Credit Cards From Your Broker?

Nowadays, it seems that almost every financial institution out there offers credit cards… even brokerage firms! Sometimes these credit card deals are worth considering, here’s why…

First of all, your stocks and bonds are big business for your brokerage firm. They make a lot of money off of commissions and account management fees. Therefore, they do everything they can to keep you as their client. This is why if you have a credit card account with them too, they are known for giving exception customer service. After all, they want to make sure you remain a satisfied customer.

Secondly, they are known for giving above-average cash back to their credit card customers. For example, the Fidelity American Express gives 2% rewards. That’s much higher than the 1% or so you would get with the American Express Green Card. Furthermore, credit cards from your broker rarely come with an annual fee, and that will save you even more money.

Unfortunately, you will typically only find these credit card deals with the big brokerage houses. The smaller brokers rarely offer credit cards, and if they do, the rewards are not nearly as generous. In the United States, some of the brokers which offer cards are Merrill Lynch, Etrade, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.