Financial services company M1 Finance has announced the Owner’s Card by M1, exclusively available to its M1 Plus members. The card offers up to 10% cash back with select retailers, plus the chance to invest your rewards in your portfolio with the brokerage firm. There’s currently no information about when the card will be available for applications, but if you’re interested, you can sign up for the waitlist. Here is what we know so far.
Key Takeaways
- The Owner’s Card by M1 will offer members the chance to earn cash rewards of up to 10%, which they can invest directly with the broker.
- The card’s rewards tiers will be based on where you shop, rather than the spending category.
- To be eligible for rewards you must own stock in that particular company.
- Interested M1 Finance clients can join the card’s waitlist, but it will be available only to M1 Plus members.
About the New Owner’s Card by M1
The credit card industry has seen novel several credit card launches in 2021, from major credit card issuers, as well as brokers, crypto exchanges, and others.
One of the latest offerings is the Owner’s Card by M1. The card offers a flat 1.5% cash back as a base rewards rate, which matches some of the best cash-back credit cards on the market.
But depending on where you shop, you could earn as much as 10% cash back. The card has three tiers of bonus rewards—10%, 5%, and 2.5%—with a long list of retailers, restaurants, and other merchants for each tier. You can find the full list on the Owner’s Card by M1 landing page.
Here are just a few examples in each tier:
- 10%: AMC Theatres, GameStop, Netflix, Peloton, and Wayfair
- 5%: American Airlines, HomeGoods, Nike, Starbucks, and TJ Maxx
- 2.5%: Airbnb, Apple, Costco, DoorDash, Taco Bell, and Walmart
The interesting catch is that you have to own stock in that merchant in your M1 Finance portfolio to be eligible for the bonus rewards. The good news is that M1 Finance offers fractional shares, so you don’t even need to buy a full share in each company to earn the rewards.
You can automatically invest all the cash back you earn with the card in your M1 Finance portfolio.
One major drawback is that you need to be an M1 Plus member in order to be approved for the card. Membership is free for the first year, but after that, it’ll run you $125 per year. And while the membership offers benefits outside of the credit card, you’ll need to run the numbers to determine if it’s worth the cost for you.
If you decide to join M1 Plus and get the card, then you drop the membership, you’ll be subject to the card’s $95 annual fee, which may not be worth it.
Is the Owner’s Card by M1 Right for You?
The Owner’s Card presents an excellent opportunity to earn big rewards on purchases if your favorite retailers are on the list. But the price tag for the card—either a $125 membership fee for M1 Plus or a $95 annual credit card fee—is steep.
If you’re already an M1 Plus member and enjoy enough benefits from the membership alone, adding the credit card can be a good way to supplement your regular investment contributions. But if you’re not an M1 Plus member, you’ll want to review the membership benefits to determine if they’re worth the subscription cost.
And remember that you’ll need to have shares in the bonus retailers in your portfolio to earn the additional cash back. Consider your investment strategy to determine if that makes for the sake of credit card cash-back rewards.
If you’re interested in applying for the card, you can join the waitlist for regular updates and early access to apply.