Update: This offer was ended early, basically saying they had to break their word because they were faced with huge losses. Not a well-run promotion.

With a new promotion by RadPad and Android Pay, you can pay your rent with a credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and earn points/miles/cash rewards through the end of 2016. Your landlord will simply receive a check on your behalf from RadPad.

Android Pay requires an NFC-enabled Android device running KitKat 4.4+ and the Android Pay app. A partial list includes LG G4, LG G5, HTC One M9, HTC 10, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7, and Moto X. Here is a 3rd-party list of NFC-enabled phones.

You must log into Pay with Radpad from an Android device or use the RadPad app, and then pay using Android Pay.

If you have a compatible phone, this promo seems like an easy way to rack up some extra frequent flier miles or satisfy a bonus requirement. You can schedule payments ahead of time if you wish. The standard fee is otherwise 3.49% for credit cards and free for debit cards. (You can now search for an apartment, sign your lease using Docusign, and pay rent using your debit card for free, all through Radpad.)

If you have an Ally Bank savings or checking account, you’ve likely been pitched their new Ally CashBack credit card recently. Here are the highlights:

• $100 bonus when you make $500 in eligible purchases during the first 3 billing cycles.
• 2% cash back at gas stations and grocery stores
• 1% cash back on all other purchases
• No limits on rewards categories.
• 10% boost on earned rewards when you deposited into an eligible Ally Bank account.
• No annual fee.
• Intro 0% APR for 12 billing cycles on balance transfers. (No 0% APR on purchases.) Balance transfer fee is either $10 or 4%, whichever is greater.

As with all the big banks, Ally is working on their cross-marketing. They want you to keep your checking, savings, IRAs, brokerage, and credit cards all at the same place. Ally’s strong in the online banking side (named best online bank by Money Magazine for the fifth year in a row). Credit cards are here, and a brokerage arm is just around the corner (TradeKing). I am personally interested in such convenience, as for years Ally Bank has been my primary checking, savings, and CD accounts.

Including the 10% relationship bonus, this Visa Signature card would get you 2.2% cash back on gas stations and grocery stores and then 1.1% on all other purchases. While this structure is better than the traditional 1% flat credit cards, the competition has heated up in the last few years. Consider:

• Citi Double Cash Review with 1% cash back on every purchase plus another 1% cash when you pay for those purchases.
• Fidelity Rewards Visa Credit Card Review with flat 2% cash back on all purchases, when redeemed into an active Fidelity account.
• BankAmericard Travel Rewards Credit Card Review offers up to a flat 2.625% back on all purchases, when applied towards a travel purchase (deposit requirements apply).
• Blue Cash Preferred from American Express offers 6% at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, 3% at U.S. gas stations, and a $95 ($75 if your application is received by 8/3/16). The no annual fee version offers 3% on groceries and 2% on gas.

The best program to compare against is Bank of America. The BankAmericard Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 1% cash back on every purchase, 2% at grocery stores and now at wholesale clubs, and 3% on gas up to the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/gas purchases each quarter. Bank of America also offers a 10% bonus on rewards earned when you redeem your cash back into a Bank of America checking or savings account. However, they also have premium relationship tiers that offer up to a 75% bonus on rewards that would work out to 1.75% cash back on every purchase, 3.5% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 5.25% on gas for the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/gas purchases each quarter. To me, this made it worth it to build up a “relationship” with them, including opening up a new brokerage account and new credit cards.

Ally touts this new card as “simple”, but what would have really been simple is a flat 2% cash back card on everything and then a small relationship bonus on top of that. That way, when taken together with an Ally Bank account, the card would have been the best in many respects. Combined with their high-interest deposit accounts, you’d have a combo that could shake up the industry. The weakest point of my Bank of America combo is their piddly 0.05% APY on savings accounts and sad CD rates, whereas one of the strongest points of Ally is the 1.00% APY of their savings account and highly-competitive CD rates.

Bottom line. The rewards are above-average overall, and might be worth a look for Ally-centric customers. However, there are top cards in the marketplace that offer close to a flat 2% on everything, and better gas and grocery-specific cards as well. I personally prefer to pick things à la carte unless the sum is greater than the parts, as is the current situation with Bank of America.

The Chase Freedom credit card has a new special promotion offering 10% cash back on up to $2,500 in combined hotel and car rental purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards in July. Details:

• The purchases must be made July 1–31, 2016.
• Your actual travel dates can be any time.
• Applies only to hotels and car rentals booked through ChaseUltimateRewards.com.

