Credit Card Tips
Best Credit Card Options for Home Improvement and Spring Cleaning Projects
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With April now underway, it’s time once again for the annual tradition of “spring cleaning” to commence. In some cases, this may mean some simple tidying and sprucing — while others may take the opportunity to begin much larger home improvement projects. Regardless of which description fits you, there may actually be a credit card that could benefit you during your springtime projects. Whether this means saving on spring cleaning supplies, earning cashback on home improvement purchases, or scoring big bonuses from your heightened spending, there may just be a new card worth adding to your wallet.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best cards across three different scenarios:
Spring Cleaning
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express
- Key perk: 3% cashback at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases per year)
- Annual Fee: None
- Current welcome bonus: $200 back after spending $1,000 in your first three months
The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express offers rewards on practical spending you’ll not only do during the spring but likely use year-round. For one, it earns 3% cashback at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases per year), allowing you to earn cashback while picking up cleaning supplies and filling up your pantry. On top of that, the card earns 2% back on purchases at select U.S. department stores — which could come in handy should you discover you need additional storage solutions, furniture, etc. Rounding out the main rewards, the Blue Everyday also features 2% back at U.S. gas stations and 1% back on everything else.
Currently, new Blue Cash Everyday cardholders can earn a $200 statement credit after they spend $2,000 on the card in their first six months. All in all, these benefits make the card a smart option if you’re looking to tidy up your home this spring.
Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
- Key perk: 6% cashback at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 a year in purchases)
- Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for one year, then $95 per year
- Current welcome bonus: Earn a $300 statement credit when you spend $3,000 on the card in your first six months
If the Blue Cash Everyday Card sounds good but you want to take things up a notch, there’s also the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express. Most notably, this option earns an impressive 6% cashback at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 a year in purchases). Then, if “cord-cutting” happens to be on your spring cleaning list, you’ll be glad to know that you can also earn 6% cashback on U.S. streaming service subscriptions. Plus, you’ll earn 3% back on U.S. gas station purchases and 1% back on everything else.
It is important to point out that Blue Cash Preferred Card does typically carry a $95 annual fee, although this is waived for your first year. Additionally, with the current welcome bonus, you can earn a $300 statement credit when you spend $3,000 or more on the card in your first six months. Therefore, this is another strong contender that can fit a variety of your spending needs.
Home Improvement
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
- Key perk: 3% back (when home improvement/furnishings is selected as your rewards category and limited to $2,500 in combined category spend per quarter)
- Current welcome bonus: $200 in rewards after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first three months
- Annual fee: $0
One interesting option for earning rewards on your spring home improvement project is the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card. The “customized” aspect of this card comes into play as customers choose what they want to earn 3% back on, with available choices including online shopping, drug stores, dining, travel, gas, and (you guessed it) home improvement & furnishings. In addition to your 3% category selection, customers also earn 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs — both of which could also come in handy for your project. However, these rewards multipliers only apply to the first $2,500 in combined spending across all 3% and 2% categories each quarter. Thus, you might end up hitting this cap pretty quickly. Still, purchases over this limit will earn 1% cash back, as will any non-category purchases you make with the card.
Currently, new Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards cardholders can also earn $200 in rewards when they spend $1,000 in their first three months. Furthermore, Preferred Rewards members can earn between 25% and 75% more in cash back on their purchases. Therefore, especially for these consumers, the Customized Cash Rewards card could be a smart choice.
SoFi Credit Card
- Key perk: 2% cashback on eligible purchases when redeemed towards investing, saving, or paying down an eligible loan with SoFi
- Annual Fee: None
- Current welcome bonus: Up to $100 when you open and fund a SoFi Checking & Savings and a SoFi Invest account after being approved for the SoFi Credit Card
Another credit card option is the SoFi Credit Card. What makes this an interesting choice is that SoFi happens to offer home improvement personal loans among other products. Thus, in theory, you could borrow for your project, use your SoFi Credit Card to earn 2% back on your purchases, and put that cashback toward paying off your loan. Alternatively, you can also deposit the funds into a SoFi Checking & Savings or SoFi Invest account.
On that note, customers with a SoFi Checking & Savings account who sign-up for direct deposit can currently take advantage of an offer that will increase the cashback they earn with the SoFi Credit Card. When new card customers are approved for the SoFi Credit Card, they can earn 3% cashback for their first year. However, this benefit is capped at $12,000 in spend (or a total of 36,000 points). At this time, the offer is set to expire on May 31st, 2022.
Chase Freedom Flex
- Key perk: 5% cashback on spending in bonus categories each quarter you activate (up to $1,500 in combined purchases)
- Annual Fee: None
- Current welcome bonus: $200 back after spending $500 in purchases in your first three months
Now let’s talk about the Chase Freedom Flex. The star feature of this card is the rotating 5% bonus category that changes each quarter. However, be aware that the 5% bonus is capped at $1,500 in combined spending between the stated categories. Last year, one of those categories included Home Improvement Stores and Gas Stations. Sadly, that category did not repeat for Q1 or Q2 of this year, although it’s possible that Home Improvement could pop up in subsequent quarters. For the record, for April through June 2022, the 5% cateogry is Amazon.com and Select Streaming Services.
Of course, beyond these bonus categories, the Chase Freedom Flex offers other impressive rewards, including 5% back on travel booking made through the Chase Ultimate Reward portal, 3% back on dining (including takeout and eligible delivery services), 3% back on drug store purchases, and 1% back on everything else.
Meanwhile, the Chase Freedom Flex currently boasts an attractive welcome bonus as well. You can earn $200 back when you spend just $500 on the card in your first three months. So, while this card might not specifically fit the home improvement theme at this time, it could still be a good long-term option.
Other Ideas (Big Welcome Bonuses)
If none of the card options that reward specific spending categories appeal to you, there may be another way to make the most of your Spring spending. Since home improvements can get pricey, it may make sense to take advantage of this by signing up for a card that includes a large initial spending requirement along with a lucrative welcome bonus. Let’s take a look at a few options that fall into this category.
The Platinum Card from American Express
- Annual Fee: $695
- Current welcome bonus: 100,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $6,000 in your first six months.
If it wasn’t clear from the $695 annual fee that this card commands, the Platinum Card from American Express is a premium product. That said, the perks you enjoy for that price can make the card well worth it. Among the many benefits of the Platinum card, you’ll receive $200 in hotel credits per year toward prepaid Fine Hotel + Resorts and Hotel Collection bookings, $240 a year in digital entertainments credits (Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, and/or The New York Times), $179 in CLEAR credits per year, $300 in Equinox credits per year, $200 a year in Uber credits, $200 a year in airline incidental credits, $100 a year in Saks Fifth Avenue credits, and more. Plus, the card features airport lounge access, complimentary hotel status, and beyond.
Keeping with the “big” theme, the Platinum card also has a major welcome bonus. Currently, you can earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on the card in your first six months. Ultimately, whether you’ve had your eye on the American Express Platinum card before or are just now discovering its benefits, it may make sense to leverage the spending associated with your home improvement project to earn yourself this hefty bonus and enjoy the many perks of Platinum as travel resumes.
Capital One Venture X
- Annual Fee: $395
- Current welcome bonus: 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Last year, the Capital One Venture card offered a monster bonus that was the talk of the town. This year, Capital One raised the stakes by introducing a new premium card: the Capital One Venture X. While this travel card does carry a $395 annual fee, the $300 travel credit (received as statement credits when you book through Capital One Travel) helps offset that fee. Cardholders can also enjoy such perks as Priority Pass and Capital One Lounge access. As for rewards, cardholders earn 10x miles on hotels & rental cars booked through Capital One Trave, 5x miles on flights booked through the platform, and 2x miles on all other purchases.
Turning to why the new Venture X made this list, it also offers a sizable sign-up bonus. Currently, new cardholders can earn 75,000 miles when they spend $4,000 on the card in their first three months. While it’s not quite the 100,000-mile offer the card launched with, the spending requirement is also a lot lower. So, overall, this could still be a good pick if you want to nab a big bonus for your spring cleaning purchases and then cash in on your summer vacation afterward.
Seeing as spring has officially sprung, there’s a good chance that you’re preparing to undertake a spring cleaning or home improvement project of your own. Before you do, it may worth looking at how a new credit card might help along the way. Hopefully, with these options, you’ll be able to make your project budget go further or save up your rewards for the rest of the year ahead.
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