Travel rewards credit cards are great, but a card that pays five percent cash back on some of the biggest expense categories in my budget is hard to beat!
As a TD Bank customer, I received an offer in the mail for the new TD Cash Rewards credit card.
The offer for this no annual fee card was for $200 cash back after spending $500 within ninety days of opening the account.
The publicly available offer is for a $100 statement credit after spending $500.
The card normally pays 1x points on all purchases, but for the first six billing cycles, TD Bank is offering 5x points for these categories of spending:
- Utilities, including: water, electric, landline, cell phone, and cable
- Restaurants
- Gas
- Groceries
Purchases made at superstores, warehouse clubs, discount stores are exempt from the 5x offer.
If you spend $2,000 per month in these categories, you could easily earn $100 cash back in each of the first six months, plus the bonus offer.
Cash rewards are issued as statement credits, with a minimum of $25 needed for a redemption.
The deadline for this offer is November 1, 2014.
What’s the Catch with the TD Bank Cash Rewards Credit Card?
TD Bank is clearly hoping that new customers will set up their utility bills for automatic payment on this credit card. If you set it and forget it, you’ll earn 5 percent cash back for six billing cycles, and then revert to 1 percent cash back for all future purchases — which is not competitive with other cash back offerings.
Another question is whether the billing cycles are structured to allow the 5x rewards for a full six months, or for more like 5 months.
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I’m not currently in the market for any new credit cards. I am generally reluctant to write about products that I don’t have personal experience with, but this seemed like an offer worth sharing.
Remember, no rewards or bonus offers are worth while if you are not in a position to pay your credit card bills on time and in full every month.
Click here to compare current rewards credit card offers.