In February of this year, we knew coronavirus was a problem in China but there were only small glimpses of warnings about how it could spread around the globe. We had just returned from a trip to New York, unknowingly visiting one of the early epicenters of the virus in the US. I wasn’t currently working on a spending requirement, so I signed us up for two cards with increased sign-up bonuses, the IHG Premier from Chase and the JetBlue Plus card from Barclays.
Not long thereafter, COVID-19 took hold in America and the lockdown happened. Our spending also dipped so I was glad Chase extended the spending window to earn the sign-up bonus to 6 months. I worked on the JetBlue card first and now I’ve gotten the bonuses for both cards. Normally, that would be a sign for me to get a new card but I had no idea which one I wanted.
Usually, I’d go for the one that earned me the most travel points. Preferably I’d want to earn flexible points from a major bank. At the moment, I have more points in my loyalty accounts than I need because most of our travels for 2020 have been postponed to 2021. I decided to get a card that’s been on my radar for a while but I just never pulled the trigger.
I signed up for a Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card.
For us, it makes sense to get the Fidelity Rewards Visa since we already have a long term relationship with the bank. The card earns an unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase which is quite appealing right now. You can transfer that cash to a Fidelity account once you’ve earned $25. Since we already have a Fidelity Cash Management account, the money earned will be easy for us to redeem. The deciding factor was that I didn’t have any card in my name that earned a decent return on everyday purchases.
I get occasional mailers for sign up bonuses for this card since I’m already a customer, but I didn’t have any current offers so I found a link on US Credit Card Guide for a $150 bonus once spending $1,500 in three months. That’s a 12% return.
To sign up, I logged into my Fidelity account. I figured this would help my chances for approval. The Fidelity Rewards Visa is issued by Elan Financial Services, a division of US Bank who can be very stingy about approvals. On the application, they tell you to remove any credit freezes you might have on your reports.
As a reminder, please remove any credit bureau freezes before applying.
I filled out the application and submitted my application. After a minute wait, I received a reply that I was approved with a generous credit line.
It shouldn’t be too hard to hit the $1,500 spending requirement. This application put me over 5/24 for the next few months but I’m not sad because I’ve hit Chase pretty hard over the past year. I still need to get an AMEX card that earns Membership Rewards so I can cancel my Business Green card next year and there are some BoA cards I’m looking at getting.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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