Schwab Visa Terms May Be Changing. Another One Bites The Dust?
by Tim on September 15, 2010
Starting in October, Schwab Invest First Visa credit cardholders should keep an eye out for mailings or other announcements about changes to their terms and conditions.
The Schwab Visa has been one of the most popular credit cards around for years. The card pays a flat 2% cash back on all purchases, deposited directly into a Schwab brokerage account each month. It’s a lucrative rewards program that couldn’t be any simpler.
Back in April, Schwab discontinued the credit card for new applicants, but current cardholders were grandfathered in and able to keep their rewards programs intact. Unfortunately, that may about to change.
Schwab has started telling customers that on October 1, 2010 they will be relinquishing their sponsorship of the card, giving full control to FIA Card Services. As of this writing, they are emphatic that no changes to the terms have been announced. The only real change is that Schwab credit cardholders will have to go to FIACardServices.com to check their balances and pay their bills, rather than doing so through Schwab.com. But I don’t expect these terms to stay unchanged for long.
The 2% reward rate was largely a marketing expense for Schwab, since they were able to recoup costs through commissions and other costs associated with their brokerage accounts. FIA doesn’t have that luxury, so it will be interesting to see how long they keep the rewards program intact.
Don’t despair, other 2% cards are out there
In case you get a notice in the mail soon that your rewards are being scaled back, keep these cards in the back of your mind:
 | - Earn up to $250 in travel rewards--1,000 Bonus miles every month you make a purchase for the first 25 months
- Double Miles on every $1 you spend
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months, then the variable purchase APR of 10.99% - 16.99%
- No restrictions on travel--fly on any airline, book any hotel or car, with no blackout dates
- Flexible redemption options like travel credits, merchandise, gift cards or cash
- Travel Insurance benefits, including primary car rental, lost or damaged luggage, travel delay, and trip cancellation when you book with your Escape by Discover card
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty--16 years in a row! (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
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| Annual Fee | Signing Promo | APR, variable* | Intro APR Promotions |
|---|
| $60 | 25,000 Discover Miles Bonus - 1,000 extra miles a month for first 25 months. | | Min APR: | 10.99% | | Max APR: | 16.99% | | Default APR: | 21.99% | | Cash Adv: | 23.99% |
| | Purchase: | 0% for 6 mos | | Bal Trans: | 0% for 6 mos |
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| - Money(R) Magazine's "Most Rewarding Card if you crave free airline flights"
- 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
- Earn 10,000 bonus miles, equal to $100 in travel
- Redeem your miles for any travel expense
- No limit on the miles you can earn and miles won't expire
- Fly free on any airline, any time with no blackout dates
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year; $59 after that
|
| Annual Fee | Signing Promo | APR, variable* | Intro APR Promotions |
|---|
| $0 intro for first year; $59 after that | 10,000 Capital One No Hassle Miles Bonus after spending $1,000 - in the first 90 days | | Min APR: | 13.9%(V) | | Max APR: | 20.9%(V) | | Default APR: | 29.4%(V) | | Cash Adv: | 24.9%(V) |
| | Purchase: | None | | Bal Trans: | None |
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| - Earn 2% on purchases
- Rewards deposit into Fidelity account
|
| Annual Fee | Signing Promo | APR, variable* | Intro APR Promotions |
|---|
| $0 | None | | APR: | 13.99% | | Default APR: | 29.99% | | Cash Adv: | 24.24% |
| | Purchase: | None | | Bal Trans: | 0% for 7 mos |
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