Selecting the best bank card may be daunting — particularly if you’re a brand new credit score person. In the event you’re able to earn bank card rewards, however don’t need to strategize over spending classes and reward charges, the Wells Fargo Lively Money® Card provides a straightforward path ahead.
This no-fuss choice bank card choice earns you limitless 2% money rewards on all of your purchases. It’s one in every of CNET’s greatest bank card picks, and one in every of my favorites for just a few causes.
Right here’s how I maximize the Wells Fargo Lively Money, and how one can get probably the most worth out of this bank card.
Why I selected the Lively Money Card
After school, I took a while to grasp how credit score and bank cards work. I used to be prepared to begin incomes rewards, however I didn’t need to lose sight of fine credit score habits. So I upgraded my school card to the Lively Money to begin incomes rewards the straightforward means: with a flat-rate cash-back bank card.
Flat-rate cash-back playing cards supply a hard and fast share of money again on purchases, not like different playing cards that may supply larger or decrease charges by spending class. The Lively Money took the trouble out of rewards technique — making it an easy solution to assure money rewards on payments, groceries, gasoline and extra.
Over time, my husband and I each used the Lively Money as a straightforward means to earn rewards and construct credit score. I added him as a certified person so he may reap the credit-building advantages of paying our invoice in full every month.
We added most payments and on a regular basis bills to this card — our son’s daycare invoice, family bills and even our marriage ceremony bills. After paying the invoice in full and on time every month, it earned us $200 in money rewards in six months. And since we knew we needed to journey for much less, we flipped the money rewards to make use of towards flights to save cash.
Now that we have now the dangle of methods to use a bank card and earn rewards, we now use a journey bank card extra often. Utilizing the Lively Money helped me increase my credit score to qualify for a card with higher rewards. We nonetheless use the Lively Money often, and it’s my longest-standing bank card.
Easy methods to get probably the most out of your Lively Money
9.5/10
CNET Score
CNET charges bank cards by evaluating their provides to these of their categorical rivals. Every card is individually evaluated by a components which displays the requirements and expectations of the up to date market. Bank card issuers don’t have any say or affect in our rankings. How we price bank cards
Intro Provide
$200 money rewards
Earn a $200 money rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases within the first 3 months
Annual payment
$0
APR
19.99%, 24.99%, or 29.99% variable APR
Really useful Credit score
A credit score rating is used to point an applicant’s credit score worthiness and will present steerage about account eligibility. It doesn’t essentially assure approval for any monetary product.
670 – 850
Good – Wonderful
Rewards price
2%
Earn limitless 2% money rewards on purchases
2%
Earn limitless 2% money rewards on purchases
Right here’s methods to make the most of all of the Lively Money has to supply based mostly on what I discovered:
Earn the welcome bonus (when you can)
The Lively Money provides a $200 money rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases inside the first three months. That’s roughly $167 in spending per thirty days. To earn the bonus, think about using the cardboard for purchases you’re already making, comparable to groceries, payments and different day by day bills. Or time your utility for the cardboard round a giant, deliberate buy to earn the welcome bonus even simpler — comparable to patio furnishings or a fridge.
After all, you need to by no means overspend merely to earn a welcome bonus — it’s not value it. However when you usually spend $167 per thirty days in meals or on a regular basis necessities, it could be a straightforward requirement to fulfill.
You probably have one other Wells Fargo card, like the faculty card I had, as an alternative of upgrading, apply for this card. In the event you improve, like I did, you usually aren’t eligible to earn a welcome bonus.
Maximize money rewards
The Lively Money is an effective decide when you don’t need a sophisticated bank card rewards technique with tiered or quarterly rewards since you possibly can earn 2% money rewards again on purchases. However if you wish to increase your rewards potential, contemplate pairing this card with one other high-tier Wells Fargo bank card, just like the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, to earn larger charges on eating places, journey, gasoline stations, transit, fashionable streaming companies and cellphone plans. Use the Autograph Card for purchases that earn larger rewards and the Lively Money for every thing else.
However you don’t have to stay to the Wells Fargo suite of playing cards. I now use my Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card for purchases that earn larger rewards charges, like journey by Chase Final Rewards, eating out and choose streaming companies, and my Lively Money to earn 2% money rewards on different purchases.
Repay bank card debt or a brand new buy
The Lively Money may come in useful if it is advisable repay a high-interest bank card steadiness or finance a giant buy. This card encompasses a 0% introductory APR interval for 15 months from account opening on new purchases and qualifying steadiness transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99%, 24.99% or 29.99%. You’ll nonetheless earn 2% money rewards, however keep in mind that it’s essential to not tackle new debt whereas paying off excellent balances.
Pay your cellular phone invoice with the cardboard
Regardless that cellular phone insurance coverage is normally a couple of bucks together with your supplier, the Lively Money provides as much as $600 in cellular phone injury and theft safety after a $25 deductible. Cardholders could make two claims per 12 months, as much as a most of $1,200.
Which means you possibly can do away with your cellphone plan supplier’s insurance coverage with this card, which may prevent slightly in your cellular phone invoice. Nevertheless, you’ll have to pay your cellular phone invoice with the Lively Money card. I additionally schedule computerized funds every month for my cellular phone invoice, which helps me save much more with AT&T’s autopay low cost.
Benefit from journey perks
The Lively Money comes with two Visa Signature journey advantages that may make journey simple — 24/7 concierge service and the Luxurious Resort Assortment. Complimentary concierge service can come in useful when planning your journey, getting restaurant reservations and delivering items for a special day. Though the service is a cardholder perk, any further service or purchases come at a price.
And you should use the Visa Luxurious Resort Assortment to select from a number of premium inns with advantages comparable to meals and beverage credit, price ensures and room upgrades, when accessible. Whereas we haven’t used both perk but, we plan to make use of the concierge service for suggestions for an upcoming household trip to save lots of us time planning the journey.
Select from quite a lot of redemption choices
I like that you’ve got a number of methods to redeem your money rewards with Wells Fargo. As an illustration, I could redeem my money rewards to pay much less on my bank card invoice — which looks like financial savings to my mind — by redeeming for assertion credit. Or I can redeem the rewards to my checking account as a direct deposit to pay for upcoming purchases like live performance tickets or to have additional money in my financial savings account.
You may as well redeem the money rewards for purchases made with PayPal, for journey, charitable donations, merchandise. You may as well redeem rewards for present playing cards in $25 increments, and you may redeem rewards in $20 increments by way of a Wells Fargo debit card or ATM.
We by no means used the Wells Fargo Rewards portal to ebook journey as a result of we discovered higher offers elsewhere, however we nonetheless use it to check charges; then ebook the journey on the cardboard and redeem the money rewards as a press release credit score to scale back the bank card invoice — primarily paying for a portion of the journey.
Is the Lively Money a superb match for you?
The Lively Money card is a powerful flat-rate bank card that makes it simple to earn rewards with out strategizing. If you’re trying to maximize your rewards, there are higher playing cards on the market — however the Lively Money can complement different larger worth playing cards nicely. Whether or not you’re kick-starting your bank card rewards journey or studying about credit score altogether, this card can yield additional money and financial savings. Simply keep in mind to make use of the cardboard responsibly and pay it in full every month, or else chances are you’ll be on the hook for hefty curiosity costs.
Learn extra: Is Apple’s Excessive-Yield Financial savings Account Value It? See How It Compares
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