Credit Karma is now offering users a ‘best offer guarantee‘ for credit card applications. If you apply for a credit card through Credit Karma and then find a higher welcome bonus on the same card within 30 days of being approved then you may be eligible to receive an Amazon e-giftcard for the dollar value difference. Seems interesting so let’s take a look at the fine print.
Fine Print
- Point/mile valuations. Points/miles will be valued at 1¢ each. This seems generous for hotel cards such as IHG, but not so much for flexible points such as Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- What cards are eligible? Cards must have a ‘best offer guarantee’ badge at the time of your application to be eligible. The offer also needs to either be publicly accessible, or a targeted offer that clearly displays your name. It isn’t clear if it matters if the minimum spend requirement is different or not.
- Filing a claim. You must snail mail in your claim (details here).
Our Verdict
Having to file a claim via snail mail sucks and is almost designed to make sure the offer is never actually used. Sometimes offers can be live for a few hours and then disappear, I suspect Credit Karma knows this and that’s why the make the claim process so slow. I wasn’t able to actually find any cards that offer the best offer guarantee badge (update, shows up on cards in the ‘My Recommendations’ bit). It’ll also be interesting to see how this works in conjunction with issuers matching bonuses as well. For example recently there was a 80,000 + $50 IHG offer, that then went up to 100,000 + $50. If you receive the match from Credit Karma you’d receive an additional $200 Amazon gift card and readers have also successfully matched to that bigger offer. This has the potential to be absolutely massive, but will depend on what cards/offers this is available for and how hard it is to get claims approved/denied.
Does anyone know if CK runs behind in posting either bureau’s hard pull notification? I don’t see an HP for a RECENT card that I had to go to reconsideration for (sorry, grammar error). I was approved but that’s not the question issue. I just don’t see a hard pull inquiry at all.
This was a bank that has a lengthy profile history for me, although with banks cracking down on having the most recent accurate income/total credit granted, I thought having a “banking trail” and separate automation programs, that was considered “old school”.
Any experience with CK and that issue out there? Thanks.
Banks don’t re-pull for reconsideration as long as it is within 30 days.
best offer guarantee always sounds great, but it all depends on how restrictive and how they count certain things. ie: for hotel, would they count the increased offers from dummy booking?
hotel rate are notorious hard to use. so i’m a bit suspicious about this given their require for snail mail.
When possible, I have always applied through Credit Karma for new CC. They historically bumped my bonus higher on 1 occasion that the signup bonus increased within a week of my application and that’s prior to this new guarantee. Now there’s a chance to double dip – extra bonus from CK and again from the CC issuer directly – as they won’t be organized together on this matter.
Interesting. I have a 75k offer for the Amex SPG card. They don’t actually specify that it is Marriott points, and the programs aren’t actually merged yet…
Also seeing the PRG 25k, WF Propel 30k, WF Cash $200, BoA Cash (Susan Komen) $200.
Reloading got me the Amex Cash Magnet $150 instead of the PRG.
Several junk cards (ie no bonus) along the way, then about the 5th refresh Amex Plat 60k showed up, along with the Blue Cash Everyday $150.
Later additions:
Venture One 20k, Plain BoA Cash $200.
Then I got bored rerolling.
All the ones with a bonus came flagged with the guarantee.
The Freedom Unlimited, Freedom, Cap One Venture One, Wells Fargo Cash Wise , Cap One Quicksilver, Cap One Savor all showed up as “Best Bonus Guarantee” for me.
Just also found Amex Blus Cash Preferred.
In fact I keep finding more.
For me it’s showing mainly on BoA, Amex and Capital One offers.
You can see the best offer guarantee on the my recomendations option on the last page of the app..looks to cover all my recommendations just wish it was 90 days instead of 30 day safety net.
Interesting, thanks!
I have a “Best Offer Guarantee” for an AMEX PRG for 25K MR points and a Chase Freedom Unlimited ($150). If this comes to more credit cards, I think I would consider applying through CK every time I apply for something.
Wtf? 250k?
Whoops! No just 25K lol I must have just been dreaming it was 250k!
interesting, can you take a pic for me?
Sure thing, William. Wasn’t too sure how to send you the pic, so I’m posting it with it’s Imgur link ( imgur.com/gallery/sLEqD6t )
Like reader Don, the offers keep coming up from Chase, Amex, and Citi (including Citi AAdvantage Platinum for 50K Miles, among others).
Thanks!
So Amex 100k offer can be matched? Lol
+1
Since it’s not public and you won’t have an offer with your name (unless you get it) then you can’t match to it. If you do have an offer with your name then you will effectively cash the points out at 1 cent per point which isn’t good (since you’ll need to use their link and Amex isn’t going to match the 100k).
What if you have previously received an Amex sign-up bonus on a particular card so you would not have qualified for the bonus anyway. If you find a better offer, would Credit Karma “pay” you for the difference as your second sign-up bonus? 😛
The terms said “(iii) you must be eligible for that offer”. Unless the “better offer” happens to not carrying the once-per-lifetime term, I guess theoratically they wouldn’t pay you. But it does raise the question that how does CreditKarma determine the eligibility for an offer though.