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Popular investment app Robinhood is launching its first credit card, promising an industry-leading 3% cash back on most purchases.
Image courtesy of Robinhood
The waitlist is open for the Robinhood Gold Card, issued by Coastal Community Bank. It won't have an annual fee, but to get the card you must be a Robinhood Gold member, which costs $5 a month. (If you opt to pay annually, it's $50.)
A Robinhood Gold subscription offers various perks, including a 5% APY on uninvested cash, a 3% match on Robinhood retirement IRA contributions and more. As part of the announcement, Robinhood also introduced a new benefit for Gold members: a 1% unlimited deposit boost on all incoming brokerage deposits starting in early May 2024. Terms apply.
Robinhood will begin slowly rolling customers off of the waitlist and shipping cards within the next few weeks, said Deepak Rao, general manager of Robinhood Money, in an email.
Here’s more on what the card will offer.
The Gold Card’s features
Future cardholders can expect:
No annual fee: Technically, the card's annual fee is $0 — but as noted above, you must be a Robinhood Gold member, which does come with a fee.
Rewards: Cardholders will earn an uncapped 3% cash back on all purchases, with the exception of travel booking done through Robinhood's new travel portal, which will earn 5% cash back.
Redemption options: Rewards are issued as points that can be redeemed at a value of 1 cent apiece. Unlike with some other cash-back cards, there is no option to redeem cash back for a credit on your statement. Instead, points can be redeemed:
As a cash deposit into a Robinhood brokerage account. (You can then leave it there, invest it, or withdraw it and deposit it to an external account.)
For travel booked through Robinhood's portal.
For gift cards bought through the portal.
For shopping with eligible retailers through the portal.
Travel perks and protections: The card will offer benefits like trip interruption reimbursement, an auto rental collision damage waiver, extended warranty protection, return protection, roadside dispatch, travel and emergency assistance, Visa Signature concierge service and purchase security.
Virtual cards: Cardholders will have access to virtual cards with disposable numbers as an added security option when shopping online. You'll also be able to request a new card in the app if the physical card is misplaced.
Options to simplify free trials and subscriptions: The card will enable you to easily cancel subscription payments, end free trials automatically and authorize cards for one-time use.
Family-friendly features: You'll be able to add up to five family members to the account as cardholders, regardless of their age. Every cardholder will receive their own card, and the primary cardholder may set spending limits, track users' spending and lock lost cards instantly.
A new app: The card will be managed in an app separate from Robinhood’s app. The new app will provide a financial overview of spending patterns, real-time spending insights and more.
A referral incentive: Cardholders who refer 10 friends who sign up for a Robinhood Gold membership will get a version of the physical card that is made from real 10K gold.
Terms apply for all of these features and benefits.
Is it a good deal?
Yes. On some levels, it's an outstanding deal, even. Among credit cards that offer a flat rewards rate on all purchases, the industry standard rarely exceeds 2% back, especially for credit cards from major companies.
In this case, yes, you'll have to pay a subscription fee for a Robinhood Gold membership. But the card's 3% cash-back rate will make it relatively easy to break even on that fee — and that's before taking into account the card's 5% rate on eligible travel bookings or the various other perks that a Gold membership offers, independent of the credit card.
You will, however, have to commit to the Robinhood ecosystem to get the most out of the Robinhood Gold Card. (For instance, it's unclear what offerings cardholders may expect from Robinhood's new travel portal.) But the card does offer both redemption flexibility and steady point value regardless of the redemption you choose, which isn't always the case with other rewards credit cards.
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