Financial broker credit cards are available from banks and financial companies. These co-branded cards are available only for active account holders of trading accounts of brokers. These cards are available usually with low fees, but they do have other fees like balance transfer fees.
These credit cards are issued by credit card companies. All the credit decisions, issuance of the credit card, fees, charges, and payments are made directly to the credit card company.
Compared to the rewards credit cards, these cards do not offer that many rewards. If you are looking for better reward cards, look for our post on the same.
Advantages of co-branded financial broker credit cards
The biggest advantage of these credit cards is to get the cashback or rewards directly deposit into the trading account. Instead of the statement credits for the cashback coming to the credit card, they accumulate in a brokerage account. Card members can invest these small sums as per choice.
#1 Card Name: American Express Platinum Card for Schwab
Fees: This credit card charges $695 in annual fees.
APR: 20.24 – 27.24% of variable APR
Rewards: Card members earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points. First of all, they have to after spending $6,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Our Rating: 5 / 5
Pros and Cons of this card: This is one of the very expensive American Express cards with an annual fee of $695. This card is meant for high-net-worth individuals holding a brokerage account with Charles Schwab.
Card members receive $100 in statement credit if the total holdings in their account are more than $250,000. This credit doubles to $200 if the total Schwab holdings are more than $1 million. This reward is applicable every anniversary year.
Card members earn 1 Membership reward for every $1 spent on all spending. They receive 5x Membership Rewards points on travel bookings on Amex Travel. Further, they also receive $200 in Hotel and Airline statement credit on qualified bookings on Amex Travel. The Hotel credits are on booking in Hotel Collections. Airline statement credits are on any incidental charges on the platinum card by an airline.
Next, the card members earn $20 credit for streaming services per month. These applicable streaming services could be, for example, Disney+, Netflix, New York Times, etc. This offer is valid only after registration on the American Express website. Card members get $189 in statement credits for CLEAR service payments made on the American Express Platinum card. Finally, customers also receive statement credits for Walmart+ membership fees.
#2 Card Name: Schwab Investor Card from American Express
Fees: $0 annual fees
APR: 0% introductory APR for the first 6 months from the date of account opening. After the intro offer 17.74 – 20.74% of variable APR.
Rewards: Card members earn one-time $200 statement credit after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Our Rating: 3 / 5
Pros and Cons of this card: This is a basic American Express card for active Charles Schwab customers. Though, this card offers one of the best interest rates (APR) on any American Express Card. The rates are pretty competitive for the American Express card. Card Members also earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back automatically deposited into the eligible Schwab account for purchases made with this card.
#3 Card Name: Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card
Fees: $0 annual fees
APR: 18.24% variable APR
Rewards: Card members earn 2 reward points for every $1 spent on this card. They earn 2% unlimited cashback for their spending.
Our Rating: 3 / 5
Pros and Cons of this card: First of all, this card automatically transfers the cashback on everyday purchases directly to the Fidelity brokerage account. This helps to convert the cash back into savings. This is a nice little feature. Instead of wasting money on small insignificant gifts, the money goes into savings. Though, this card also provides customers the option to redeem rewards. They can redeem rewards on dining, travel, and other rewards as well.
Subsequently, card members can shop with confidence using this card. This card offers card protections, such as zero fraud liability, purchase security, and emergency card replacement.
Further, this credit card has unlimited earnings with no caps or category restrictions. Further, this card has been awarded the best reward credit card for savers. Compared to, American Express cards this card doesn’t offer many frills or freebies.
#4 Card Name: Platinum Card from American Express for Morgan Stanley
Fees: $695 annual fees
APR: 20.24 – 27.24% variable APR
Rewards: Card members earn 125,000 membership reward points. To qualify for this reward they have to spend $6,000 in the first 6 months of the new card opening.
Our Rating: 5 / 5
Pros and Cons of this card: American Express offers premium metal credit cards for Morgan Stanley customers. Card members can choose either a classic metal card or one specially designed metallic art card. This is again a very expensive card but it offers great deals on the rewards
Card members also get the first Additional Platinum Card to their accounts for family members for no annual fee. Further, they can get additional platinum cards for lower fees. Another, option available is to choose American Express gold cards for $0 annual fees.
Furthermore, card members can redeem rewards directly to their brokerage account. Card members earn 5x membership rewards on airline tickets, which are booked on airline websites or through Amex Travel. These rewards are also available for prepaid hotel purchases through Amex Travel.
Card members earn $200 in statement credits for hotel bookings through American Express Travel. Although, they need to pay through their American Express Platinum cards.
Customers also receive statement credits for Walmart+ membership fees. This membership offers them free delivery. Next, they also received $15 in Uber Credits every month and an additional $20 in the month of December. Card members also get a $189 CLEAR statement credit. They can also earn, $200 in statement credits for selecting an airline and if any incidental fees are charged to the card by the airlines. Finally, the card members get up to $300 in statement credits each year on a digital or club membership at Equinox.
#5 Card Name: Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred American Express Card
Fees: $0 introductory annual fees for the first year. After, the first year, a fee of $95 per year is applicable.
APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months. Post the introduction period, the Applicable variable APR of 17.74% to 28.74%.
Rewards: Card members earn $400 back in statement credit. To qualify they need to spend $3,000 on eligible purchases. This offer is valid only on the new Card within the first six months of Card Membership.
Our Rating: 4 / 5
Pros and Cons of this card: To start, card members earn a $100 statement credit after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases per calendar year on the Card. Membership fees will be effectively waived if a card member meets the spending criteria.
They also get, exclusive access to ticket presales and card member-only events. Card members earn 6% on grocery purchases at US supermarkets up to $6,000 (worth $360). After the applicable limit, the cashback is 1% on purchases. Card members earn 6% cash back on select streaming services. And then, they also earn 3% cash back on gas stations, ride share, trains, buses, parking, taxis, and tolls.
For the rest of the purchases applicable cashback is 1%. Finally, they get access to American Express Experiences to book members-only invite events.
Conclusion for selecting financial broker Credit Cards
As we have seen above, these credit cards co-branded by financial brokers, do offer good rewards. But the only worthwhile cards are from American Express. These cards carry big annual fees. Card members can select normal Platinum credit cards from American Express to get some of these benefits. Though, these credit cards are great to flaunt your wealth.