The Basics

The Cash Rewards MasterCard has no annual fee. There is an introductory APR of 0% for the first 12 billing cycles on balance transfers and purchases. After that, your APR could be as low as 12.99%.

Cash Rewards Program

Cardholders earn 2% cash back for each dollar spent on gas, grocery or discount store purchases. You will also earn 1% cash back on all other purchases. You can redeem $50 cash rewards check for every $5,000 spent in net purchases. Here is an example of the cash back that you could possibly earn using this card on all of your purchases:

As you can see, if you just spent $400 a month on gas stations, grocery purchases and discount store purchases, you would earn approximately $96 annually in cash rewards.

Other Benefits

The other benefits offered with the Cash Rewards MasterCard from Fifth Third a pretty standard, such as rental insurance and purchase protection. However, if you pay your cell phone bill each month with your credit card, you will also receive cell phone protection in case your phone is accidentally damaged or stolen. This means that you will earn cash back on your cell phone bill each month as well as receive free protection that is usually available for a fee with cell phone providers.

Conclusion of Credit Card Detectives

The Fifth Third Cash Rewards MasterCard is a basic, no frills cash rewards card. If you are looking for a rewards program that is based upon purchases on gas, groceries and discount stores, this may be the card for you as you can receive significant cash rewards on purchases you would be making anyway. Plus, Fifth Third offers the introductory APR of 0% on balance transfers and purchases for an entire year.

The Basics

There is no annual fee for this card and an introductory APR of 0% on purchases for 12 billing cycles. After that, the APR is as low as 14.99%.

Business Benefits

The Fifth Third Professional MasterCard includes  a year end statement that summarizes your credit activity.  Transaction totals in categories such as “travel” and “restaurants assist in budgeting and provides a list of each purchase made with the credit card annually.

Real Life Rewards

Cardholders earn 2 points for each dollar spent at restaurants, office supply stores and utility payments made with the credit card, and one point for each dollar spent on all other purchases. There is no limit to the amount of reward points that can be earned and you can combine points from multiple cards.

All professional cards with Fifth Third are also eligible for the Rewards Accelerator which allows you to earn more points per dollar based on how much you use your card.

Redeeming Rewards Points

Reward points can then be redeemed for restaurant gift cards, paying loans and depositing into savings accounts. There are a number of other options for redeeming your points, including a 10% bonus if you use your points to contribute to a Goal Setter Savings Account or a 529 College Savings Plan.

Conclusion

The Fifth Third Professional MasterCard is a great card for business owners that are interested in earning rewards with their purchases, most notably business purchases. You have a number of ways to redeem your points for valuable rewards and offers and can earn quite a bit if you use the card on everything that you would normally buy for the business. It is also a great card that is currently offering a 0% introductory APR for a whole 12 billing cycles, which would save a large amount of money on office equipment and supplies.

The Basics

There is no annual fee for this card and an introductory APR of  0% on purchases for 12 months. After that, the APR is as low as 12.99%. The Homeowner Plus Value Card is also offered with the Fifth Third Homeowner Plus Value Package, which includes the credit card, debit card, mortgage and checking account.

Rewards Program

Cardholders earn 2 points for each $1 spent on home furnishings and home improvement purchases and 1 point for each $1 spent on all other purchases. New cardholders earn a $100 statement credit when opening a new Fifth Third Mortgage or Easy Home Refi.

Redeeming Points

A $25 statement credit is applied to your mortgage principal each time you earn 2,500 points. Below is an example from Fifth Third on how the rewards program can help in paying down your mortgage.

Conclusion

The Homeowner Plus Value Card is a great card for those who have their mortgages with Fifth Third. It does seem like it may take a while to make a difference in a mortgage with rewards points, but for cardholders that use their cards frequently especially on home purchases, you can end up paying quite a bit on your principal. You also receive the $100 statement credit if you’re contemplating a mortgage with Fifth Third or refinancing. Additionally, new cardholders receive an introductory APR of 0% on purchases for the first 12 months, which also saves money, yet can rack up rewards points to be used for paying on the mortgage.

Fees

The Real Life Rewards credit card has no annual fee and a 0% introductory APR for the first 12 twelve billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers. Then the APR can be as low as 12.99%.

Real Life Rewards

The rewards program is of course intended to reflect rewards for real life purchases; things that everyone spends money on. With the Real Life Rewards program you earn double points for each $1 spent on gas, grocery store and discount store purchases and one point for each dollar spent on everything else.

There is no cap on the rewards you can earn, and cardholders also have the option of combining points, Cardholders with other Fifth Third cards and businesses and families with multiple cardholders can also combine their points for rewards.

