TD Cash Credit Card review: A solid card with limited availability

This cash back card doesn’t come with many perks, so there’s not much difference between the card’s first-year value compared to its ongoing value. Here's what you might expect to earn given an average spend of $22,500 yearly spend, with $8,400 spent in your 3 percent category, $8,400 spent in your 2 percent category, and $5,700 spent on miscellaneous purchases: 

*Based on our formula used to calculate each card’s average rewards rates and average ongoing rewards value, using Bureau of Labor Statistics spending data.

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. 

Welcome bonus: Decent spending requirement compared to similar cards

The TD Cash Credit Card comes with a straightforward sign-up bonus. You’ll receive $200 Cash Back when you spend $1,000 on eligible purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. 

The spending requirement isn’t so high that it’s unrealistic, but there are plenty of other cash back cards with lower spending requirements that provide the same bonus amount. There are also cash back cards with higher spending requirements, however, so the TD Bank Cash card is kind of in the middle of the two extremes. 

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, you'll get either a 19.24%, 24.24% or 29.24% variable APR based on your creditworthiness. .

Introductory APRs tend to last between 12 to 21 billing cycles, so the TD Bank Cash card’s intro offer is a solid deal at 15 billing cycles. However, you can easily find other cash back cards offering 18 months interest free, so keep this in mind if paying off debt with your next card is one of your goals. 

Rewards: Offers customizable spending categories

This card 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. You can choose from:

• Dining
• Entertainment
• Gas
• Grocery
• Travel

Some cards offer a higher cash back rate on category spending, such as the Discover it® Cash Back, which offers 5 percent cash back on rotating categories each quarter (activation required). However, the Discover it Cash Back comes with a spending cap of $1,500. After that, the rewards rate drops to just 1 percent. 

With the TD Cash card, you get solid rewards rates without having to worry about spending caps. 

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, and foreign transaction fee.

Availability: Only available in certain regions

The TD Bank Cash Card is only offered to residents in the following east coast areas: 

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. 

Redemption: Can’t redeem rewards whenever you want

The TD Cash Credit Card is marketed as a cash back card, but it technically redeems points, similar to the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. You can then turn those points into cash back when you redeem them. 

To redeem your TD rewards, log into your account on the rewards program website or call customer service. You can choose to redeem your points or cash back for:

• Statement credits
• Direct deposits
• Travel
• Gift cards
• 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. This is an unnecessary restriction that makes it harder to redeem your cash back.

Rates and fees: Has a foreign transaction fee

The card doesn’t charge an annual fee, but it does charge a 3 percent foreign transaction fee. If you need a cash back card that’s good for traveling abroad, there are plenty of better options.

Plus, if you take advantage of the card’s intro APR offer on a balance transfer, you’ll pay a 3 percent balance transfer fee (with a $5 minimum.) The card also comes with:

• Minimum interest charge of $1
• Cash advance fee of 5 percent ($10 minimum, cash advance variable APR of 29.49)
• Penalty fee of up to $40 for late or returned payments

The TD Cash Credit Card offers great rewards rates for restaurants and grocery stores, so any card you pair it with should be used to fill in other blanks.

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 is a no-frills card that offers excellent cash back rewards rates for certain spending categories. You’ll like this card if you:

• Want a customizable card that earns unlimited cash back in your top spending categories
• Aren’t concerned about the limited availability of the card 

It’s not a great fit for people who want a more straightforward rewards system or 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.

*Information about the TD Cash Secured Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. Card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer. 

The TD Cash Credit Card isn’t the only card that allows you to customize which categories earn you boosted rewards. If you’re looking for options from larger issuers, consider these:

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Best for Bank of America loyalists

Citi Custom Cash® Card

Best for automatically adjusted category rewards

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: