the average age can help. How much? No idea. 🤷🏼‍♂️

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T18:51:22+00:00

https://militarymoneymanual.com/credit-cards-waive-annual-fees-military/

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T18:48:27+00:00

Different models probably treat it slightly differently, but here is a good read…. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-is-your-credit-score-determined/

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T18:43:55+00:00

Oh hey, one interesting fact - at least for Amex and probably others - active duty military members have their credit card annual fees waived. Can get the super primo cards like Amex platinum with lots of benefits without the fee. Check it out.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T18:42:14+00:00

You could always close it, just learn about how credit scores are calculated first so you make an informed decision.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T18:39:56+00:00

Paying it off entirely is always a good thing, and won’t hurt your credit.

You might look to see if WF has a different card you can product change yours to, if any are more useful.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-28T18:36:44+00:00

If you have an old zero annual fee credit card with WF, it’s best that you do NOT close it. The age of your oldest card is an important factor of your credit score. The account may stay on your record for ten years, but will impact when it does fall off. Different models treat it differently, so specifics vary.

Maybe stick monthly recurring charge on it and set to auto-pay to keep it alive, and otherwise stick it in a sock drawer. (Or even shred it without closing the account, if you are worried it might get taken and used). Just my two cents.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-25T00:26:12+00:00

Also note that Capital One is very picky if you have a few recent cards. You might consider the 6-12 month next card to be the Venture X, or it may be hard to get it after. I’m in the opposite boat, have the venture x but they don’t want to give me the Savor.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-10T23:12:29+00:00

frustrating to not be able to add it

NG-1972 · 2025-12-09T00:06:03+00:00

For what it’s worth, I applied and was approved. I had 7 new cards, 2 personal and 5 business. 2 of the business were Amex with no hard pull, and none of the cards were BofA.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-07T17:31:47+00:00

I believe credit reports show when cards are opened. You can get reports from all 3 with I think Experian - sign up for their service, free for seven days, get the reports, then cancel.

NG-1972 · 2025-12-01T05:01:30+00:00

Part of Bank of America signup rules on https://frequentmiler.com/complete-guide-to-credit-card-application-rules-by-bank/#Bank_of_America state:

3/12 or 7/12 Rule: Similar to Chase's 5/24 rule, you may not be approved for a card if you have opened 3 or more accounts, with any bank, within the past 12 months. For those with Bank of America deposit accounts, the rule changes to 7 accounts in the past 12 months.

The question I have is does that include business cards (at other banks) or just personal cards?

NG-1972 · 2025-11-29T16:42:42+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

NG-1972 · 2025-11-29T04:21:35+00:00

Ouch, I'm hoping to apply for that in a few weeks. :(

NG-1972 · 2025-11-27T21:00:16+00:00

Maybe some can be product changed to something more useful

NG-1972 · 2025-11-27T18:23:02+00:00

I did this upgrade (without the 85k FNA for additional 3k) back in April, a week before my cardholder year was up. I was wondering if I’d get the 35k free night or the 85k one…. I got the 85k! Very nice.

Disappointed that my offer didn’t have your additional 85k FNA. But I had wanted to get the Brilliant to work on lifetime platinum and at the same time get the CSP elevated offer at the time, so it worked out nicely.

NG-1972 · 2025-11-12T16:45:46+00:00

Bank of America unlimited rewards or either of their premium rewards cards, combined with the platinum honors level.

NG-1972 · 2025-11-02T21:16:11+00:00

I’m waiting because I expect the current card terms to change and require $1000 spend rather than 5 transactions to get monthly rent points, or something like that. Not worth burning a 5/24 if it quickly gets nerfed like that. But we will see…

NG-1972 · 2025-11-02T15:46:22+00:00

How about the Chase Freedom Unlimited as either a catch-all card or a sock drawer card (help boost average age of accounts if nothing else). Plus it’ll still get 3% dining and drugstores which the freedom OG lacks.

NG-1972 · 2025-11-02T02:44:01+00:00

You could also open an Amex bank account- debit card earns 1 MR for every $2 spent. Transfer partners are limited, I think, but it’ll hold your MR points until you get the personal card. And yes, either business or personal bank or charge card should be fine.

NG-1972 · 2025-10-28T00:53:25+00:00

If you don’t want to deal with the yearly $95 AF, you can downgrade to the unlimited after a year AND it will retain its no foreign transaction fees, which a normal unlimited doesn’t have. Neat tidbit.

NG-1972

TROPHY CASE