A recent Foxbusiness.com article calls attention to the fact there are credit card reward programs designed to help consumers contribute to a variety of investment accounts including, IRAs, 529 accounts, brokerage accounts, and others.
Reward points earned with the Fidelity Visa Signature Card, for example, can be redeemed for contributions to a variety of investment accounts, and at rates slightly more favorable than other no annual fee cash back credit cards. Fidelity also offers a range of similar American Express branded products.
Similarly, the rewards program on the BarclayCard UPromise World MasterCard enables cardholders to contribute to 529 plans, Sallie Mae high-yield savings accounts, or make payments towards payments toward some Sallie Mae serviced loans.
Investment-oriented reward programs may prove useful as a way to reach high net-worth individuals, a segment that is especially desirable for card issuers and networks.