In general, ChaseUltimateRewards.com offers prices that are comparable to Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. Hotel prices do vary more than airfare, so I would still comparison shop side-by-side. Note that their hotel room quotes include taxes, which some other sites (like Expedia) add in very late in the checkout process. Also, I found how they listed rooms by TripAdvisor rating to be interesting.

This is addition to the quarterly 5% cash back category, which currently includes Restaurants and Wholesale Clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s).

Citi and Costco have new co-branded credit cards, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi and the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi. Here are the highlights for each card.

Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi highlights: (For Personal Use)

• 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. You will not get 4% cash back for gas purchased at superstores, supermarkets, convenience stores and warehouse clubs other than Costco.
• 3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases
• 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
• 1% cash back on all other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases.
• No annual fee (with paid Costco membership).
• Will also serve as your Costco membership card.

Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi highlights:

• 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. You will not get 4% cash back for gas purchased at superstores, supermarkets, convenience stores and warehouse clubs other than Costco.
• 3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases
• 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
• 1% cash back on all other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases.
• No annual fee (with paid Costco membership).
• Will also serve as your Costco membership card.

The rewards will accrue in the form of “Costco Cash Rewards”. This means you’ll get a paper coupon snail-mailed to you once every year in February based on your previous year’s spending, which you can either (1) use as payment for goods directly at the Costco cash register or (2) convert to cash or check at a Costco customer service desk. You may also do a partial redemption at a cash register and they’ll give you the remaining balance in cash. Coupon must be redeemed in person on or prior to its expiration date of December 31 in the year in which it is issued.

Bottom line. The new Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi maintains the overall simplicity of the old consumer card while improving the rewards percentages. You can also use it as your membership card, which means getting this card won’t add take up more space. The improved 2% cash back at Costco and Costco.com (formerly only 1%) is significant, as it means that you finally won’t be as tempted to use a non-Costco-branded card at Costco! Both the personal and business cards now have the same rewards percentages.

• Costco Anywhere Visa® Consumer Card by Citi application link
• Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi application link

Here’s a quick review of a new credit service called WalletHub. While the stated mission is to help improve your financial situation, at its core is a service that offers free credit score, free credit reports, and free credit monitoring. In exchange, it will use your personal data to show match you up with advertised offers like car loans, credit cards, and prepaid cards. Highlights:

• Free non-FICO credit score, updated daily. Credit score model is the VantageScore 3.0, scale 300-850. Credit bureau is TransUnion.
• Free daily access to full TransUnion credit report. You can take a look at your full TransUnion credit report on any day, but keep in mind that TransUnion only updates the data once a month.
• Free daily credit monitoring. Since they are already checking your data every day, Wallethub will send you an e-mail alert if there any significant changes to your TransUnion credit report.

The competition. As noted, this is not a FICO score but something called the VantageScore 3.0. These “FAKO” scores are still useful for tracking changes to your credit report information. However, competitor CreditKarma.com already offers the VantageScore 3.0 for both your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports. CreditKarma updates your score once a week, as opposed to WalletHub’s daily. Both offer daily credit monitoring based on TransUnion data.

Bottom line. For most people, I would say covering two out three credit bureaus by Credit Karma on a weekly frequency is better than the single bureau on a daily frequency. However, I know there are some folks that are meticulously rebuilding their credit and may appreciate daily score updates. The same folks may appreciate full TransUnion report access. I am satisfied with ongoing daily monitoring from Credit Karma and the free annual report mandated by the government. You could always use both if you are okay with providing both services your Social Security number and other personal information.

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card is a credit card that is best for those looking to transfer in balances from another issuer. It also offers a unique cell phone protection benefit with a low deductible, as well as a free FICO score. Here are the highlights:

• 0% Intro APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers
• Get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card
• Easy access to your FICO® Credit Score with Wells Fargo Online®
• No annual fee.

There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Due to its longer 0% Intro APR period of 18 months and 120-day window to make transfers, I have added this card to my list of Best No Fee 0% APR Balance Transfer Offers. I would compare this card against those options.

Discover has rolled out a new service called Credit ScoreCard, which provides everyone access to their FICO score for no charge with no trials or credit card relationship required. (Well, free in exchange for right to market things to you based on your personal information.) Checking your own credit does not impact your credit score. This post provides updated information and instructions regarding this service.

FICO Score details.

• FICO Score version: FICO Score 8, or FICO 08. This is the most widely used of the many FICO flavors. Score version is directly shown on the website.
• Credit bureau: Experian
• Update frequency: Either monthly or when you log in, whichever is longer.
• Limitations: Available to everyone. You do not have to be a Discover cardholder.

