The new Fidelity card is still 2% back, but no longer on the American Express payment network.
NYtimes’ Robert Neubecker had a piece of why it might be a good idea to bail out of frequent flyer programs. It was an interesting read, but the main takeaway for me wasn’t anything to do with Airlines continually downgrading the value of award points/miles. It was the fact that the following was posted:
Sam McLimans, senior vice president for cash management at Fidelity, promised in an interview this week that the 2 percent rate would not fall for at least 18 months
A couple of days we posted about an offer that allows you to get this 2 percent rate and a $75 sign up bonus. Some people were hesitant because they weren’t sure how long this offer would be around for. It’s good to hear that this offer will be around for at least 18 months.
It was also interesting to hear why Fidelity offer this bonus in the first place and it’s a two prong attack.
- Merchants pay a premium to accept American Express cards (usually 2-3%) and Fidelity obviously sees a portion of this money
- Customers with this card keep 3 and a half times more with Fidelity than those who don’t
Other cards are starting to get close to the cash back that Fidelity offers, but at the moment they still reign supreme for all purchases with no annual fee.