New credit card rewards you for working out regularly
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Paceline, a fitness rewards platform, has expanded its product line to offer a new credit card. The Paceline card is designed to encourage cardholders to exercise regularly. In addition to offering up to 5% cash back on purchases, the card can also redeem you for an Apple Watch over time.
Key points to remember
- The new Paceline card will provide increased cash back when you reach a weekly exercise goal.
- Cardholders can earn up to 5% on wellness-related purchases and up to 3% on everything else, as long as they meet their goals in the Paceline app.
- The card may be worth it for fitness-conscious consumers who want to maximize their cash rewards.
The new Paceline card rewards you for going to the gym
Paceline started out offering rewards and discounts to users when they hit their weekly exercise goals, and now the company is offering a much bigger incentive.
With the new Paceline card, you’ll start by earning 2.5% cash back on health and wellness purchases and 1.5% cash back on everything else. However, if you hit your weekly activity goal in the Paceline app, you’ll double those numbers, earning you 5% on health and wellness purchases and 3% on everything else.
To qualify for the double reward bonus, you only need to complete at least 150 minutes of high heart rate activity each week between Monday and Sunday. The cashback is automatically redeemed as a credit on your account.
Paceline uses supported fitness trackers to monitor your activity. Options include:
- iPhone
- apple watch
- Fitbit wearable (must have a heart rate monitor and track active minutes)
- Garmin watch (must have a heart rate monitor and track intensity minutes)
If you don’t have one of these devices or want an upgrade, you can get reimbursed for up to $429 for an Apple Watch. Simply buy the watch with your Paceline card, keep your card account in good standing, and reach your weekly activity goals. For each week you reach the activity goal, you will receive 1/52 of the purchase price as a statement credit. For example, with a $429 watch, you’ll earn $8.25 for every week you exercise for at least 150 minutes.
The card charges an annual fee of $60, but you can easily offset that by spending at least $4,000 or $2,000 during the weeks you hit your activity goal. Finally, as a cardholder, you will be upgraded to a high membership level with Paceline’s core platform, although it’s unclear what benefits you’ll receive.
Note that although the company collects data about you, including your age, gender, workout activities, and spending habits, it does not sell the data to other companies.
Should you consider the Paceline card?
The Paceline card will be issued by Evolve Bank & Trust, which does not offer any other credit cards. As a result, the customer experience is not as well established as with major credit card issuers.
That said, if you train regularly, it’s hard to pass up the chance to earn 3% cash back as your base reward rate. No other card offers such a high rewards rate on everything, with or without an annual fee. The high reward rate might even encourage you to train more than you already do.
Remember, if you don’t reach your activity goal in any given week, you’ll only get 1.5% back on most purchases.
The card’s approach to Apple Watch cashback sign-up bonuses is unique, not only because it comes in the form of weekly statement credits, but also because it’s tied to your physical activity. Just make sure your habits match your aspirations before you make the purchase. Otherwise, you risk footing most of the bill. Even if you can get most or all of it back because you exercise fairly regularly, you’ll still have to make the initial purchase.
Overall, the Paceline card is intriguing as the first credit card to offer cash back rewards tied to your fitness habits. For Paceline, the company is likely banking on most cardholders not meeting the weekly goal. Otherwise, paying such a high reward rate on most accounts is probably not viable.
As with any credit card, be sure to consider all of the card’s features and compare it to other options to determine which is best for you.