I went into this year looking forward to a more competitive credit card environment and thus far I have not been disappointed! The latest credit card news is Santander Bank’s first credit card launch, the Bravo.
In a nutshell, my review of this card is: meh. Its value proposition is triple points on gas, groceries, and restaurants, which is actually not bad. Each point is worth a cent, so you’re getting 3% back on those purchases. I’ve spoken favorably of the AARP credit card, which gives you 3% cash back on gas and restaurants. But whereas the AARP offers unlimited cash back, Santander caps your 3% at 15,000 points per quarter.
And something important for readers of this blog: there is no sign-up bonus.
The biggest drawback to this card, though, is the fact that it has an annual fee of $49, vs. the AARP credit card’s annual fee of $0. There are two ways to waive the fee, however. As the terms and conditions put it, the annual fee will be waived “if you maintain a Santander Select checking account on the opening and in each of the subsequent years on the anniversary date of account.” The other way you can get a waiver is if you apply by March 31, but that will only be for the first year.
If you’re already a Santander Select account holder and you don’t know much about credit cards, then this is actually a pretty good card to have in your wallet. The rest of us can pass, as equivalent and in some cases better rewards are offered elsewhere with no annual fee. In the meantime, let’s hope the credit card competition from the recent crop of upstarts pushes the big players to get creative with their products.
“If you’re already a Santander Select account holder and you don’t know much about credit cards, then this is actually a pretty good card to have in your wallet.”
LOL Matt, this wholehearted recommendation gave me a couple of chuckles.
I dont agree with this information. The Bravo card is a better card than the AARP, by a large margin. First off, the AARP card is only available to AARP members. So right off the bat, that prevents a huge majority of people which this sort of card would appeal to from even applying. Its really being offered more as a benefit to members.
Also, the AARP card does not give back 3% back on supermarkets, only on restaurants and gas stations, whereas the Bravo card offers 3% back on all three categories.
Like you mentioned, the Bravo card is limited at $5,000 combined between the three categories each quarter. This is not a low limit! Additionally, you will still continue to gain an unlimited 1% in those categories if you are to reach that cap as well as on all other purchase categories.
Thanks for your comment! Keep in mind anybody who wants to can join the AARP, they just want your $12 or whatever and you’re in. I’m in my 30s and I have the AARP card.
The deal killer for this one, as far as I’m concerned, is the annual fee. Though if you already have a Santander account, it’s not a big deal.
Actually, there’s no such thing as someone who’s “already a Santander Select account holder.” That account type doesn’t exist yet, it’s being rolled out later this year:
http://freequentflyerbook.com/blog/2014/2/14/two-santander-products-you-should-know-about
Wow, thanks! Weird that they’d make that a condition if the product doesn’t exist.
“The other way you can get a waiver is if you apply by March 31, but that will only be for the first year.”
This isn’t true either, they are still advertising it as fee free for the first year. I guess they are waiting to unroll the Select checking account before they remove this.
Actually, it does existing now: https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/banking/santander-select. Just not at all their locations as of yet.