Update 8/14/22: They’ve now changed the card to a flat 1.5% cashback card instead of 3/2/1. They’ve also removed the annual fee and are crediting back any previous annual fees paid.
Update 6/17/21: Starting this month, when you pay your HMBradley Credit Card with your deposit account, it won’t count against your Savings Tiers. That means you can spend on the things that matter most, and never worry about losing your APY rate.
Update 5/25/21: In addition to spending $100 per month on the card, you’ll now also need $2,500 in monthly direct deposits in order to be eligible for the .5% savings rate boost.
Original Post:
Fintech company HMBradley launched a credit card today which offers 3% cashback in your top category of the month, 2% cashback in your next category, and 1% cashback on everything else. The card is issued by Hatch Bank, which is a California industrial bank. You must have a HMBradley bank account in order to be eligible for the card.
Direct Link | Full Terms | List of Categories
There are a few key categories which are excluded from rewards, according to the terms: “Purchases of foreign currency, crypto-currency, traveler’s checks, money orders, wire transfers, tax payments, insurance charges, gaming-related (including, without limitation, gambling chips, off-track wagers or lottery ticket transactions), or purchases made using PayPal or other third party payment services.”
A lot of people would find this interesting if they have a single category where they spend a lot. No idea how well the company will take to thousands of dollars spent on gift cards and the like; presumably it’ll work initially, at least. No signup bonus, unfortunately.
The account has an annual fee $60 which is waived for the first year. There is no foreign transaction fee on the card.
We previously wrote about HMBradley’s savings account which offers a nifty 3% APY return, so long as you receive a monthly direct deposit and save 20% of the direct deposit funds. HMBradley credit cardholders get the additional perk of bumping up the earnings on the HMBradley savings account from 3% to 3.5% APY, provided that you spend $100 on the card each month. Those in the lower tiers will get bumped up a tier instead; for example, if you should be in tier 2 due to saving 15% of your direct deposit, you’ll be bumped up to tier 1 and earn the full 3% APY on the savings account due to having the credit card.
All cards are being closed by Dec 6, the entire program is shutting down (deposit & credit card programs)
@chuck my card was just closed and I was sent the following email. No warning issued. Last used the card 5/1. I understand closing inactive cards but 6 months is a bit of a short leash if you ask me
We are reaching out to inform you that after a recent review of your HMBradley account, your HMBradley Credit Card account has been closed due to inactivity and will not be available to re-open at this time.
HMBradley is restricting transactions on your credit card account; please destroy or securely dispose of your credit card at your earliest convenience.
Please contact us if you have any questions – we’re here to help!
Same letter for P1 and P2 here. No biggie, since we were thinking about leaving anyways. Got the cards as condition for their top rate tier. Now there are many banks that offer better rates without any string attached, and cards with better cashback. Don’t know how they will last.
fearthez got the same email…but then logged into account and its still here. I had a transaction in September so if it’s not a bug….it’s way shorter than 6 months.
Now I think this is a mistaken notification email that has something to do with them switching providers. I get this message on login:
”
Important Notice: Your HMBradley Credit Card is being re-issued from our new partner MRV Banks
Once your new card arrives, please activate it within 30 days by following the steps on the packaging. Your card number will remain the same, but you will receive a new CVV and expiration date. Once your new card is activated, cut up your old card into several pieces. Make sure to cut through the chip and magnetic stripe to render it unusable.
“
I got that message and the new card weeks ago. I don’t think it’s related but 🤷♂️
You were right! All cards are closing down. However…because they closed mine a day earlier than the announcement, they also took all of my accrued cash back and I didn’t get any cashback for the transactions on my last statement. That seems pretty bogus if you ask me.
I also got this email. Logging into HMB I don’t see the card at all. My last activity was a payment I made on October 1st, so my inactivity amounted to 6 weeks…
Reddit user is reporting that they contact support and they said the card is no longer being offered and all card holders will have their accounts closed eventually, starting with inactive accounts
https://www.reddit.com/r/HMBradley/comments/17vfps8/credit_card_account_closed_due_to_inactivity/
Just got an email that they’re closing down BOTH credit and deposit accounts.
William Charles
FYI for those that have been around for a while, apparently Hatch bank had a data breach including SSNs (https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/02/hatch-bank-breach-fortra-goanywhere-exploit/). Got a letter in the mail with an offer for 12 months of free credit monitoring via “Cyberscout.” (also posted on the bank side of things but I think this is more applicable since Hatch still services the CC)
Ok, so our HMBradley checking accounts are closed now, my previously linked accounts were closed a while ago, plaid or any other account linking feature is unavailable. How I am supposed to make a credit card payment? I asked customer service – they don’t know what to do. How is this business still existing?
Read your paper CC statement. They give an option to mail in payment.
They don’t even have a 800 number to call regarding credit card, with current rate level I doubt many will keep their bank account let alone to say credit card
Starting October 9, 2022, you’ll start earning a flat 1.5% cash back rewards rate on all eligible purchases
Will say goodbye to hm bradley now. It was nice having 3% during low interest times but with many banks offering 4% now no reason to stay here.
Any that let you park 100K?
max is up to $250k now!
But the minimum credit card spend is $500. The new terms are at:
https://www.hmbradley.com/APYs-NYCB
lol what a joke
I can still get 3% on 100K in my Checking account after spending $100 on HMBradley Credit card and saving 20% of my direct deposits. Right?
Correct. No change on that part yet.
Unfortunately, they lost me long ago when they increased fees, lowered rates, and made the hoops higher and more diffiult for me to achieve.
RIP HMB
RIP. Complete trash. Enjoyed the 3% on $100k for a year, though!
VC money is drying up as financial conditions are tightening