Comments on: Schwab Bank Visa 2% Cash Back Credit Card

By: Yep

Yep — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:47:01 +0000

The card is still available. You have to call them up to apply. Apparently it is being changed, but they couldn’t say how.

By: Brian S

Brian S — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:26:05 +0000

Matthew,
I have Quicken 2006 R2 and I can’t seem to download the monthly statements (”Quicken is currently unable to verify financial institution” error whether I save the download or run the download). I do this successfully with 3 different credit cards.
thoughts??

By: Cap

Cap — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:50:05 +0000

Judy: Thanks for that, I’m searching around Schwab’s site and I still don’t see the application to the credit card, but I suppose it may be a limited offer presented to certain customers.

Glad the card is still available to people as compared to many other cards, it has pretty great benefits.

My credit limit was lowered a couple of months ago during FIA’s binge of closing unused accounts and readjusting credit limits of their customers… beyond that particular annoyance and some minor online account functionality (as mentioned by others above), I’ve had no qualms with this credit card.

By: Judy

Judy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:28:44 +0000

Just to let people know, as of 1/13/10 the card was still available. I applied online and got an instant approval.

I’ve had a regular Schwab Brokerage account for years, but it’s not a Schwab One. I guess I’ll find out what the difference is and maybe convert the one I have, rather then open a new account. This is definitely a great deal.

By: Bob Fry

Bob Fry — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:22:12 +0000

No, it’s still available, I just got it a couple of weeks ago. Don’t recall the website. Bit of a disappointment about the poor Quicken support, but that’s probably Q, not Schwab. Quicken is always messed up.

By: Anirban Sen

Anirban Sen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:24:30 +0000

Have had this card for 4 months now. Since I had a BoA card, they reduced the limit on that to approve this card (Total limit on BoA + Schwab remains unchanged; both are managed by FIA).
I don’t see a limit being on my credit report although its been reported to all 3 bureaus.

I don’t have any other account – all the cash is accumulating. If I remember reading the FAQs correctly, they’ll hold it for me upto 5 years. This means I have 5 years to open my Schwab One account and get the cash.

By: Cap

Cap — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:00:48 +0000

grab: as with any cards serviced by FIA Card Services, it should be reporting to the CRA every month. Also, minimum credit score should be good/excellent. (700+)

By: grab

grab — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:41:01 +0000

And forgot, asking those who got the card, what is the minimum credit score should be for this Excellent/good/average?

By: grab

grab — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:39:11 +0000

Will it report to Credit reporting agencies at the end of every month or not?

By: Buzzer

Buzzer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:38:48 +0000

Looks like this was too good to be true – I don’t see this offer anywhere online anymore. Guess they pulled it.

By: zeb

zeb — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:06:20 +0000

My application for this card was accepted, but I’m uncertain about two things:

(1) how I will be able to get the cash back rewards from the Schwab Brokerage account to my primary (non-Schwab) checking account? Can you simply link a non-Schwab account to the brokerage and transfer funds back and forth electronically / via ACH without fees?

(2) what options are available ensure that the Schwab brokerage account is free / has no fees? I understand a $100+ direct deposit each month or an account balance of $1000 would make the brokerage free – but there are other ways also, right? Is having it linked to the Schwab credit card enough? Is it possible to get no fees by opening a High Yield Checking account even if you never deposit anything in it (direct deposit or a minimum amount) if it is linked to the brokerage (which is in turn linked to the credit card)?

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:41:42 +0000

No minimum. I have had the High Yield Checking Account + Brokerage account for over a year and I’ve never put a dime in it because I decided it wasn’t worth it. It just cost me a hard credit pull. They send me a large paper statement every month with all 0’s on it.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Doesnt the brokerage accounts have some kind of minimum number of trades or something?

I read somewhere that they charge 160 bucks for inactivity.

I don’t really trade any (have a 401K fully funded), so Id just use it to collect my 2%. I’d periodically take some out.

Ideally, Id invest in a fixed income, but they probably charge for that.

But, what if I don’t do ANY trading? Will I get hammered?

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:34:33 +0000

If you’re a quicken user, beware that you can’t download transactions as they occur. Instead, you have to wait until your statement posts and download the entire month.

This might be a dealbreaker for some people…

By: scott

scott — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:21:36 +0000

A caution about putting even $100 into any of the Target Date funds — even the short term ones lost money lasyt year! The 2010 fund, [SWBRX], lost 27% i 2008! Here’s the link

Best to find a MMF opr just leave in the core, even if you do earn a low int rate

By: Shaun Connell

Shaun Connell — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:10:37 +0000

Nice. I applied. I typically only use one credit card at a time. Using more than that gets complicated. Who needs extra paperwork? ;-)

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:10:27 +0000

Does the card grant a grace period of at least 25 days?

By: Denise

Denise — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:48:33 +0000

I’m actually considering this card. Hubby and I already have a Schwab one account and we currently use an Amazon rewards card. I thought we might benefit by switching to a potentially more long-lasting reward than a box full of DVDs every few months. But, like you, we don’t have a fistful of credit cards, so I still have yet to apply.

By: Student Scrooge

Student Scrooge — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:22:29 +0000

Cap — I believe the Schwab One account also has no minimum when it is tied to the High Yield Investor Checking, which is a moot point if you’re applying for the card (as you note), but might be worth keeping in mind.

I’m a bit disappointed that the card is not being administered by Schwab — I have been very impressed by their customer service on the checking account.

By: Cap

Cap — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:38:31 +0000

Bill: Yeah its definitely one of the current best deals around. Thanks for the tip on the Schwab target date funds too, didn’t realize most have such low opening requirement and low incremental accumulation.

michael: yup, I believe you can link an external checking account to the Schwab One brokerage, so you can simply transfer out the accumulated cash back if you don’t wish to invest with them (something I’ll probably do myself, depending on how much cash back I’ll be accumulating).

should have made that a bit more clear in the notes above, let me change the wording…