I love cash back credit cards [1]. If you pay in full every month, it’s a great reward. I’ve been shopping credit cards lately, and found the Schwab Bank Invest First card [2] is a very appealing cash back card. It offers 2% cash back on everything. It’s our Free Money [3] Friday deal of the week!
Update: Schwab won’t be taking applications for this credit card after March 2010. You can still open an account using this Schwab link [4].
Update September 2011: We just received a letter that our Schwab card is being replaced by a Bank of America card. It looks like the end of the Schwab card is near. We plan to switch most of our purchases to the American Express 6% Cash Back Credit Card [5].
How to Get Your 2% Cash Back
- Open a new Schwab Bank Invest First card [2] and a Schwab One Brokerage Account [6].
- Once approved for both accounts, link them together. You can call or go online to link them.
- Cash back will be credited to your brokerage account monthly.
- Invest the proceeds, or access your cash back by check or debit card.
Credit Card Details
- No annual fee.
- 2% cash back on everything, with no cap.
- Card is issued by FIA, which is part of Bank of America.
Brokerage Account Details
Brokerage Minimum. When you open the Schwab credit card (or a high yield investor checking [7]), there is no minimum on the brokerage account. Otherwise the minimum is $1,000.
Fees. There are no monthly fees for the brokerage account.
Accessing Cash. According to Schwab, you can “Access your money easily with fee-free checking, a Visa check card, online bill pay and fund transfers.” I plan to move my money directly to our checking account with Schwab, which is our primary checking account.
Action Plan
Even though we have an old 2% cash back credit card that deposits into our 529 plan, I’m planning to apply for this card. It’s always good to have a back up with the rapidly changing credit card environment.
In addition, it’ll be a nice way to transfer money since we already have our checking account at Schwab, and a portion of my Roth IRA since they announced the lower expense ratios [8].
Here are even more cash back credit cards [1] for you to check out.