Savvy shoppers know that there are ways to use credit cards to their advantage. It's possible to earn rewards, and to take advantage of cash back in a number of ways. What's difficult, though, is deciding which credit card to use for which transaction.
The Wallaby Card promises to change all that. Instead of carrying a wallet full of credit cards and trying to decide which to use, the Wallaby Card takes the guesswork out of it. Simply connect all your rewards credit cards to the Wallaby, and this smart card does the rest, figuring out which card to use for the transaction in question.
How Does the Wallaby Card Work?
The Wallaby Card takes smart cards to a whole new level. Normally, when we think of smart cards we think of those with better security, like chip and PIN, or other cool credit card technology. With Wallaby, though, the card itself is actually smart. You send in your credit card information, and all of the cards are connected to the Wallaby -- which uses algorithms to decide which card is the smart choice. Mashable describes how it works:
Essentially, you give Wallaby information about your credit cards, and the company then sends you a new piece of plastic that you carry instead of the other ones. When you swipe the Wallaby card to pay for, say, a dress or movie tickets, the service uses algorithms to decide which of your underlying cards to use to complete the purchase. In doing this, it considers several factors, including which cards you have in your portfolio, your personal preferences, and which card will earn you the most rewards for that transaction.
It's important to realize, though, that this only changes the way you pay for purchases. You will still need to pay all of your credit card bills separately, and pay any fees. On top of that, the Wallaby Card will come with its own annual fee of $50. You need to decide if it's worth it for you to pay that much for the convenience -- and whether or not you think that the Wallaby Card will truly provide you enough value to make up for $50 fee.
If the Wallaby Card is truly better at determining how to most efficiently rack up the reward points, then it might make sense to pay the fee, since the perks will offset the cost of the card. You can give it a chance with a six-month free trial period. If you decide to go for it, carefully track your rewards, and compare them with the rate at which you earned rewards in the past to determine whether or not it really is worth the $50 fee.
