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Everyone knows that investing is a vital part of working towards your financial and retirement goals. Whether you’ve been investing for some time, or you’re just getting started, credit card rewards can help you reach your financial goals even faster.
How so? There are many credit cards rewards programs that allow you to invest your rewards directly into a qualified brokerage or retirement account. In fact, some even offer increased redemption rates for doing so or increased rewards rates for those that hold a certain level of assets within the program.
Your credit card rewards can provide an excellent boost to your overall investing plan, especially if you receive a large credit card bonus. This is even more true for young investors, as even just an extra $20 per month can amount to large compounded returns over the long haul.
Let’s take a look at some of the best credit card options available to investors, along with how you can make strategic use of these programs to boost your rewards, and account balances, even further.
The Amex Schwab Platinum card* is nearly identical to The Platinum Card® from American Express. It offers the same rewards rate of 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, along with 1x points on all other purchases.
Further, the Amex Schwab Platinum card offers all of the same benefits and annual statement credits as the Amex Platinum card, including worldwide lounge access, Hilton Honors and Marriot Bonvoy elite status, annual Uber Cash credits, annual airline fee credits, and much more.
What separates the Amex Schwab Platinum card from the standard version is that it offers up to a $200 annual statement credit. The credit is $100 if your qualifying Schwab Holdings are equal to or greater than $250,000, or $200 if your qualifying Schwab Holdings are equal to or greater than $1,000,000. Plus, it grants you the ability to redeem your American Express Membership Rewards points (from all Membership Rewards-earning cards) into your Charles Schwab brokerage or retirement accounts at a rate of 1.1 cents per point.
For instance, if you had 100,000 Membership Rewards points, you could redeem these points for $1,100 deposited into your Schwab brokerage or retirement account. Not only can this be quite lucrative, but it also far exceeds that standard 0.6 cents per point cash-back redemption of Amex Membership Rewards points.
*All information about the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
Hot Tip: You must already have an eligible Charles Schwab brokerage or retirement account to be eligible for the Amex Schwab Platinum card.
As mentioned, as long as you hold the Amex Schwab Platinum card, it grants you the ability to redeem your Membership Rewards points from all of your other Membership Rewards-earning cards into your eligible Schwab account. Here is a look at some of our favorite Amex Membership Rewards earning cards and the rewards they can offer to you:
| Card | Standard Rewards Rate | Invest With Rewards Redemption (1.1 cents per point) | Annual Fee |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express |
|
| $695 (rates & fees) |
| American Express® Gold Card |
|
| $250 (rates & fees) |
| American Express® Green Card* |
|
| $150 (rates & fees) |
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express |
|
| $695 (rates & fees) |
| American Express® Business Gold Card |
|
| $295 ($375 if application is received on or after 2/1/24) (rates & fees) |
| The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express |
|
| $0 (rates & fees) |
*All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
Depending on your spending habits and the perks or benefits you are looking for from your credit cards, it could make sense for you to hold multiple Membership Rewards cards to optimize your returns on every dollar you spend.
One popular combination is the Amex Schwab Platinum card and the Amex Gold card. With this combo, you’ll receive access to Invest With Rewards from your Amex Schwab Platinum card, along with all of the excellent perks and statement credits it offers, while the Amex Gold card offers impressive 4x rewards on common everyday purchases at restaurants and supermarkets.
Hot Tip: If you’re not sure which is the best Amex card for you, our dedicated guide will help you determine just that.
Again, in order to use the Invest With Rewards feature, you must hold the Amex Schwab Platinum card, which will allow you to redeem your Membership Rewards points from it and all other Amex Membership Rewards cards into an eligible Schwab account.
From there, here is how redemptions work:
Redemptions start at 1,000 points, and you’re allowed to redeem up to 4 million points every 7 calendar days. Your redeemed points should be deposited into your eligible Schwab account within 4 to 6 business days. Eligible accounts include a Schwab One or Schwab General Brokerage Account held in your name or in the name of a revocable living trust where you are the grantor and trustee, or a Schwab Traditional, Roth, or Rollover IRA that is not managed by an independent investment advisor.
For Fidelity investors, the Fidelity Rewards card allows you to earn an uncapped 2% back on all purchases made with your card. You can then deposit these cash-back rewards into any eligible Fidelity account, including brokerage, IRA, HSA, 529, Fidelity Charitable Giving Account, or Cash Management accounts.
