TD Cash Credit Card review

The TD Bank Cash Credit Card is great for those who want flexibility in how they earn rewards, as it has customizable spending categories each quarter. The welcome bonus is also very easy to earn, and it comes with a nice roster of perks that are extremely useful for traveling.

Welcome bonus: Decent spending requirement compared to similar cards

The TD Cash Credit Card comes with a straightforward and easy-to-earn sign-up bonus. You’ll receive $200 in bonus cash back after you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days of opening your credit card account. The spending requirement is somewhat attainable, but not on par with other cash back cards such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which earns cash rewards on purchases. There are also some cash back cards that require you to spend over $1,000 to earn a higher cash back bonus amount.

The Citi Double Cash Card has a 20,000 ThankYou Points bonus (worth $200 when redeemed as cash back) after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. The Double Cash does give you more time to meet the spend requirement, however, its more than the spend than the TD Cash Credit Card requires, so the TD Bank Cash’s welcome bonus could be more reasonable than some of the best cash back cards on the market.

Intro APR: Decent offer for balance transfers

The TD Cash credit card offers a 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles after opening your account. After that, your standard variable APR will be either 19.49%, 24.49% or 29.49% variable APR based on your creditworthiness.. The intro APR period is a great but average length, as the previously mentioned Wells Fargo Active Cash Card offers an intro APR similar in length and similar APR range, as well as the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card — but both of these cash back cards offer an intro APR on purchases as well, something the TD Bank Cash Card does not (See Rates & Fees for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card).

But if you have a large balance from an existing card, the TD Bank Cash’s intro APR period would be just as helpful as most other cash back cards with comparable offers. However, there are other options if you need a longer amount of time to pay off a balance transfer, such as the Discover it® Balance Transfer (offer expired)– which gives you an intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months (an ongoing APR will apply after that), plus rotating cash back categories and a Discover Match welcome bonus that will match all cash back earned at the end of your first year of having the card. Not only that, but you’re given a short intro APR for purchases as well.

Rewards: Offers customizable spending categories

Once you receive your TD Bank Cash Card, you can start earning rewards on every purchase. This is a particularly great choice for people who love dining out — rivaling the top cash back cards with no annual fee. You can earn unlimited 2 percent and 3 percent cash back on your top two spending categories: dining, entertainment, gas, grocery and travel. The bonus categories you choose can be switched up to four times a year. And for a limited time, you can earn 5 percent cash back on eligible gas station purchases for six months (or up to $6,000 in spend; whichever comes first). It’s important to note, however, that superstores and warehouses (think Target, Walmart or Costco) will only qualify for 1 percent cash back. 

The flexibility of being able to rotate the categories to fit your needs is the biggest perk of this card. There are some cash back cards that offer a higher cash back rate, such as the Discover it® Cash Back, which allows 5 percent cash back on rotating categories each quarter (after activation; up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1 percent), but you’d have a spending cap on purchases and you can’t choose which categories Discover will reward that quarter, unlike with the TD Bank Cash, which offers unlimited cash back on all purchases and your pick of categories.

Cardholder perks: Access to boosted Visa perks

This card takes care of its users from start to finish, offering a simple application, lots of security features and convenient benefits that make it easy to use on the go.

• Instant approval. In most cases, you’ll receive instant approval, so you’ll know if you’re on your way to earning rewards. If you don’t get an answer right away, you can check your TD bank credit card application status by phone.
• Visa Zero Liability. The Visa Zero Liability policy is a guarantee from Visa that you will not be held accountable if your card is ever lost, stolen or fraudulently used. Simply report any unauthorized charges, and Visa will work to correct the problem.
• Digital wallet. You can add the TD Cash Credit Card to your digital wallet, making instant, contactless payments possible. Plus, your digital wallet is protected by the same security as your physical card, and card details aren’t kept on the device or shared during payment, giving you peace of mind at the cash register.
• Visa Signature or Platinum benefits. Whether you’d get a Visa Signature or Visa Platinum card depends on your approved credit limit (less than $5,000 would get approved for the Platinum, $5,000 or more would get approved for the Signature). Each specific Visa comes with its own unique perks, such as roadside assistance and card replacement for the Platinum, and cellphone protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, concierge, luxury hotel benefits and travel and emergency assistance for the Signature.

Even though the TD Bank Cash Credit Card has quite a few perks, especially considering the customizable spending categories, there are a few downsides to take note of, such as its availability in only 16 states, its redemption restrictions, foreign transaction fee and no intro APR on purchases.

Availability: Only available in certain regions

The TD Bank Cash Card is not widely available, as it’s only offered to residents in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, D.C.

If you live on the west coast or in the Midwest of the U.S., then you’re not going to be eligible to apply for this card, which greatly limits potential applicants to less than half of U.S. residents. 

Redemption: Rewards system is complex

To redeem your TD rewards, log into your account on the rewards program website or call customer service. When redeeming, you can request your cash back as either a statement credit or direct deposit, or you can redeem points for for travel, gift cards and merchandise.

However, you can only redeem your TD rewards for cash back once you’ve reached 2,500 points in your account. Since each point is worth at least $0.01, redeeming 2,500 would equal $25 cash back. 

Not only does the restriction create a small barrier for redemption, but the variation of cash back and points for the TD Bank Cash’s rewards system can make redemption seem more complicated than necessary, as 3 percent and 2 percent cash back is technically equivalent to 3 points and 2 points per dollar spent, and there is no varying points value despite the two rewards tiers.

Rates and fees: Has a foreign transaction fee

The card doesn’t charge an annual fee, which is great for a cash back card, but it does charge a 3 percent foreign transaction fee, which doesn’t make it a great choice for international travel even though it rewards this category. If you need cash back card that’s good for traveling abroad, there are plenty of better options (such as the previously mentioned Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card).

Plus, if you do decide to utilize the intro APR for a balance transfer, you’ll pay a fee of either $5 or 3 percent of the transaction, whichever amount is higher.

There’s also a cash advance fee of $10 or 5 percent of the transaction, whichever is greater, and cash advances have a variable APR of 29.74 percent. The card has a minimum interest charge of $1, and finally, there are penalty fees up to $40 for either late or returned payments.

The TD Cash Credit card holds its ground against some of the better-known no annual fee credit cards like the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and the Citi® Double Cash Credit Card.

The TD Cash Credit Card offers great rewards rates for restaurants and grocery stores. However, its cash back rewards don’t offer much flexibility for travel benefits, so it might be a good idea to to pair it with a card that offers more in that department.

The TD Bank Cash Credit Card could be a great pick for those who want flexible spending categories, but it may not be the best fit for all, such as overseas travelers. 

The TD Cash credit card is a no-frills card that offers excellent cash back rewards rates for dining out and grocery stores. This card is great for anyone looking to earn cash back on everyday purchases without the hassle of a complicated rewards system.

It’s not a great fit for people with poor credit, however. If your credit could use some work, you should consider the TD Cash Secured Credit Card, which requires a lower credit score to be approved. If you make on-time payments for 24 consecutive months, you may be eligible to upgrade to an unsecured card from TD Bank.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, please click here.

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review: