Template: Pick a Category Cards
Available "Pick your category" cards
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The U.S. Bank Cash Plus Card is the "standard" pick your own category card. It has been around for the longest, is available throughout the whole country, and unlike the other cards, it allows you to choose two categories, instead of one. It earns 5% cash back, capped to $2,000 of bonus category spending each quarter. Inconveniently, U.S. Bank forces you to re-select your categories every quarter and you won't earn bonus rewards on those categories until you do so. No annual fee. | |||||||||||||||
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The Citi Custom Cash Card has the highest potential reward rate of any pick your own category card. It earns 5x ThankYou points which normally would only be worth 5%. However, if you also have the Citi Premier or Prestige Card, you can convert the points to airline miles. In that case, we value the points at 1.5 cents each, which works out to 7.5%. And if you have the Citi Rewards+ Card, you'll get a 10% boost on your redemptions, making the points worth even more. Unlike most of the other cards, you don't need to choose a category each billing period. Instead, your top eligible category is chosen automatically. Bonus rewards are capped to $500 spending per statement period and it is hard to use less common categories to maximize your rewards. | |||||||||||||||
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If you can keep $100,000 of investment or retirement money at Merrill Lynch, the Bank of America Cash Rewards Card is another good option. Normally, it earns 3% on your choice of categories. But, if you have a total of $100,000 or more in combined assets at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, you'll receive "Platinum Honors" status in their Preferred Rewards program and get a 75% bonus on your credit card reward points. This increases the effective reward rate to 5.25%. The Cash Rewards Card has a higher quarterly limit ($2,500 of spending) and is the only "pick your own category card" that lets you change your category every month, instead of every quarter. But many people just keep it locked to "online shopping" to earn bonus points on everything they buy online. No annual fee. | |||||||||||||||
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The Venmo Card earns 3% back on whichever of its categories you use the most each month. Unlike the other pick-your-own-category cards, you don't need to choose the category ahead of time. But since the earning rate is lower on your other categories, the ideal way to use the card is to only spend on a single category in any given statement period. Rewards are capped at $10,000 per year in spending in your top two categories each statement. | |||||||||||||||
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The Vantage West Connect Card is available to people who live in certain parts of Arizona. It earns 5% in a single category of your choice but is capped at only $1,500 of spending each quarter. No annual fee. | |||||||||||||||
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The Huntington Voice Cards are lower value options and require you to live near a branch. The personal version earns 3% in one category (up to $2,000 per quarter) and the business version earns 4% in one category (on up to $7,000 per quarter). But you can only apply in one of their branches located in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. No annual fee. | |||||||||||||||
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The Synovus cards are similar to the Huntington Voice cards, but for people in the Southeast. Cards are only available in branches located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Depending on the card, you'll earn 3x points or 3% cash back and rewards are capped at $3,000 per quarter. The cashback and point-based reward versions have no annual fees. The Synovus Travel version has a $50 annual fee, but gives you a 20% rebate on travel purchase with points (3.6% cash-back rate), and earns 5x points (6% cash-back rate) on travel purchases as well. No annual fee. Template:Pick a Category Cards/List Available categories
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