The cost per year of streaming could easily reach thousands of dollars. The amount of streaming services are increasing. Instead of resigning Netflix and HBO Max to save money or trying to replace them with the plethora of streaming services that are free Here’s a different option change to credit cards that reward the cost of streaming subscriptions. Savings are earned in the form of cash back that is basically funds every time you’re charged the same subscription that you already pay for.
Netflix is essentially table stakes nowadays it costs you $14 per month for the top category. If you’re interested in the latest movies and shows that are available on HBO Max, you’ll shell each month $15. If you have children (or are a fan of Marvel and Star Wars) then Disney Plus is a must-have for $8 per month. Hulu is an affordable option, however it’s not cost-free at $6 per month. If you need live TV for news or sports it will cost you 35 to $65 or more each month to get the Sling televisions as well as YouTube TVs from around the globe.
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There’s the Apple Card, Amazon Prime Visa, American Express Blue Cash Preferred, US Bank Cash Plus and Capital One Savor One and Savor all provide cash back on selected streaming services for music and streaming video. This is how they stack up.
Read more: Best streaming service deals
Six cord-cutter card models compared
American Express Blue Cash Preferred
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature
Apple Card
US Bank Cash Plus Visa Signature
Capital One Savor One Rewards
Capital One Savor Rewards
Annual fee
$95
None
None
None
None
$95
Offer to stream
Cash back up to 6% on selected streaming services
Cash back of 5% cash back Amazon Prime purchases, including Prime Video Channels
3.3% cashback for Apple purchases, which includes Apple TV Channels and subscriptions purchased through iTunes as well as the App Store
Cash back of 5% for various categories, which includes streaming services
Cash back of 3% on selected streaming services
Cash back of 4% on certain streaming services
Which best suits me? best to me?
The more valid subscriptions you have the better you will save however the amount you save will depend on the place you purchase the subscriptions. Certain cards don’t provide cashback on specific services. For instance, there’s no discount of 5% Netflix discount on Amazon Prime card, for instance. Amazon Prime card, for instance. In these cases the service will take the card’s standard cash-back rate of 1.
- This Amex Blue Cash card is among the most flexible as it is compatible with almost each major service (including Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO Max), and the cash-back rate of 6% is one of the highest we’ve ever seen. In order to benefit from the savings however, you’ll need to pay for its annual $95 cost. It’s easier to do this when you’re paying for many subscriptions, including costly ones such as streaming live TV. As of the time of writing, Amex was running a promotion which waived this cost in the initial year which could make the process of signing up for a subscription a little easier.
- To make the most of to maximize savings with Amazon Prime card’s 5% cash back, it’s best to join services such as HBO, Starz and MLB TV through Amazon Prime Video Channels. You must be a Prime subscriber to obtain this card, it can receive 5% cash back on the annual $119 charge when you pay for it using this card.
- To get the most value from the Apple Card’s cash-back of 3 it is necessary to sign up for Apple’s offerings (like Apple TV Plus, Apple Music and iCloud) along with HBO, Showtime and others through The Apple TV app’s channels feature.
- In the category of cards that do not have an annual cost The US Bank Cash Plus Visa card allows you to choose between two categories each quarter in which it is possible to earn up to 5 percent cashback on up-to $2,000 of purchases . streaming as one them..
- The Capital One SavorOne Rewards card provides 3percent cashback when you use “popular” streaming services including Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus. There’s no annual charge with this SavorOne card, however, for those who want cash-back of 4% when streaming, you could choose its Savor Rewards credit card. The Savor Rewards card is more expensive and offers greater cash-back for eating out and entertainment, too however there’s an annual fee of $95.
- Some cards, such as Chase Freedom or Discover It provide different categories every quarter in which you can choose to join and earn cash back. For Chase For instance during the initial quarter provided cash-back of 5% on streaming services , but throughout the year, they changed to different categories like gas stations and grocery stores.
Your choice of card is contingent on the other items you want to purchase besides streaming services.
It is worth noting that the American Express card offers 6 percent cash back on grocery purchases and 3% back on gasoline, for example this could go a long ways in reducing that annual charge. Amazon Prime members who are frequent customers at Amazon.com and Whole Foods will likely benefit from making use of the Prime card, as well as switching services such as HBO as well as Showtime on to Prime Video channels. This is also true for customers who are content with Apple’s ecosystem and utilize Apple Music or iCloud and don’t mind having to pay for HBO, Showtime or Starz via Apple TV.
Here are the details of all the cards we have compared.
American Express Blue Cash Preferred
American Express’ Blue Cash Preferred program offers cash back of 6% for “select” streaming services.
American Express
Alongside its substantial cash-back of 6% at US grocery stores (up up to $6000) as well as 3% cash back on public transportation (including petrol stations rideshares public transportation, parking and gas stations) Amex’s annual $95 fee card comes with the best cash-back benefit for streaming customers with 6% cash back for “select US streaming subscriptions.”
The majority of the top streaming service are eligible such as HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Peacock, Apple TV Plus, Showtime and Amazon Prime Video. Additionally, you can earn 6percent back on live TV through Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, Fubo TV and YouTube TV.
Music streaming services are also eligible for the program, which includes Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Pandora and YouTube Music Premium are also eligible and sports streaming services ESPN Plus, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass and NHL.TV and the Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
Subscriptions that are not included on American Express’ list like Amazon Prime, iCloud and Xbox Live, are not qualified for the increased cash back.
Although 6% may not seem like a lot but if you’re paying $13 monthly for Netflix and paying $10 per month to Spotify Premium and $15 for HBO Max, a simple switching of your card could result in a return of more than $28 annually.