The card charges no annual fee and includes perks like lost luggage reimbursement, travel accident insurance, and roadside dispatch.
One downside is that you must accumulate $50 worth of rewards before you are able to make a redemption, which requires $2,500 worth of card spending. Fortunately, the cash-back rewards you earn will never expire while you’re working towards the $50 threshold. One other item to keep in mind is that the Fidelity Rewards card charges a 1% foreign transaction fee, so you’ll want to opt for another card when making foreign purchases.
Before we jump into which credit cards are best for Merrill Lynch investors, it is important that we talk about the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. It is the rewards program of Bank of America, of which Merrill Lynch is a subsidiary.
The Bank of America Preferred Rewards program has elite status tiers that offer added perks depending on the level of assets you hold in eligible Bank of America and Merrill Lynch accounts.
Why is this important for investors? One of the most interesting perks is the ability to boost the rewards rates of your Bank of America credit cards — rewards that can then be deposited into your Merill Lynch accounts.
Here is a look at the elite tiers and some of the investment-related benefits you receive from each:
| Gold Status | Platinum Status | Platinum Honors Status | |
| Assets Needed | $20,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Credit Card Rewards Bonus | 25% | 50% | 75% |
| Savings Interest Rate Booster | 5% | 10% | 20% |
| Merrill Guided Investing Discount | 0.05% | 0.10% | 0.15% |
As you can see, you have the ability to boost your credit card rewards by 25% to 75% depending on your elite status level within the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. This can lead to 25% to 75% more rewards redeemed into your Merrill Lynch amounts each year!
Any Bank of America credit card that earns cash-back or rewards points, can be redeemed toward your eligible Merrill Lynch accounts at a rate of 1 cent per point. Here is a look at some of the best Bank of America credit cards and what they can offer you.
A premium rewards credit card with straightforward earning and redeeming, with luxury perks such as airport lounge access.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card is the bank’s most premium travel rewards credit card.
While it has quite a large annual fee of $550, it also comes loaded with benefits that frequent travelers are sure to love, such as airport lounge access, $450 in annual statement credits, travel protections, and a 20% boost to point value when redeeming for airfare.
Plus, those with status in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program can really boost the value they receive from the card by earning 25% to 75% more points on all of their purchases.
The Bank of America Premium Rewards card is a great travel rewards card for those looking for a simple approach to earning and redeeming rewards.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is a great option for anyone looking for a travel rewards card with a simple approach to how you earn and redeem your rewards.
From travel and purchase protections to airline incidental and Global Entry credits, there is plenty to love about the Bank of America Premium Rewards card.
Plus, those that hold status in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program can get even more value from the card by boosting their rewards by 25% to 75%!
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card allows you to maximize your cash-back in your choice category each month.
If you’re looking to the rake in the cash-back rewards, then the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great option. Not only do you get to choose the 3% category for the card, but you can also boost the cash-back you earn by being a member of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program.
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card is a good option to consider if you’re looking for unlimited cash-back, and straightforward earning – all without an annual fee.
The Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash card earns 1.5% cash-back on all purchases and has no annual fee.
The Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card is a top-notch option for business owners who are looking for a simple cash-back rewards card with no annual fee. Moreover, those who hold status in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards for Business program can supercharge their cash-back rewards up to 2.625% on all purchases!
While many of these cards have respectable earning rates on their own, it is easy to see how the rewards boost from the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program can hugely benefit your investments.
When you are ready to redeem your rewards, you can have them deposited into your Bank of America checking or savings accounts or eligible investment accounts with Merrill Lynch, including IRAs, 529 accounts, and more.
The Amex Platinum card for Morgan Stanley functions very similarly to the Amex Schwab Platinum card in that they both offer all of the same benefits as the standard Amex Platinum card, and both allow you to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points into your investment accounts with each brokerage.
Where they differ is that the Amex Platinum card for Morgan Stanley allows you to add 1 authorized user to your card free of charge. This can be quite valuable as it usually costs $195 (rates & fees), and Amex Platinum card for Morgan Stanley authorized users still receive full access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, access to the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, and more.
