Investment platform Robinhood is launching a new premium credit card, which it’s marketing as “the actual Platinum Card.” I’m sure you’ll be shocked to hear that the card has a high annual fee, with the idea being that credits and benefits can offset the cost. Do the perks justify the annual fee? Let’s take a look…
When it comes to actually spending on the card, the only exciting bonus category is 5% cash back on dining. Otherwise, a 1% return on everyday spending is not very competitive, while the 5-10% cash back on a portal booking is niche, and not much to get excited about.
So it sure feels to me like this card has been set up as a “coupon book,” where you can maybe recoup the annual fee (or even make money) if you put enough effort into using credits. I have a hard time getting excited about “oh, let me pay another $695 annual fee so that I can try to save a few bucks by using credits across dozens of transactions each year.” The credit card fatigue is real.
But for a certain type of person, there’s no denying the value will work out here. I suspect this card is largely more about appealing to those who are a fan of the Robinhood platform (which might cause them to get the card), rather than specifically being geared at value maximizers. It’s no different than how the Apple Card has been wildly popular, despite not actually being that compelling.
Bottom line
Robinhood is launching a new $695 annual fee credit card, which is being marketed as the “actual” Platinum Card.
The card’s return on spending isn’t much to get excited about, as it offers 5-10% back on Robinhood portal bookings, 5% back on dining, and 1% back on everything else. Then the card offers a large number of credits that can help offset the annual fee.
As I see it, making the math on this card works comes down to getting outsized value with the credits. How much effort are you willing to put into utilizing small credits with services like DoorDash, though?
What do you make of the new Robinhood Platinum Card?