GM BuyPower Card® review

Because the GM BuyPower card only allows you to redeem cash back for GM-related purchases, the Chase Freedom Unlimited outshines it. With the Freedom Unlimited, you can earn boosted rewards in various categories, but most importantly, you can redeem for cash back or combine rewards with a Chase Sapphire card to pool points. The Freedom Unlimited’s tiered cash back categories also give you the opportunity to out-earn the GM BuyPower Card, leaving it further behind. Furthermore, the Freedom Unlimited’s welcome offer, while modest, lets you earn a fair amount of cash back after you fulfill the offer requirements within the first three months. 

The My GM Rewards Card is a clear upgrade from the GM BuyPower card. Because the My GM Rewards Card earns 7X points on GM purchases and 4X points everywhere else, it can easily outpace earning rewards with the GM BuyPower Card. However, the My GM Rewards Card can still limit your rewards value, as the point value drops from 1 cent when redeeming for purchasing or leasing a GM vehicle to 0.25 cents when redeeming as a statement credit to be applied to your card balance.

Worried about running into the $5,000 cap on the five percent rewards with the GM BuyPower Card? Once you start earning 2 percent on every purchase, you can still maximize your rewards by pairing it with the American Express Blue Cash Preferred. This card earns 6 percent at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year (then 1 percent), 6 percent on select streaming services, 3 percent on transit purchases and 3 percent at U.S. gas stations, then 1 percent on everything else. Your Reward Dollars can then be redeemed for travel, as a statement credit and even for Amazon purchases. The redemption versatility on the Blue Cash preferred steps in where the BuyPower card falls short.

The GM BuyPower doesn’t carry many of the standard cardholder benefits you might expect, but that’s where you can partner up with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey. Although there’s a $95 annual fee, the $50 annual statement credit for your first airline purchase can help offset this yearly cost. Plus, it carries tons of cardholder benefits that could be useful on your next trip such as travel accident insurance, lost baggage reimbursement, cellphone protection, Visa Signature concierge service and roadside dispatch. It doesn’t hurt that this card also earns boosted rewards on hotel, airline and restaurant purchases.

If you and your family are GM-only drivers, this card might be the right choice for you. The rewards can help you cover car repairs through GM and can even be used towards the purchase or lease of a new vehicle. So the next time you swipe your card at the coffee shop, grocery store or anywhere else, you’ll know it’s going towards getting your next GM car or bringing down the bill on the next maintenance appointment.

Two percent unlimited cash back is a sought after rewards rate for most cash back seekers and the GM BuyPower delivers on that. Even with capped rewards of 5 percent on the first $5,000 in purchases each year, you still earn an unlimited 2 percent on all other purchases which is more than you might find with even some mainstream cash back cards.

For the GM BuyPower Card, it’s recommended to have a good to excellent credit score which ranges from 670 to 850. 

Typically, rewards values don’t increase or decrease depending on how you redeem them, but some rewards cards do offer lower rewards value if you redeem for a gift card, for example. For the GM BuyPower card, your redemption options are limited, so if you accumulated $200 in cash back with this card, the rewards will always be worth $200 when purchasing/leasing a GM car or for in-dealership extras and servicing. As long as your account is open and active, your earnings will remain until you use them.

Yes, the GM BuyPower Card by Capital One is discontinued and is no longer accepting new applicants. Existing cardholders were converted to the My GM Rewards Mastercard through Goldman Sachs.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2023 was $77,280 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $25,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $6,000
• Dining out: $3,900
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,400
• Apparel and services: $2,000

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 26 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.