TD Double Up: [2% Cash Back]
REVIEW

Another 2% Cash Back Competitor

TD bank has joined the fray in the 2% cash back game by introducing the TD Double Up Card. Cardholders will earn 1% cash back on all purchases and can redeem the cash back into their own bank account, gift cards, merchandise and even travel at a 1% rate. However, TD checking account holders who choose to redeem the cash back into their TD Bank account will get an extra 1% cash back and earn a total of 2% cash back. Hence, this card is totally taylor made for those who bank with TD.

How Does TD Double Up Cash Back Program Work?

When you use your TD Double Up card, you will earn one reward point for every dollar that you spend on the card. That is pretty simple.

How to Redeem Points?

There are a few ways to redeem the points that you have earned. You can redeem them for cash back, gift cards, merchandise and travel. Reward points are worth at least $0.01 (ie 1%) when redeemed for cash back, gift cards and travel. When redeemed for merchandise, it may be more or less than $0.01 depending on the value of the merchandise. These merchandise can be redeemed on TD's rewards website.

Redemption to Cash Back

You may redeem points for cash back once you have accumulated 2,500 points either as a statement credit or a transfer to a direct deposit into a checking or savings account of a US based financial institution. Upon redemption, one point is worth $0.01. For example 20,000 points is worth $200.

Redemption Bonus and Earning 2% Cash Back

When you redeem your points as a direct deposit into an eligible TD Bank account, TD will deposit an additional 1% equal to one penny ($0.01) for each point redeemed as a redemption bonus.Here is how a real world example works. You have earned 20,000 points which you choose to redeem as cash back into your TD Bank account. The cash back you earn will be $200 ($0.01 X 20,000). TD will add an additional redemption bonus of $200 ($0.01 X 20,000) into your account making it a total of $400 ($200 + $200) cash back. So rather than getting 1% of of your 20,000 points, you would have gotten 2% if you chose to redeem your cash back into a TD account.

Card Details

Annual Fee	$0
Regular APR	14.99% - 24.99% *Variable
Sign Up Bonus	$200 after $1,000 spending within 90 days
0% APR Deal	0% APR for 15 months (purchases and balance transfer)
Balance Transfer Fee	Greater of 3% of transfer amount or $5
Foreign Transaction Fee	3%

Sign Up Bonus- New cardholders will get $150 in cash back when you spend $1,000 during the first 90 days.

Balance Transfer Deal - New cardholders will get a 0% APR for balance transfer for 15 months. The balance transfer fee is the greater of 3% of the amount transferred or $5. You can only transfer balances from other credit card companies, which will take between 2 to 4 weeks for the transfer process to be completed. One should note that balance transfers via convenience check is treated as a cash advance and not balance transfer.


Annual Fee - Like most flat rate cash back credit cards, the TD Double Up has no annual fee.

Foreign Transaction Fee - There is a 3% charge for any foreign transaction.

Competition

Card	Annual Fee	Cash Back	Redemption
TD Double Up	$0	2%	TD Checking Account
Bank of America Unlimited Cash	$0	1.5% to 2.625%	BOA Checking Account, Statement Credits, Merrill CMA and 529 accounts
Fidelity Rewards Visa	$0	2%	Eligible Fidelity Accounts
SoFi Credit Card	$0	2%	SoFi Loans or Investment Accounts
AOD Visa Signature	$0	3%	Statement Credits
Citi DoubleCash	$0	2%	Any Checking Account
Alliant Cash Back Visa	$0	2.5%	Alliant Checking Account
Wells Fargo Active Cash	$0	2%	Wells Fargo Accounts or Mortgage
BlockFi	$0	$0	TD Checking Account

Against other flat rate cards that earn more than 2%

While earning a flat rate of 2% is now the benchmark, there are a couple of cards which allow you to earn more than 2% cash back (though you do have to jump through a few hoops). For example, the Alliant Cash Back Visa Signature allows you to earn 2.5% cash back if you join the Alliant Credit Union, open a checking account, have one electronic deposit a month, and have an average daily balance of $1,000. Another card that allows you to earn more than 2% is the Bank of American Unlimited Cash card. You can earn up to 2.62% cash back if you have a BOA checking account and are a preferred rewards member (ie have $100,000 in your checking account).

Against other 2% cards that require relationship with issuer

Most other 2% cash back cards are like TD Double Up in that they require you to have an account with the issuer. Examples include cards like the Wells Fargo Active Cash and the Fidelity 2% Credit Card. These cards allow you to earn 2% cash back if you have an account with them and deposit the cash back into the accounts you have with them. Like the Wells Fargo Active Cash, the TD Double Up has cell phone protection feature.

Against 2% cards that allow you to redeem cash back to other bank accounts

There are also 2% flat rate credit cards that allow you to redeem your cash back to checking accounts other than the issuers' own checking account. They include cards like Citi DoubleCash and the Paypal 2% Mastercard. These cards do not require that you have a checking account with them though with Paypal, you do need a Paypal account though you can transfer your cash back to a bank account that you link to your Paypal account. In contrast, the TD Double Up only earns 2% cash back if you transfer your cash back to a TD checking or savings account. If you transfer your cash back to your own account, you only earn 1% cash back.

Pros: What We Like

• Earn 2% When You Redeem Cash Back to TD Checking Account - You will earn 2% cash back as long as you redeem it through your TD checking account. Redeeming it any other way only gets you 1% cash back.


• No Cap on Cash Back Earnings - You can earn unlimited cash back with this card though it is a rather standard feature these days.


• Good Intro Balance Transfer Deal - TD DoubleUp offers a good 0% APR deal on balance transfers for 15 months. This is quite a competitive BT deal.


• Cell Phone Protection - As a Visa Signature card holder, you will get cell phone lost and damage protection if you charge your cell phone bills to the card

Cons: What We Don't Like

• Need eligible TD Deposit Account to receive 2% cash back - The TD Double Up requires you to redeem your cash back into an eligible TD deposit account to earn 2% cash back. Eligible Deposit Accounts include checking accounts, savings and money market accounts. If you redeem your cash back to a non-TD Bank account or other rewards like Gift Cards and statement credits, you will only earn 1% cash back.


• 3% Foreign Transaction Fee - Unlike other 2% cards like the Wells Fargo Active Cash, TD Double Up charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Our Take: Great 2% Card for TD Banking Customers

If you have a TD checking or savings account and are looking for a 2% cash back credit card, then the TD Double Up is a no brainer. In addition to being able to earn 2% cash back, you get cell phone protection insurance and a decent sign up bonus. If you are looking to do a balance transfer, this card also has a good 0% APR 15 month deal.

If you do not have a TD bank account, then this card is certainly not for you because you will only earn 1% cash back if you transfer your cash back to a non-TD Bank checking account. Instead, we recommend a card like the Citi DoubleCash which is a 2% flat rate cash back credit card and allows you to redeem your cash back to whichever bank account you have without any penalty.

To sum up, after reviewing and evaluating this card against it's peers, we give the TD Double Up a 4 star out of 5 rating for it's 2% cash back earning rate, cell phone protection, decent sign up bonus and their 0% APR 15 month deal on balance transfer. Because you need to redeem your cash back into your TD bank account to get 2% rather than 1% cash back, this has prevented us from giving it a higher rating.