Ford Rewards Visa Signature card -- cashback strategies for Mach-E buyers

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Yes but it's a bit frustrating the card comes in Black (of course), Blue, or Bronco. I want a Mach E on my card!

I'm hoping at some point they will add it but in the meantime the black is actually a pretty hawt-looking card as far as normal people cards are concerned.

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[tmrqs]

Yeah. I thought of that too after I posted my first response to her.

Did anything ever happen following this?
Does the visa card give 3% on EV charging? Or can the points be used to pay for charging?

 

[macchiaz-o]

Did anything ever happen following this?
Does the visa card give 3% on EV charging? Or can the points be used to pay for charging?

I haven't seen anything relating to FPR points earned or used for charging.

So far, the FPR program remains dealer-centric. It's a loyalty program designed to encourage business at local dealers.

I'll be using all my points tomorrow morning to offset the cost of replacing a tire. (One of my tires has a nail in an unrepairable location.)

 

[tmrqs]

Bummer… both for the lack of extra points on charging and your tire.

 

[4sallypat]

Anyone know if 3% back on EV charging costs ?

Gas stations are 3% so I ask...

 

[ahava3233]

Anyone know if 3% back on EV charging costs ?

Gas stations are 3% so I ask...

The answer may actually be better than that, but also worse. I don’t have the fordpass card to check this but…

On my chase visa card, a charge for charging via the FordPass App on an in-network charger is against an entity known as Ford Smart Mobility, which is categorized as “Car and Truck Dealers, Service, Repair and Parts”. If the FordPass Visa does the same category (it likely does), that’s the 5% and 5% (WIN).

On the other hand…I’ve charged my same card a while ago for semaconnect charging, which simply shows up as “Electric Vehicle Charging”, it’s not listed as gas, so that’s ?. I think Shell Recharge also showed up as Zeco Systems, for randomly enough, “Computers, Equipment, and Software”.

FordPass/Visa should fix all that, but ofc, you can always just use the FordPass charge network ?.

 

[4sallypat]

The answer may actually be better than that, but also worse. I don’t have the fordpass card to check this but…

On my chase visa card, a charge for charging via the FordPass App on an in-network charger is against an entity known as Ford Smart Mobility, which is categorized as “Car and Truck Dealers, Service, Repair and Parts”. If the FordPass Visa does the same category (it likely does), that’s the 5% and 5% (WIN).

On the other hand…I’ve charged my same card a while ago for semaconnect charging, which simply shows up as “Electric Vehicle Charging”, it’s not listed as gas, so that’s ?. I think Shell Recharge also showed up as Zeco Systems, for randomly enough, “Computers, Equipment, and Software”.

FordPass/Visa should fix all that, but ofc, you can always just use the FordPass charge network ?.

So if I activate my Ford charging (free kWh) and then connect my Ford VISA card to it, will all charging thru the Ford App show up as Ford Smart Mobility ?

Even if I pull up to a EV Go or Chargepoint charger ?

 

[ahava3233]

So if I activate my Ford charging (free kWh) and then connect my Ford VISA card to it, will all charging thru the Ford App show up as Ford Smart Mobility ?

Even if I pull up to a EV Go or Chargepoint charger ?

Assuming that you either already burnt through your free kWh or are using a charger that doesn’t use those (I was on a per minute chargepoint charger in Delaware at the time that didn’t use my promotional kWh. And as for the free kWh, so far I’ve only been able to spend those at Electrify America stations), I would assume so.

Every time I’ve charged via the app btw, I’ve always gotten an email from ford for billing even if it used my free kWh, so I’m guessing any billing goes through Ford Smart Mobility through the FordPass network, if required.

Please note that I am also saying to do this, you must activate the charger via ford’s app or ford plug and charge (which afaik only supports EA atm). Using the provider’s app for that charger (like shell recharge for green lots or EA’s app for EA) obviously completely bypasses fordpass.

 

[iaming]

Anyone tried tax payment? Does it count as 6k?
hard to track small payments over a year...

 

[macchiaz-o]

Anyone tried tax payment? Does it count as 6k?
hard to track small payments over a year...

In most scenarios, paying tax via credit card will diminish or even negate the benefit. For example, TurboTax charges a convenience fee of 2% or thereabouts to pay taxes by credit card.

My biggest $ amount purchases are usually to charities... Most of them accept payments by credit card so that is one way to do it.

Another area where people spend lots of money each year, and can be paid via credit card, is telephone and Internet monthly bills.

 

[macchiaz-o]

hard to track small payments over a year...

Yes it can be! Luckily the monthly statements will help you keep track. Here's a snippet from one of my statements:

 

[4sallypat]

Yes it can be! Luckily the monthly statements will help you keep track. Here's a snippet from one of my statements:

I have already hit the $6000 spend and got my $100 and $200 statement credits.

Also have the 88K points ($440) ready to spend on the down payment towards my incoming MME...

