AURORA, Ill.-The universal rewards cards that offer the most bang for the buck are American Express Co.'s Blue and Green, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Freedom, Wells Fargo & Co.'s Visa with Enhanced Rewards, and HSBC Holdings PLC's Ecosmart, according to a report by Corporate Insight Inc. The five cards offer a 1% rate of return on a $50 rewards redemption, according to the report. When considering a variety of factors that determine the rates of return on rewards cards, including annual fees and introductory and ongoing annual percentage rates, the return on Bank of America Corp.'s Accelerated Rewards Amex card is 0.96%, the report said.
Wachovia Corp.'s Platinum with Possibilities rewards card returns 0.909% in rewards value, and Citigroup Inc.'s PremierPass and Diamond Preferred Rewards cards offer a 0.833% rate of return. B of A's World Points Platinum offers 0.769%, Capital One Financial Corp.'s No Hassle card offers 0.75% and U.S. Bancorp's Select Rewards returns 0.714% on a $50 rewards redemption. The difference between 1% and 0.714% rates of return may seem inconsequential, according to Corporate Insight, but the difference can be "quite noticeable after a few thousand dollars are spent on a card."
