» Editor's note
The Charity Charge World Mastercard was closed to new applicants in 2021. Existing cardholders may continue to use their cards. However, nonprofits may apply for the Charity Charge Nonprofit Business Card, issued by Commerce Bank. Read more about the Charity Charge Business card here.
If your philosophy is that it's better to give than to receive, you may want to use credit card rewards to make a donation to a charity. The Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card makes giving easy, but its low rewards rate means you won't give very much.
The $0-annual-fee card, issued by Commerce Bank, has a set-it-and-forget-it way of easily and automatically donating credit card rewards to the charity of your choosing — no separate checks to write.
But it passes along too little to the charities, compared with what you could donate if you contributed rewards earned on other cash-back cards. For that reason, it’s a poor choice for most people.
Here are five things to know about the Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card.
1. Giving is easy...
The Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card specializes in convenience, not value.
Unlike some charity credit cards, this one isn't locked into a specific charity. The card lets you choose your donation recipients from among 501(c)(3) organizations, K-12 schools, colleges or religious organizations. You can fund up to three different nonprofits at the same time and change your designated recipients whenever you like.
» MORE: Reward donations: How they work
2. But it pays a lousy 1% cash back
While the Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card automatically donates rewards you earn to the causes you select, it earns only 1% cash back on all purchases. That's a terrible rewards rate.
Many flat-rate cash-back credit cards earn 1.5% or even 2% cash back or more. Those percentages might not sound like much, but using a different card could double your donation if you used rewards cash to make a separate donation to the same charity. If you spend $15,000 annually on the card, that’s the difference between donating $150 or $300 per year.
An added insult: This card has no sign-up bonus.
By comparison, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns an unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases and has this welcome offer: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
3. You get a short introductory APR
After opening the card, you'll get a slight reprieve on interest. The issuer phrases it this way: 1.99% intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 6 monthly billing cycles, and then the ongoing APR of 20.49%-30.49% Variable APR.
4. Donations are tax-deductible, but that won't matter for most
Rewards donated through the Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card are deductible as a charitable donation, which isn't typically the case for donated credit card rewards. But all in all, tax-deductibility is a minor potential benefit.
It only matters if you itemize your tax return and don’t take the standard deduction. Instead, if you used a cash-back credit card for rewards and made a separate cash donation, that would also be deductible.
5. It comes with solid benefits
Although the Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card doesn't offer much in the way of core value, it comes with good ancillary benefits. Because it's a World Mastercard, it comes with valuable benefits like cell phone protection and extended warranties on qualifying items purchased with the card. You'll also get travel and lifestyle extras including special discounts and access to travel and concierge services, among other benefits.
Should you get the Charity Charge World Mastercard® Credit Card?
Probably not. Its terrible rewards rate just isn’t worth the convenience for most people. Literally any decent cash-back card will earn far more money, which can be used to make a larger, separate charitable donation.