Redeeming Real Life Rewards

Real Life Rewards points can be redeemed in a number of ways. You can use your points to pay down a Fifth Third Bank Loan or if you choose, you can redeem them for the Goal Setter Savings program or the 529 Savings Account. If you choose ever of these two options, you receive a 10% bonus. Otherwise, you can redeem your rewards points for airline tickets, hotel and car rental gift cards or MasterCard gift cards, which are the same as cash, for restaurants and retailers.

Conclusion of Credit Card Detectives

Although at first glance, the Fifth Third Real Life Rewards credit card may seem like a pretty standard credit card. Without the rewards program though, many cardholders will probably want to take advantage of a no annual fee 0% introductory APR on everything, balance transfers and purchases for 12 months. This is not as typical with most credit cards.

Regarding the Rewards Program, you do earn double points on purchases that most of make us make daily (like gas and groceries) which could rack up quite a few reward cards. This isn’t counting that you still earn on all of the other purchases as well. All in all, the Fifth Third Real Life Rewards Program is a great card to try out and could essentially save cardholders a large chunk of money.

For example, the bonus miles would equate to about 450 miles for 3-day rentals, 600 miles for 4-day rentals, or 1,500 miles for rentals of 5 days or longer.

Here are the terms and conditions, which can also be viewed at the website where you may also rent your vehicle.

Earn triple miles with United Mileage Plus with these United Mileage Cards.

The Basics

This card has an annual fee that is waived the first year. After that it is $49.00. The APR varies and can be from 13.99% to 23.99%.

FlexPerks Travel Rewards Program

FlexPerks Travel Rewards are earned at 1 FlexPoint for each dollar spent, but  double points in the category you make the most purchases in (gas, groceries or airline travel) as well as most cell phone expenses. Whichever category in any monthly cycle that has the highest total of net purchases charged to the card will receive double points per each dollar spent. Also, if you make charitable donations with your card, you will earn triple points.

New Cardholder Bonus and Annual FlexPoints

Cardholders earn a bonus of 10,000 FlexPoints after the first $500 in net purchases made with the card. You will also earn 3,500 bonus FlexPoints each year that you spend $24,000.

Redeeming FlexPoints

Redeem FlexPoints for the annual fee of $49 or you can combine them for travel awards. Free travel awards start at 20,000 FlexPoints which is up to a $400 ticket value. You can choose from over 150 airlines with no blackout dates or redemption fees.

FlexPoints can also be redeemed for hotel, car rental and cruise rewards as well as merchandise rewards, gift cards and statement credits. There are a number of top brands to choose from if you should decide to redeem your points for merchandise rewards or gift cards.

Other Benefits

The U.S. Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature also offers additional benefits which include the following:

• $25 airline allowance. Cardholders are reimbursed up to $25 with each award ticket, that can be used for airline expenses such as baggage fees or food and drinks that are charged to the card.
• Rental car deals with National Car Rental of up to 25% off. You will also receive a certificate each year for one free day on a three-day weekend car rental, and free Emerald Club Membership that lets you go straight to the Emerald Club Aisle to choose your own car and get going.
• Free Hideaways Aficionado® Club Silver Membership which is worth $145 annually. This membership gives VIP perks and preferred rates at the world’s best hotels, resorts, villas and on cruises.

Conclusion

Cardholders interested in a travel rewards card with a low annual fee may want to consider the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature card. It seems fairly easy, with the different categories each month, to earn enough FlexPoints for airline rewards, not to mention the 10,000 bonus FlexPoints you earn from spending your first $500. Plus, you can redeem points for other merchandise and gift cards if you choose to do so. However, if you do not spend enough to earn the FlexPoints, the annual fee may not be worth having the card.If you would rather earn cash back rewards though, you may want to check out the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Cash Rewards Visa instead.

Cardholders will earn up to 600 miles with Hampton Inn or Homewood Suites hotels or if you choose, 500 miles a night at any other Hilton Worldwide brand. There is a maximum of 1,500 bonus miles with these other brands.

Here is an example of the bonus SkyMiles that you may earn:

“*Mileage total includes base and bonus miles and references the HHonors Points and Fixed Miles earning style option only.”

You will need to be registered with the Hilton Hhonors program to be eligible for the bonus Delta SkyMiles. The following credit cards include the SkyMiles program:

Platinum Delta SkyMiles

Gold Delta SkyMiles

There are also Apple products that you can redeem your Membership Rewards points for such as 25 songs from  iTunes for 4,500 points.

The Membership Rewards Program is available with the following cards:

American Express (R) Preferred Rewards Gold Card

Platinum Card(R) from American Express

AmericanPassport.com offers a number of U.S. Passport services ranging from assistance in obtaining a first time U.S. Passport to renewal and replacing lost, damaged or stolen passports.

The following credit cards include the SkyMiles program:

Platinum Delta SkyMiles

Gold Delta SkyMiles

Cardholders of the Hyatt credit card automatically receive Platinum Status in the Hyatt Passport reward program. Benefits include 15% in bonus points whenever you stay at Hyatt.