Is this legit? The name is a little generic and perhaps even phishy-sounding, but you can view information at discover.com/free-credit-score, which links directly to creditscorecard.com/registration. The domain registry information matches that of Discover Financial Services.

How to get your score. Here’s a preview of the application and approval process:

1. You must provide personal information, including Social Security Number. Name, address, etc. This is required for any service that checks your credit score. You do not need a Discover credit card.
2. You must agree to their Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. Basically, they will give your free access to your credit score and other credit information, and they will also collect personal information to market Discover products and other services to you. Don’t miss this chart:

   

3. Identity verification questions. They will ask you some multiple choice questions based on your Experian credit report data in order to verify your identity. If you don’t pass this quiz, I would go over to AnnualCreditReport.com and get a copy of your report to scan for errors.
4. Set your personal security questions. At this point, you are approved. You just need to set up the standard security questions like “Who was your 2nd grade teacher?”

What kind of information do you get? The score model is FICO Score 8, based on your Experian credit report. This is the same score model and credit bureau offered by American Express, and is within a few points for me (the check dates are slightly off). The other two major bureaus are TransUnion and Equifax. Note that Discover also offers their cardholders access to FICO Score 8 based on their TransUnion credit report. From their terms:

The FICO® Credit Score we provide is the FICO® Score 8. The score range is 300-850. FICO® Credit Scores are based on information on your credit report, and give you a snapshot of your credit report information at a very specific point in time. As the information in your report changes, your score may also change. According to FICO®, 83% of the population experiences changes to their score by up to 20 points month to month. FICO® Credit Scores as well as other credit scores are based on credit bureau information, and may be different from one credit bureau to the next.

You also get access to data points like Total Number of Accounts, Length of Credit (Oldest Account), Revolving Utilization Percentage, and Missed Number of Payments.

How often is it updated? As often as every 30 days, but only if you log in to the website. Many sites operate this way, as it reduces their costs of grabbing your score if you are no longer interested. Also, they want you to log in so that they can show you advertisements. From the terms:

Unless you cancel this authorization, we’ll pull fresh credit report information for you the later of every thirty days or the next time you log into your Credit Scorecard.

Screenshots. Here’s a peek at mine:

Bottom line. CreditScoreCard by Discover is one of the first free services I’ve seen that offers a FICO Score without requiring you to be an affiliated credit cardholder. If you already have access to this score model and credit bureau combination through other means, you may not want another entity to have access to your personal data. If you don’t, you may find this a very reasonable way to get free access to your Experian FICO 8 score.

Related: Here is additional information about other major credit card issuers with free FICO programs:

• Free FICO Score from American Express Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Bank of America Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Barclaycard Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Chase Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Citi Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Discover Credit Cards

This post provides updated information and instructions regarding the free FICO score that is available to Bank of America credit card holders. (Thanks to reader Andy for the tip.)

Background. Bank of America started rolling out free FICO scores to select cardholders in late 2015, with a stated plan of increased rollout by the end of first quarter of 2016 (March 31st, 2016).

FICO Score details.

• FICO Score version: FICO Score 8, or FICO 08. This is the most widely used of the many FICO flavors. Score version is directly from Bank of America website.
• Credit bureau: TransUnion
• Update frequency: Monthly
• Limitations: Available to all Bank of America consumer cards. This includes but is not limited to:
  • BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card
  • BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card
  • BankAmericard® Credit Card

How to find the score. You can find the free FICO score on your online account access. The free FICO program is currently not available on mobile apps or the mobile website.

After logging into your BofA.com account, you must opt-in by first going to the “Tools & Investing” tab and clicking on “Learn about credit scores”. Then click on the “Enroll Now” button and accept the terms of the free FICO program.

Here are some screenshots from the website (click to enlarge):

Here are screenshots of the actual score page (click to enlarge):

Fine print:

You will be able to view up to a 12-month history of your FICO® Scores in Online Banking, starting when you enroll and for each month up to 12 months after enrollment. After 12 months the history display will re-start. Additionally, you will see two key factors affecting your most recent FICO® Score, except in limited circumstances where TransUnion does not provide us with both key factors. Customers with newly opened credit card accounts may not see their first FICO® Score in Online Banking for up to 60 days after enrollment. In certain circumstances, a FICO® Score may not be available from TransUnion for various reasons, e.g., having a limited credit history. If your Bank of America consumer credit card account(s) are closed by you or us, we reserve the right to end your participation in the FICO® Score Program. You can unenroll at any time by going to the Tools and Investing tab in Online Banking.

Here is additional information about other major credit card issuers with free FICO programs:

• Free FICO Score from American Express Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Barclaycard Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Chase Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Citi Credit Cards
• Free FICO Score from Discover Credit Cards