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Up until now, the card_name has been one of the very best cards you could hold if your business spends significant amounts of money on shipping, but following a refresh that American Express revealed yesterday, that will soon no longer be the case.
In this article I take a quick look at what other cards offer the better returns when they’re used to pay for shipping purchases, and I’ll focus on the one card that I think stands head and shoulders above them all.
The card_name refresh is bad news for shipping purchases
If you have been using the card_name to earn up to 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar that you spend on shipping purchases (up to a maximum of $150,000 per year – terms apply), the card’s recently announced refresh is bad news for you.
From 1 February 2024, the card’s annual fee will be rising (to $375) and as well as a host of other changes that are on the way, shipping spending will be eliminated from the list of categories that will be eligible to earn up to 4 points/dollar (on up to $150,000 per year).
If you’re someone who holds the card_name primarily because of the return that it offers on your shipping purchases, you may soon need to look for another option.
The cards that offer a good return on shipping purchases
Once the card_name ceases to offer bonus points for spending on shipping, there will only be three major credit cards that specifically offer bonus points when they’re used to pay for shipping fees. These are:
The card_name offers cardholders 4 Bonvoy points/dollar on all U.S. shipping purchases (terms apply), the HILTON offers cardholders 6 Hilton Honors points/dollar on shipping services purchased in the U.S. for courier, postal, and freight (terms apply), while the card_name offers 3 Ultimate Rewards points/dollar on up to $150,000 of shipping spending per year.
There are, also, a few other cards that can be used to earn a reasonable return on shipping purchases, but these do not single out “shipping” as a specific bonus category. These include:
- card_name – 2 Membership Rewards points/dollar on up to $50,000 of spending per year (1 point/dollar thereafter – terms apply).
- card_name – 2% cash back on up to $50,000 of spending per year (1% cash back thereafter – terms apply).
- The Citi® Double Cash Card – 2% cash back on all purchases (not capped)*.
- The card_name – 1.5% cash back on all purchases (not capped).
*The card pays 1% cash back when an eligible purchase appears on your monthly statement and further 1% cash back upon paying, a the very least, the minimum amount due on the statement.
My valuations
Based on the value that I know that I can get out of each currency without having to go to any major effort, this is how I value the currencies that I’ve mentioned above:
- Amex Membership Rewards points – 1.5 cents/point
- Chase Ultimate Rewards points – 1.5 cents/point
- Marriott Bonvoy points – 0.6 cents/point
- Hilton Honors points – 0.4 cents/point
Based on the above, this is how I value (and therefore rank) the returns offered on shipping purchases by the credit cards I have mentioned:
- The card_name – 4.5% back.
- card_name – 3% back on up to $50,000 of spending per year (1% thereafter – terms apply).
- The card_name – 2.4% back (terms apply).
- card_name – 2.4% back (terms apply).
- The card_name – 2.25% back.
- card_name – 2% back on up to $50,000 of spending per year (1% cash back thereafter).
- The Citi® Double Cash Card – 2% back.
Based on my valuations (your valuations may differ), the clear winner here is the card_name, and when you take a look at what else this card offers, you’ll see that it doesn’t just win thanks to its great return on spending.
The card_name
You’ll find a full review of the card_name by following this link but, in brief, this is what the card offers in return for a annual_fees annual fee:
- Additional/employee cards at $0 each
- A bonus_miles_full
- Earnings of 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each anniversary year (1 point per dollar on all other transactions and on all transactions above the $150,000 yearly maximum):
- Travel
- Shipping purchases
- Internet, cable, and phone services
- Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
- Primary auto rental cover
- Cell Phone protection
- No foreign transaction fees
- Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption insurance
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty protection
- Roadside dispatch
- Cardholders can transfer points to multiple airline and hotel partners in a 1:1 ratio (details)
- Cardholders get 1.25 cents/point in value when they spend their points on travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
You’ll have to read our full review to get a great all-round understanding of what this card can offer a small business, but I can’t overstate just how much I love having it in my portfolio.
The primary auto rental cover is great when I’m traveling for work, the bonus categories are perfect for my business’ needs, and the Ultimate Rewards points that the card earns me help me build up a healthy balance of World of Hyatt points that I usually use for hotel stays that would have otherwise drained my wallet.
In short, the card_name has long been a favorite card of mine, and now that the card_name has been refreshed, it can add “best card for shipping spending” to its already impressive list of benefits.
