I’ve had an on again, off again relationship with one of the most popular cash back credit cards in the business, the Fidelity Amex card. I’ve had the card for years, but only used it in fits and starts. While I believe that it is one of, if not the best cash back card for many people, the card as it once was had its quirks. It was an American Express card issued by Bank of America’s FIA Card Services subsidiary, an outfit that had an odd little website (IMHO) and did not participate in digital wallets like Apple Pay (at least with the Fidelity card). Further, you could only take advantage of the cash back benefits if you had a Fidelity account to deposit the funds into. Since I had accounts at Fidelity, the decision to get the card was a no-brainer for me.
Fidelity announced a while back that it was ending its relationship with FIA and moving its card portfolio to Elan Financial Services, a US Bank subsidiary, who would issue a new Visa card. Existing account holders were to be cutover during the summer of 2016, and indeed, that has happened to me. My new Fidelity Visa arrived a few days ago. I activated it, and made a couple of purchases for posterity’s sake, but now what?
As you know, I’ve been focusing on plugging holes in my financial boat more than dithering with 15 or 54Â different credit cards to use for various purchases. Have I missed a few bonus mile opportunities? Sure. And I’m OK with that. Living the simple life with my Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa as my primary credit card has been in a word, fine. Frankly, I’ve learned to like simple, but that’s not to say that I won’t get back in the game as soon as my cash position is back where I want it to be.
That said, I’m only earning double Ultimate Rewards on travel and dining, which granted, aren’t insignificant expenses for me. It would make sense to capitalize on the other category bonuses that the Freedom card offers if I had one, but that’s the catch, I don’t. Nor am I willing to apply for any new cards at the moment for more reasons than one. Tossing a few extra bucks into my Fidelity account from time to time doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world either. So I’m adding a second card to my newly thinned out wallet, the Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa. For the time being, bonused spend goes on the Sapphire Preferred card, while everything else goes on Fidelity. Simple? Yes. Missing out on some better deals? Yes. Am I OK with that? YES!
Did you receive a new card from Fidelity? What do you think about the changes to their cash back program?
-MJ, June 22, 2016
I use LoopPay payment fob that I bought from Brookstone a few months ago to handle the multiple cards problem. Now in most cases (except at the gas pump or chip reads) can really can pay with any card. My card hasn’t been converted yet, but I’m glad that Fidelity dumped MBNA, I mean FIA, i mean B of A. Worst fraud prevention of any card. I’ll never forget the time that I notified them of my travel to Japan, only to have the card declined in Tokyo. Waiting for me in the mail back home was a letter telling… Read more »
Just two cards for all your spending? No way. Are you kidding me. In bloggers community, life cannot be that simple and can be considered equivalent to blasphemy.
I know, I’m off the reservation. But it’s so easy, even a caveman could do it. đŸ™‚