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Issued by Evolve Bank & Trust, the Neon Money Club Cream American Express card is a luxurious metal card with a matte cream finish that earns rewards you can invest. You can use the card anywhere American Express is accepted, but the annual fee is relatively high.
Neon Money Club is a technology company that offers a variety of products in addition to the Neon Money Cream American Express Card. These products include Cream Wellness Studio, a collection of meditation and yoga videos, and Score, a dating app for people with good credit scores (defined as 690 or higher by FICO).
Here are five things to know about the Neon Money Cream American Express card.
1. Get more rewards by using this card
The Neon Money Cream American Express Card earns 1.5 points per $1 spent when you choose to use your rewards as a statement credit. However, if you keep your rewards in the Neon Money Club as investment dollars, you can double that number to 3 points per $1 spent. This allows you to invest your rewards in the stock market, at least on a limited basis (see point 3 below). Each point is worth 1 cent no matter how you use them.
You can connect with up to four other Neon Money Cream American Express cardholders in the Neon Money Club app to earn up to 800 extra points per month.
2. Annual fees are expensive
To keep the Neon Money Club Cream AmEx, you’ll pay $128 per year. At that price, the most logical approach is to redeem your rewards for investments, which will earn you 3 points per dollar. Otherwise, 1.5 points isn’t that attractive — there are plenty of no-annual-fee rewards credit cards that earn at least that much.
If you spend $4,267 per year on the card (or about $356 per month) and earn 3 points back for every dollar you spend, you can offset the annual fee regardless of investment gains or losses.
3. Currently, your investment options are limited
When you redeem your investment rewards, you can choose from three exchange-traded funds (ETFs): SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF. As of this writing, new cardholders can get a $10 reward on the S&P 500 ETF.
If you cash out your investment within three months, you lose the doubled rewards rate, so you’ll only earn 1.5 points per dollar in this case.
Remember, investment returns are not guaranteed. The value of the rewards you redeem may increase or decrease with market performance.
4. It won’t affect your credit score when you apply
When you first apply for the Neon Money Cream American Express card, you will undergo a soft credit check, so your credit score will not be affected. If you accept the terms offered, a hard credit check will be conducted, which may affect your credit score.
5. This card is only accepted for reservations
It usually takes 7 to 10 business days to receive your card after your application is approved, but don’t worry about that now. With the Neon Money Cream American Express Card, you can “reserve” your card when you apply. Only a limited number of cards are made at a time, and you will be notified when your card is ready. There is no specific time frame given on the online card application page.