Further, while you do have access to the Invest With Rewards program, the redemption rate is 1 cent per point for your Amex Membership Rewards points. This makes it a bit worse than the Schwab offering of 1.1 cents per point but is still far better than the standard 0.6 cents per point cash-back redemption the card usually offers.
All information about The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley have been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
Depending on your spending habits, the Morgan Stanley Amex Blue Cash Preferred card could be an excellent option for you.
With it, you’d earn 6% back on up to $6,000 in purchases at U.S. supermarkets, and 1% back thereafter. You’d also earn 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back on transit purchases, 3% back at U.S. gas stations, and 1% back on all other purchases.
This could amount to some sizeable savings if a rather large percentage of your annual expenses fall within one or more of these categories. Additionally, as an exclusive benefit for Morgan Stanley customers, you can earn a $100 annual statement credit after spending $15,000 or more in eligible purchases each calendar year.
One item to note is that all of your cash-back rewards are provided in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit on your account. While you can’t directly deposit your cash-back rewards into one of your Morgan Stanley accounts, you can divert the funds you would have used to pay your card balance before receiving the statement credit and achieve the same outcome.
All information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card have been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
Earn 2% unlimited cash-back when you redeem it to save invest, or pay down an eligible SoFi loan --- all without an annual fee.
The information regarding the SoFi Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
SoFi has quickly become one of the most popular fintech companies around by offering a combination of investing, saving, and loan refinancing, all in 1 platform.
Now, the company has its very own credit card that rewards you with 2% back on all purchases, helping you get even more out of your SoFi account.
SoFi started off as “another FinTech startup” and now has grown to be one of the largest neo-banks in the world. SoFi now offers the full gamut of financial products, including banking, loans, investing, and a credit card, all without a single physical branch location.
Most SoFi users tend to be relatively young, but this is a great advantage as the sooner you start investing, the better! This is why the SoFi card can be a great fit for many.
It is a no-annual-fee card that earns an uncapped 2% back on all purchases you make with the card. These cash-back rewards can then be redeemed into your SoFi Money (banking) account, SoFi Invest account, or towards paying down a loan you have with SoFi. Beware not to redeem your rewards as a statement credit, though, as doing so cuts your rewards rate in half.
Beyond rewards, the SoFi card also offers complimentary cell phone insurance coverage, no foreign transaction fees, World Elite Mastercard benefits, and a 1% APR reduction after 12 months of on-time payments — though you should be doing everything you can to never carry a balance anyway.
For TD Bank investors, the TD Double Up card is a compelling option as it earns 1% back on all purchases you make with the card, plus another 1% back when you redeem your rewards into an eligible TD Bank deposit account.
It has no annual fee, no limit to the amount of cash-back you can earn, and a 0% introductory APR balance transfer offer for the first 18 billing cycles after account opening. The downside is the card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so you’ll want to choose another card for purchases made when traveling internationally.
While your cash-back rewards are redeemed to a TD Bank Deposit account, you can easily then move those funds into any investment accounts you have with TD Bank.
If you’d prefer to optimize your purchases around bonus categories, then you can make use of the TD Cash card. With it, you’ll earn 3% back on dining (including takeout and delivery), 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% back on all other purchases.
As with the TD Double Up card, the TD Cash card doesn’t charge an annual fee, doesn’t have bonus category limits on the amount of cash-back you can earn, and offers a 0% introductory APR offer for the first 12 billing cycles after account opening. It does charge foreign transaction fees, though, so opt for another card when making overseas purchases.
If you don’t invest with any of the previously mentioned platforms and brokerages, or simply prefer a card that isn’t tied to a specific brokerage, you can redeem cash-back to an investment account. We’ll review a few top cash-back credit card options that might make sense for you.
Depending on your strategy, you could also pair one or more of the following cards with those that were mentioned above to mix and match bonus categories to optimize every dollar you spend.
The Freedom Flex card is an excellent no-annual-fee card that still earns big with 5% cash-back on travel and other bonus categories.
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ sure does pack quite a punch — especially for a no-annual-fee card.
The Freedom Flex card is an incredible option for those looking for a well-rounded cash-back card, or a powerful point-earner when paired with a premium card in the Ultimate Rewards family.
