【Updated 2023.2】Users received an email saying this card’s beta test and service will be terminated. On February 22, all cards will be closed and unusable. In my view, a product that only offers convenience to users has a hard time becoming a sustainable business. Simply selling users’ spending data is unlikely to support a startup’s operations.
Author: Vincent.lo. The referral link in this article is the contributor’s refer. Originally published: 美卡攻略
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Editor’s Note
I had heard about this card a long time ago. In addition to automatically switching to whichever credit card offers the highest cashback rate, Percents could also make all purchases appear as U.S. domestic transactions, effectively eliminating FTF (foreign transaction fees) for all linked credit cards and converting all in-person purchases into online transactions. It may be a good fit for:
- Consumers who hold multiple credit cards, or credit-card rewards enthusiasts
- People who spend long periods of time outside the U.S.
Application
Percents is currently invite-only. You need to apply through a designated link and then wait in line. Application link (or scan the QR code):
The application process is similar to that of other credit cards:
- Supports SSN or ITIN; with ITIN, it must report to EQUIFAX credit reports.
- After approval, the APP will automatically show a virtual credit card and card number (the virtual card BIN is a Visa business credit card, 4865 4301). A white physical Visa card with a “%” logo will also be mailed out.
There is no HARD PULL when applying, though there may be periodic SOFT PULLs. I have already seen its SP record on my EQUIFAX credit report. (Note: Referring others does not earn a cash bonus. If 3 invited users successfully open and use the card, you can receive a black Percents card, but the build quality is poor, which is disappointing. The company really should consider issuing a metal black card. Invitation allotments are released from time to time; if it says none are available, try again later.) It appears that this card recently filled up its BETA test. Even if you get an invitation slot, after entering your personal information, you may still have to wait a long time before receiving the email invitation to download the APP. Detailed FAQ document:
Basic Overview
The Percents Card is a credit card issued by a startup called Percents,Inc. based in Seattle, Washington. It is somewhat similar to the old PayPal Key and the Curve debit card (U.S. Curve is a credit card). Percents has several main features:
- It comes with both a standalone physical card and a virtual card number.
- It combines all your cards into one, including credit cards, debit cards, business cards, and more.
- When you use the Percents card, each purchase can automatically be routed to the card that earns the most cashback or points.
- No matter where you make a purchase, Percents can convert the transaction location into a U.S. domestic purchase while keeping the merchant category unchanged, and the transaction will appear as online.
Percents generally supports cards from major U.S. banks such as Boa/Chase/Citi/Discover/, and I have not yet found support for overseas-issued cards. For example, my online shopping purchases are automatically routed to the BOA123 card for 3% cashback, while dining purchases are automatically routed to the Citi PREMIER card for 3x points. A photo of the physical card is below:
Although this is a credit card, it does not have its own fixed credit limit. The effective limit depends on the limit of the underlying card used for that purchase. It works somewhat like using a PayPal Key virtual card number linked to a physical card. Large purchases or potentially risky transactions may trigger Percents SMS verification by text message (the daily spending limit may be around 5,000).
Percents Pros
Here is my summary of Percents’ advantages:
- It effectively combines multiple cards into one (except AMEX cards), so you can go out carrying just 1 card and save a lot of wallet space.
- It converts overseas purchases into U.S. domestic transactions: turning foreign spending into U.S. spending is an amazing tool for people who maximize cards abroad and helps avoid many risks. It also removes FTF (Foreign Transaction Fee) on overseas transactions, turning many cards that normally charge FTF—such as Chase CFU, CFF, CF, and BOA123—into extremely useful no-FTF cards that can still earn rewards overseas.
- It converts in-person transactions into online transactions: for example, BofA123 (BofA Cash Rewards) in-store purchases can become online purchases, earning 3% cashback; in-store supermarket purchases on the Chase CSP can become online grocery purchases, earning 3x points.
- It can convert a MASTER card into a Visa transaction, which means you may be able to use a MASTER card at merchants like Costco that do not accept MASTER directly.
- It can effectively make Virtual Visa gift cards usable in person. Many people have probably stocked up on Visa gift cards from giftcards.com; if some are hard to use online, you can link them and use them for in-person purchases instead.
- It can enable some transactions that originally Block Visa gift cards, such as paying a Google Fi bill or buying gift cards through Fluz, by using Percents as an intermediary.
- It can be used to cash out Visa gift cards. Some people have tested cashing out Visa gift cards through Wise. The downside is that the fee is very high, at 4.2+%, but it works.
- It can be linked to Alipay and WeChat for overseas spending. One major benefit is that with WeChat you only need to link the single Percents card. Repeated use can increase its spending limit, avoiding the issue of linking multiple cards and having each one rebuild its own spending profile.
- etc
There are just too many advantages to list. I hope fellow card users continue exploring more use cases, and I hope this company keeps growing.
Percents Cons
The drawbacks of Percents are as follows:
- It does not support linking AMEX credit cards (the processing fees are too high).
- The hidden limit is not very high, so you cannot put a lot of spend through it.
- A current complaint is that both the white and black cards are poor in quality and look like knockoff cards. I sincerely hope the company redesigns them and issues a higher-quality card or a metal card.
- A key question is whether the company’s business model is strong enough to support long-term growth. We’ll have to wait and see.
- Risk warning: This card is still in the BETA testing phase. The official APP currently supports only iPhones, not Android. Also, the APP cannot currently be downloaded from the APP STORE; instead, the BETA version must be downloaded through Apple’s TestFlight platform.
- The card currently no longer supports American Express AMEX. It did at first, but support was later removed, likely because the program was exploited too heavily. It is still unclear whether AMEX support will return in the future. If it did, this would be an absolute game changer.
APP Interface and Features
1. On the first screen after entering the APP, the traffic-light-like icon in the upper left controls the card’s operating mode. The first icon is the SELF DRIVING mode, in which each transaction is automatically routed to the card with the best rewards. The second mode is for business cards, which I have not yet studied because I do not have business cards. The third mode turns off self-driving. Once disabled, you can set priority order and force spending onto a specific card, which is very useful when you open a new card and need a lot of spend on that particular card to earn a welcome bonus. The lower part of the screen shows recent card activity:
2. On the right side of the first APP screen, under the Earing tab, it shows the rewards earned on each transaction based on preset point valuations (which can be customized), making it easier to track the return on each purchase.
3. The Offer page shows various brand deals negotiated by the company. You can click directly to get the corresponding purchase discount, which is pretty nice.
4. You can change which underlying card was used after a purchase. This feature is extremely useful. Under normal use in SELF DRIVING mode, the system automatically routes a transaction to the most rewarding card. But if you want to switch it to another card, the company gives you 1-2 days to make the change. A transaction already posted to Card A can be moved to Card B, and the charge on Card A will then be automatically reversed. This is very user-friendly and gives users the right to change their mind, as shown below:
5. About referrals. As shown below, the conversion rate on referrals is extremely low: 34 invitations were sent out, but only 2 users successfully opened and used the card. That is pretty shocking. This may be because the BETA test was full, so patience is required. My personal impression is that the company is screening customers, so when filling out the application, it is best to complete as much information as possible, such as VENMO and other details. Of course, maybe that data will be sold... so think carefully before using it. So far, my experience with the card has been good, and I hope the company continues to grow!
- Author: Vincent.lo (All rights reserved; contributed to 美卡攻略 and US Credit Card 101)
- Author email: [email protected]
Application
Percents is currently invite-only. You need to apply through a designated link and then wait in line. Application link (or scan the QR code):
Summary
No matter what, this is absolutely an excellent product, and I hope the founding company can keep it going. My personal suggestion is to apply early and try it out.