Here’s a card I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere : the SavingStar Amex by First Bankcard, part of First National Bank of Omaha. Let’s check out the marketing hook:
We can certainly ignore the 1% back on everything else, of course. The 10% catches my eye, as it was intended to do. The smaller print says that you get 10% back on “eligible SavingStar grocery purchases in addition to your SavingStar cash back reward.” I’m not sure what “eligible SavingStar grocery purchases” are, but there’s an example below:
So apparently you can get coupons from SavingStar and then use this credit card to save a little extra. I’m not familiar with SavingStar’s coupons, but given that I’m not into couponing I’m going to pass on this part of it. (If any of you use SavingStar and have some insight whether there would be good deals to be had, I’m all ears.)
Which brings me to the final part of this card’s value proposition, the 5% cash back on SavingStar mall purchases. Here’s another example from the card’s website:
Now I’m interested, though not yet interested enough to pull the trigger. This is how the Upromise credit card works–you get whatever the portal bonus is plus an additional 5% cash back. I haven’t used this card very much, but a few months ago Staples was at 5% on the Upromise portal, so I made some purchases with my Upromise card, and I did indeed receive 10% back, though the portal is pretty slow.
With that said, I know absolutely nothing about SavingStar, so there isn’t much more I can say. Staples is at 6% on their portal as of press time, if anybody’s interested. Since I don’t use the Upromise card too much I don’t see enough here to make me want to apply for another similar card. Do any of you have thoughts on this one?
In the FAQs, it lists amongst other things “money orders and other cash equivalents” as being activities that do not count as qualifying purchases. In the TOS, it says that they can decide what qualifies and what doesn’t in their sole discretion and your only recourse is to close your account. Furthermore, they will shut you down for any abusive or fraudulent activity and reserve the right to go after you personally. So pretty typical one sided agreement(along with some other ridiculous terms about you posting stuff about them). They do not list GCs specifically but I guess they could point to the “cash equivalent” line. Of course there are other cards that list such provisions and still pay out. Would be interesting to hear of any real life experience with this card.
I use saving star, kind of, and I think I am familiar enough with it to say that I can’t imagine there being any hidden gold in that 10% bonus. I always load all of their grocery offers just in case I buy one of them. They are pretty much electronic grocery coupons, so all you’re ever getting is a 10% bonus on your e-coupon savings. Not worth the time it would take to even think about it if you ask me.
I have had this card for almost a month and have used it for both the grocery savings and the online shopping. It definitely works! I am a regular user of SavingStar’s normal service, so there were no real changes for me, other than remembering to use this new credit card upon checkout. When you account for all three (great deals in mobile grocery coupons, online shopping cash back, and now the credit card), SavingStar has become a great source for saving for my family.
Hi Jessica,
I am thinking about getting this credit card. Question, is it 10% cashback on ANY groceries, or just 10% cashback on things that already have Savingstar rebates attached? If it’s only really 1% cashback, then I may not get this.
My understanding is that it’s 10% back ONLY on purchases where there’s some sort of savingstar discount.
I somewhat regularly use Savingstar, and it works well. I’m a pretty hardcore couponer. Some info on how it works: You link up your shopping cards, clip the electronic coupons, and receive rebates in a Savingstar account after you purchase the item. It usually takes up to a week for me to get mine. New rebates show on the website the first of each month, and every Friday, there’s a Freebie offer, where you get 100% of the purchase price into your account. This past Friday, it was a Kit Kat bar. The Friday before that, it was Morten salt. Like Jessica said, you can combine paper manufacturer and store coupons with this, and certain grocery items come out free or dirt cheap.