Support your favorite cause with affinity credit cards

Do you want to start giving to charities but don’t have enough time to organize this process? One of the easiest ways to make donations is to use an affinity credit card. The issuer will contribute a part of your spending to a charity of your choice. Even when times are tough, giving to others will make you feel better about yourself.

For consumers who pay their bills in full each month, affinity credit cards (also called charity credit cards or specialty credit cards) can be a simple and convenient way to add a little altruism to their day-to-day spending. If there is a cause want to support, you are likely to find an affinity card to go along with it.

Around since the 1980s, affinity credit cards have raised millions of dollars for charitable organizations and nonprofit groups aimed to protect wetlands, prevent child abuse, rescue abandoned animals, care for victims of natural disasters, contribute to alumni funds, find a cure for cancer, preserve wildlife, and help the homeless. 

Open up your heart and your wallet

Affinity credit cards are bank credit cards generally tied to charitable organizations, nonprofit groups and educational institutions. You can easily recognize these plastics. Typically, they carry the credit card logo, the emblem of the charity and a heartwarming picture – a cute animal, a beautiful landscape or a pink ribbon.

Affinity credit cards are often confused with co-branded credit cards. Note that co-branded cards are issued by the bank and a business (for example retailers or airlines) and offer personal benefits (discounts, points, miles) to the cardholder. The plastics are not targeted towards a charity or nonprofit organization.

Affinity credit cards work on the same principle as rewards credit cards. Whenever you make a purchase using that plastic, you will get a small percentage of your spending back. The difference is that instead of receiving that reward yourself, it is contributed to the charity of your choice. 

Typically, the donation amount ranges between 0.25% and 1% of each transaction. It means that the charitable organization or nonprofit group will receive 25-100 cents for every $100 charged. However, while the contributions are relatively small, they often add up when multiplied out over many cardholders. 

Some credit companies offer affinity cards that allow users to earn cash back or rewards points for themselves and still make donations to a charity they support. It lets banks appeal to a new segment of consumers who want to get something back for their giving. However, the idea of “two in one credit card” is not always welcomed by charities because in this case they receive less money.

Show your support

People who want to apply for an affinity credit card are free to choose the organization they want to support. The most popular plastics are related to:

• Alumni 
• Health and Social causes
• Nature and Wildlife causes
• Children's causes. 

The biggest issuer of affinity credit cards in the U.S. is Bank of America. It offers dozens of various credit cards to choose from. You can apply for the plastics online without leaving your house. 

If you want to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive, consider the Nature Conservancy Platinum Plus Visa credit card.  

Anne Geddes Visa Card with WorldPoints Rewards is a plastic that allows consumers to contribute to the Anne Geddes Philanthrophic Trust. It is aimed to prevent child abuse. Anne Geddes is a famous photographer – you have probably seen her pictures of babies.

Make-A-Wish Platinum Plus Visa card with WorldPoints Rewards, as the name suggests, is aimed at people who want to make donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It grants wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions. 

American Diabetes Association Rewards American Express Card will contribute part of your transactions to the American Diabetes Association. Their mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by this disease.

National Wild Turkey Federation WorldPoints Platinum Plus Visa credit card supports the conservation of the wild turkey and preservation of the hunting tradition. It donates money to the National Wild Turkey Federation.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Rewards American Express Card helps people protect and enhance the places that matter to them. Your money will help protect your favorite buildings, so your children and grandchildren will be able to visit them in future.  

As you see, you can find an affinity card that fits your individual needs and style of life. The criteria for application and approval are exactly the same as for other types of rewards credit cards. 

What’s the trick?

Affinity credit cards are a good way to benefit from the convenience and flexibility of credit card usage and be sure that your money is going to a good cause. However, don't let your desire to help blind you. It is important, as with any other credit card, to read the fine print before submitting your application. 

Affinity credit cards aren't necessarily beneficial for cardholders. Like any other plastics, they can charge high interest rates and extra fees. That’s why they might not be a good choice for people who carry their balance from month to month. In this case it is less costly to give a small donation directly to the organization you want to support. 

The other problem is that affinity credit cards can make you spend more. You will be sure that making additional purchases will help you donate more money to your pet cause. This way you can accumulate heavy credit card debts. 

In addition, unlike other forms of charitable giving, you can't claim a year-end tax deduction for your contributions made with an affinity credit card. It means that you lose the opportunity to fatten your savings and donate more money.  

So even if an affinity credit card is emotionally appealing, you still have to analyze it pros and cons. Check the terms and conditions to get the full scoop on interest rates, annual fee, grace periods, donation amounts, etc. 

If an affinity credit card has a higher interest rate than your existing plastic, it doesn’t help you or the supported organization. Why lose money on interest than you could directly contribute it to the cause?