The savings are greater if you’re using streaming TV such as YouTube TV, which starts at about 65 dollars per month. If you’re paying for that in addition to Spotify as well as Apple Music, you’d save approximately $54 per year.
While this does not pay for the annual $95 cost, it’s not taking into consideration the other Amex advantages for saving money on transportation and groceries. New cardholders can also receive the first year’s annual fee waived. They can also get $150 back in credit on their statement when they spend $3,000 on their new card during the initial six-month period.
It’s worth noting that people who want the most expensive credit card may opt to American Express’ Platinum card, which can provide up to $240 annually for “digital entertainment credit.” While $20 in statement credit in streaming subscriptions sounds like a great deal however, the list of companies that are eligible is limited to Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM (but not Pandora) and the New York Times.
The card offers a variety of additional perks, like providing $200 Uber Cash as well as an annual 200 “airline fee credit” each year, it does have the annual fee of $695. This high price and the restricted streaming options limit the value of this card in comparison to other cards listed on this list.
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature
The Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card from Amazon.
Amazon
Prime Visa from Amazon Prime Visa has no annual fee and provides 5% cashback on all purchases made through Amazon for Prime customers. This is not only based on paying the annually charged Prime membership cost ($119 each year) but also gives 5percent back for Prime video Channels -Amazon’s service which allows you to subscribe directly to channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz, CBS All Access, MLB.TV and more than 100 other.
Although this list does not include heavy-hitters such as Netflix and Spotify If you have already paid the monthly fee for Amazon Prime, the lack of an annual cost makes the savings more substantial.
Its Prime Video Channel prices for HBO ($15 per month), Starz ($9) and Showtime ($11) are similar to standalone apps such as HBO Now and in line with what is offered by cable companies. If you purchase Prime and HBO for instance using Amazon will save you about $15 per year , which is close to enough for one month’s HBO.
Also, remember that all purchases made on Amazon as well as Whole Foods can earn you 5percent cash back and you can earn 2% cash back in gas stations, restaurants and pharmacies.
Amazon has launched a special offer which will give you an $150 gift card on acceptance.
Apple Card
Apple Card is due to launch this summer.
Screenshot by Katie Conner/CBS Interactive
Apple will offer the cash back of 3% for purchases made directly through Apple. This includes purchases at the physical Apple Store, Apple’s website, Apple Music, iCloud subscriptions, app purchases purchase in app, iTunes, App Store and many more.
Apple Card Apple Card also pays cash back on Apple TV channels. Like Amazon Prime Video channels, Apple TV channels include HBO, Showtime, Starz and many more, through the channels available through the Apple TV application to iOS, Apple TV and the majority of modern smart TVsin addition to other platforms like Roku, Google TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.
The price for these services are often similar to what the prices elsewhere, and so signing up to HBO, Showtime and Starz Apple TV channels can save you $12.60 each year.
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YouTube TV is one notable one, with the price being at $55 per monthly for a monthly subscription that is made using an iOS device, and $50 per month when you sign up through a different source (Apple gets a cut from subscriptions that are made via iOS applications).
It is important to note that the Apple Card doesn’t have an annual cost, and cash back is daily, in contrast to monthly as with conventional credit cards. The purchases made using Apple Pay also get you 2percent cash back.
One of the conditions to Apple Card is that Apple Card: You’ll need an iPhone to apply for it.
US Bank Cash Plus Visa Signature
This is the U.S. Bank Cash Plus card.
U.S. Bank
It is similar to the US Bank Cash Plus Visa Signature card is like that of the Chase Freedom or Discover It card in that it doesn’t have an annual cost and provides higher cash-back in various categories of purchases every month. Contrary to the other cards that offer cash back, using this US Bank card you can choose (from an array) from two different categories that will earn you cash back of 5% and which earn 2percent, with every other purchase receiving 1cent cash back.
The 5% offer is only for your “first $2,000 in combined eligible net purchases in your chosen 5% categories” during every quarter. This means you could save up to up to $400 per year using this approach as well as the two 2% and the 1% options as “unlimited.” However, if you’re looking to save money on streaming, mobile phone service, utility bills or food items without having to pay an annual cost, it’s an attractive deal.
A variety of examples of services and merchants are available on the website of US Bank.
In addition, as it’s a Visa Signature card is also a card that grants benefits such as Concierge services offered by Visa and an additional one year warranty coverage for items with “eligible warranties of three years or less.”
Whichever card you select The good news is that there are numerous new choices to assist you in saving money when streaming.
Capital One SavorOne Rewards and Savor
The Capital One Savor One credit card.
Capital One
Capital One’s SavorOne and Savor cards will grant you cash back on streaming services, with the SavorOne providing 3% cash back when you purchase “popular” streaming services, restaurants, grocery stores and entertainment with no annual cost.
The Savor card, in turn it increases the rate to 4% in each of the above categories however, it requires an annual fee of $95. The cards also earn cash back of 1% on other purchases as well as 8% cash back on tickets purchased from Vivid Seats. These card are Mastercards (according according to the NerdWallet as well as WalletHub) with the benefits they offer include extended warranty protections, no foreign transactions charges and insurance against travel accidents.
What is an “popular” streaming service, it’s not certain. Capital One says in the FAQ on its website that Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus are qualified, however Prime Video, AT&T TV and Verizon Fios On Demand are not. Also, it isn’t compatible in conjunction with “audiobook subscription services and fitness programming.”
The company doesn’t seem to have a complete list of its services on its website, however, it informs CNET it is Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus subscriptions are qualified. Some of the options that aren’t eligible are subscriptions to service like Amazon Prime Video, AT&T TV and Verizon Fios On Demand as in addition to subscriptions to audiobook service or fitness programs.
