Posted by: John S Kiernan

EDITOR’S RATING 4.6 / 5 PROS

• $100+ initial bonus
• 3% back at gas stations and restaurants (1% everywhere else)
• No annual fee
• Slightly below-average regular APR

CONS

• 3% foreign-transaction fee
• 3% balance-transfer fee

The Verdict: You might know that AARP stands for the American Association of Retired Persons, but you probably don’t realize the AARP Rewards Credit Card stands to help qualified applicants of any age save money on everyday expenses. More specifically, the AARP Rewards Card is available to anyone with good credit or better, regardless of AARP membership (which costs $16 per year). And it offers 3% back at gas stations and restaurants plus a 1% base earning rate to supplement the $100+ initial bonus that you’ll receive for spending at least $500 within three months of account opening. That’s a pretty good deal, especially when you consider that the total package would net the average person roughly $1,100 over the first two years of use.

The AARP Card’s generous rewards and lack of an annual fee make it an excellent choice for anyone looking for a low-cost way to save on everyday expenses. And you can learn more about why that’s the case below.

The Highlights

• $100+ Initial Bonus: 10,000 bonus points are yours if you can spend just $500 during the first three months your account is open. Most of us could meet that threshold with utility payments alone. So this bounty, redeemable for $100 in cash or roughly $125 in travel, is well within reach. 

• Up To 3% Back On Purchases: You will earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases made at gas stations and restaurants as well as 1 point per $1 back on everything else, which equates to 3% and 1% back, respectively, upon redemption for either cash or travel. 

• No Annual Fee: Paying an annual fee can make sense for high-spenders who can more than make up for what they pay with rewards earnings. But forgoing this burden also saves you $18.15 relative to the average credit card, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. It may also allow you to keep your account open for longer than you would otherwise, thus saving you undue hassle and benefitting your credit score.

The Lowlights

• 3% Foreign-Transaction Fee: This aspect of the offer is a major bummer for retirees who suffer from wanderlust that can’t be satisfied by domestic travel alone. If that describes you, you’ll want to leave your AARP Rewards Credit Card at home before heading abroad in order to avoid spending 3% more than necessary on every purchase that you make. A no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card, in contrast, will save you 1.50% relative to the average card, while enabling you to save up to 9% on currency conversion.

• 3% Balance-Transfer Fee: You don’t want to transfer a balance to the AARP Rewards Card solely because of this 3% transfer fee. People with good credit can get longer 0% terms on balance transfers for less money, and it’s as simple as that.

Other Things To Consider

• Redemption Variety & Restrictions: The points that you accrue with the AARP Card can be redeemed for a statement credit, a bank-account deposit, gift cards or travel. Unlike other Chase rewards cards, however, the AARP Card unfortunately won’t allow you to transfer points to other Chase credit-card accounts for pooling purposes. Redemption also requires a minimum of 2,000 points. 

• Below Average Regular APR: A 18.49% interest rate isn’t cheap in absolute terms, but it is below the 20.79% average for credit cards that require good credit for approval. That’s nice to know in case you ever slip up, but it’s still best to approach this card with the mindset that you will always pay your bill in full. 

• Percentage Of All Purchases Donated To Charity: You will earn not only 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants, but also $0.10 from every such transaction will be donated to the AARP’s Drive to End Hunger, up to a total of $1.1 million in 2016. This is no way diminishes your ability to earn rewards, so it’s nothing but a nice touch. 

• 24/7 Live Customer Service: Anytime you have a question about your account, day or night, you’ll be able to speak with a real, live customer-service representative. That’s always nice to know.

Compared To The Competition

Options are an important part of making your wallet happy, so we took the liberty of comparing the AARP Rewards Credit Card to other leading credit cards in terms of six fundamentally important categories. Hopefully this will clarify the best choice for your needs, whether they involve rewards or financing. You can check out the results below.

	AARP Rewards Credit Card	SponsoredCiti® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer	SponsoredCapital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card	SponsoredBarclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard®
Annual Fee	$0	$0	$0 for 1st yr, $95 after	$0 for 1st yr, $89 after
Rewards Bonus	10,000 points	N/A	50,000 miles	70,000 miles
Rewards Rate	1 - 3 points / $1	2% Cash Back	2 miles / $1	2 miles / $1
Purchase Intro APR	Not Offered	Not Offered	Not Offered	Not Offered
Transfer Intro APR	Not Offered	0% for 18 months*Transfer Fee: 3% (min $5)	Not Offered	0% for 12 billing cycles*Transfer Fee: 3% (min $5)
Regular APR	18.49% - 25.24% (V)	15.74% - 25.74%* (V)	17.99% - 25.24% (V)	18.24% - 25.24% (V)
Editors’ Rating	4.6 / 5	5.0 / 5	5.0 / 5	5.0 / 5
Details, Rates & Fees	Learn More	Learn More	Learn More	Learn MoreRates & Fees
Winners	Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


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