The no-annual-fee Freedom Flex card is one of the most popular cash-back credit cards, and for good reason. It earns 5% cash-back on rotating quarterly bonus categories, like gas and groceries, on up to $1,500 in spend each quarter. It also offers 5% cash-back on purchases made through the Chase travel portal, 3% back on dining (including takeout and delivery), 3% back at drugstores, and 1% back on all other purchases.
There is no minimum cash-back redemption amount, and cardholders enjoy perks like cell phone protection insurance, purchase protection, rental car insurance, Mastercard World Elite benefits, and more.
Again, your cash-back rewards can’t be redeemed directly into an investment account, but you can redeem them as a statement credit or as a direct deposit into your checking or savings account.
Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!
The Citi Double Cash® Card has long been one of the top cash-back credit cards on the market, and the card now has the ability to earn Citi ThankYou Points!
This means that cardholders of the Double Cash card will now earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou Points. This means each billing cycle, you will earn 1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on purchases and an additional ThankYou point for every $1 paid on your purchase balance as long as there is a corresponding balance in your Purchase Tracker.
Citi has turned the Double Cash card into a top choice for those who are looking for an everyday, no-fuss credit card.
Those looking for a simple-to-use cash-back card with a fixed earning rate on all purchases will love the Double Cash card. With it, you’ll earn 1% cash-back on all purchases you make with the card, and another 1% cash-back when you pay your monthly statement balance (earned as ThankYou Points).
This gives you a total of 2% cash-back on all purchases you make with no annual fee or caps on how much you can earn. Your rewards never expire, and there is no minimum redemption amount required. You can redeem all of your rewards as a statement credit to offset your purchases or as a direct deposit into your linked checking or savings account, which you can then move to one of your investment accounts.
The Capital One SavorOne card comes loaded with bonus categories for cardholders to take advantage of, making it a very compelling option depending on your spending habits. You’ll earn an uncapped 3% cash-back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), plus 1% back on all other purchases.
That is 4 separate uncapped 3% back categories, all with no annual fee. Plus, the card has no foreign transaction fees, extended warranty coverage, travel accident insurance, and more.
All of your rewards can be redeemed as a statement credit to offset your purchases, with no minimum amount required, freeing up additional cash flow that you can direct towards your investment accounts.
As you can see, you have no shortage of options when it comes to credit cards that can help boost your investment goals. Sure, investing your credit card rewards might not be as sexy as booking a stay at a luxurious hotel or kicking your feet up on a business class flight on your way to your next adventure — but the great thing about many flexible rewards programs is that you don’t have to choose one or the other.
At the end of the day, you can have your cake and eat it, too, using credit card rewards to reach both your financial and travel goals.
For the purchase protection benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
The information regarding the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab, Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card, TD Double Up Card and TD Cash Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One SavorOne Card Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the American Express® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the SoFi Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
Deciding which credit card is best for your investment objectives comes down primarily to the bank or brokerage you invest with, as this will likely be the easiest on-ramp for you to invest your rewards conveniently.
That said, one of our favorites is the Amex Schwab Platinum card, as it allows you to turn the Membership Rewards points you earn from all of your Amex cards into cash in your investment account at a rate of 1.1 cents per point.
We also love Bank of America credit cards paired with the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, as holding elite status within the program boosts the rewards rates on your cards, allowing you to earn even more rewards on each purchase that you can then deposit into your investment accounts.
Yes, you can. Some credit cards allow you to invest your credit card rewards directly into a qualified brokerage or retirement account, while other cash-back cards require you to first redeem your rewards for cash that you can then deposit into one of your investment accounts.
Functionally, they are basically the same. Many investment-branded credit cards accrue cash-back or rewards points worth 1 cent per point that you can then redeem directly into a qualified investment account.
Standard cash-back credit cards accrue rewards in the same way, but depending on the type of card and who issues it, you might need to redeem your rewards as a cash deposit into your checking account first that you can then transfer into an investment account.
Usually, you won’t often regret investing extra money towards your future. That said, you’ll want to consider the opportunity costs of redeeming rewards that could be used for other redemptions like travel or cash-back.
However, the great thing about flexible credit card rewards is that you don’t have to choose one or the other. You can easily redeem some of your rewards each month into one of your investment accounts and save some (or spend some you already have) to treat yourself to a vacation in the future.
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Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.
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