 

[iaming]

In most scenarios, paying tax via credit card will diminish or even negate the benefit. For example, TurboTax charges a convenience fee of 2% or thereabouts to pay taxes by credit card.

My biggest $ amount purchases are usually to charities... Most of them accept payments by credit card so that is one way to do it.

Another area where people spend lots of money each year, and can be paid via credit card, is telephone and Internet monthly bills.

I haven't seen anything relating to FPR points earned or used for charging.

So far, the FPR program remains dealer-centric. It's a loyalty program designed to encourage business at local dealers.

I'll be using all my points tomorrow morning to offset the cost of replacing a tire. (One of my tires has a nail in an unrepairable location.)

How do you redeem points for the tire? I assume you can redeem for partial cost, do you need to do something ahead of the transaction or redeem the points against a dealer charge afterwards?

 

[macchiaz-o]

How do you redeem points for the tire? I assume you can redeem for partial cost, do you need to do something ahead of the transaction or redeem the points against a dealer charge afterwards?

The cashier at the dealer needs your FordPass email address. Then they redeem points as a credit to your balance owed and you pay the remainder by cash/card/etc.

 

[iaming]

Last year, Ford introduced FordPass Rewards. If you're in the U.S. and you've ever signed into the FordPass app or web site, well congratulations. You're already an FPR member. It's had a shaky start... I've had to contact them to get points credited after having service done sometimes, and I'm still waiting on the Essential Worker points that were offered a few months back.

Anyway... This morning, Ford announced an optional add-on to the FPR program: the FordPass Rewards Visa Card. This is definitely the most confusing/complicated rewards cards I've ever seen. I think the way they've worded the press release and infographic just added to my confusion about how it works.

I've now had a chance to dig into the summary of credit terms from First Bank of Omaha, which helped clear things up. Here's what I'm thinking is the way to get the most benefit from this card. I'd love to know your thoughts and if you've got other clever strategies in mind.

First though, when I'm referring to FPR points, these are "FordPass Rewards" points that are only redeemable towards Ford branded accessories (not dealer/3rd party items), or for maintenance and service at a dealership. 200 points translates to $1.

And when I'm referring to a statement credit, this is a payment made by the bank on your behalf, to your credit card account balance. $1 is worth $1.

So here's a possible strategy:

In the first year (starting from when card account is opened):

• Open card account and make your first purchase (even if it's just a $1 Hot 'n Spicy McChicken)
  • first purchase triggers reward of 11,000 FPR points (worth about $55), but they can take a few months to credit them
• While buying MME, pay the maximum amount the dealer allows via FPR Visa; dealer limits on credit cards will vary... might be $500 or maybe a couple thousand
  • earn 10 FPR points per dollar spent at dealership or Ford web site (which is worth about 5% of purchase)
  • dealership or Ford web site transactions of $499+ qualify for 0% interest for 6 months
• Spend $3,000+ on card within first three months of account opening
  • earns $100 statement credit
  • spending this much on a single card in a 3 month period might be difficult (it will be for me); so you might want to try to time the account opening so that your new vehicle purchase occurs within this first three month period.
• Spent $6000+ on card within first 12 months of account opening
  • earns $200 statement credit (that's unrelated to the $100 credit that might also have been earned)
• Any spending beyond the $6,000 should be on credit cards that offer better rewards, like Discover cashback quarterly 5% categories or the Citi Double Cash (2%) cards
• Use the accumulated rewards points to buy a spare EVSE (mobile charger or connected wall charger) or floor mats or whatever... but note that points aren't redeemable for non-Ford accessories such as window tinting.
• If my math is correct, the best case scenario using the info above would be:
  • $55 (from first card transaction) + ~$100 (from dealer purchases) + $100 ($3k spent in 1st 3 months) + $200 ($6k in 1st year) = $455
  • $455 / $6000 = 7.6% cashback!

Subsequent years:

• Charge at least $6,000 and preferably not much more than that amount.
  • get a $200 statement credit
  • earn anywhere from $60 - $300 worth of FPR points (only redeemable for certain dealership expenses like maintenance, service, and some Ford-distributed accessories)
  • the credit card activity keeps FPR rewards balance from expiring
• If you don't think you'll get to the $6,000 spend in typical years, then the FPR Visa is probably not the best card to continue using. But you still might want to benefit from a charge once a year or so (or spend money on maintenance or whatever at a dealership) to keep your FPR rewards balance from expiring.
• Any expenses above and beyond the $6,000 should be on credit cards that offer better rewards, like Discover cashback quarterly categories or Citi Double Cash cards.
• Cash value:
  • $200 ($6k spent in 12 months)
  • $60 (assumes all of the $6k was in 'other' category that earns least amount)
  • $260 / $6,000 = 4.3% cashback!

OK. This was a complicated post. Congratulation on making it this far... After you've had some time to think it over, I'd love to know your thoughts and any improvements to the strategy!

How long does it take to see the points earned? Will it get the update on the statement date? It's been 20+ days since my first purchase, but it's still 22000 at the app.

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