Disappointing Credit Card Options
The points and travel hobby is a tremendously busy, fast-changing one. Banks and loyalty programs are continuously innovating, and I feel attentive individuals can largely come out on top. Just focusing on a few of the heavyweights, or even just this one, often keeps us busy enough. Meanwhile, some other large banks have a remarkably paltry selection of credit cards worth our attention. Whether low quality, a limited portfolio, or both, I find these banks’ credit card options lacking.
Truist
Out of the Sun Trust and BB&T merger came Truist. This bank’s limited credit cards shouldn’t be too surprising, as the original ones didn’t provide anything outstanding, either.
Perhaps the most noteworthy option is their version of a premium product, the Enjoy Beyond credit card. Along with a 30k points (worth a penny each) for spending $1.5k in the first 90 days, the card earns 3x on travel, 2x on dining, and 1x on all other purchases. A few random credits for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, streaming, etc could make up for the significant $195 annual fee, but many of us already get those elsewhere. Signup bonuses go down from there, and the only other close to noteworthy spend category is 3% cash back for gas on two cards, one being a secured product. Truist offers bonus rewards for holding balances in bank accounts, but nothing better than what Bank of America does with their Preferred Rewards program.
Truist offers the rare SkyMiles-earning debit card, but those probably aren’t worth your time, either.
Wells Fargo
Since application links for the Propel cards disappeared, Wells Fargo has been slowly overcoming a dearth of credit cards. Perhaps the first big one for many is the Bilt card. It doesn’t come with a traditional signup bonus, and only some individuals have received a five day period of earning four bonus points (for a total of five points) per dollar spent. And I know one qualifying individual who got it for less than five days. I received snail mail for the Autograph card, but it only comes with 20k point welcome offer and earns in duplicate 3x categories as other banks’ products.
Things have recently trended up in my view, particularly with the Choice Privileges Select card. Wells Fargo still has a ways to go, though.
TD Bank
I don’t recall TD ever being even close to middle of the pack in credit card rewards. They previously offered a few Air Canada products which presented interesting opportunities for certain hobbyists. Most everything is cash back-based now, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Some could talk themselves into the TD Cash card, which comes with a $150 bonus by spending $500 within the first 90 days. Granted, that’s a an excellent 30% return on a small spend requirement. Cardholders also get 5% cash back on gas station purchases within the first six months, but that’s capped at $6k spend. Cardholders also have the option to assign their 3% and 2% category each quarter. TD also offers the Double Up card, a 2% cash back everywhere card with a $100 signup bonus after spending $1k.
Those two cards are okay in and of themselves, but many other banks offer similar products with more features. And no other TD cards are worth mentioning.
Citi
Okay, hold on, I’m not calling your baby ugly here. Indeed, there’s much I love about Citi. In my view, they offer the best all-around, accessible suite of bank rewards currency cards with staple bonus categories. But they’re severely lacking in another key area – cobranded cards.
Yes, Citi offers an excellent suite of American Airlines cards. Having those cards isn’t a super big deal, though, since Barclays also offers AA cards. The Expedia cards were nothing special. The Costco card is useful for members, particularly for4% back on gas purchases, but useless for everyone else. The Shop Your Way card can shine brightly, but in a relatively obscure way. And the future of that card is uncertain.
I find myself wishing for another plain-old hotel card, like the Citi Hilton Reserve. Or another airline card. Something!
Conclusion
To be fair, if I’m reaching to complain about this, things are going okay overall. We have plenty of other banks and credit unions to obtain attractive credit cards and rewards. But it would be nice to see some of the silent large banks speaking up now and then. Throw a bit more spice into the mix when things get bland. All the metaphors. Which banks have you found to have disappointing credit card options?
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BOA leaves a lot to be desired
I can understand that perspective, especially if one isn’t a fan of their niche cards.
The Citi Premier card has a decent signup with 80K on $4K spend and middle of the road earning in most things but 3X on Gas. Also the $100 credit on $500 travel via Citi Travel can save you some bucks.