In Tim’s post the other day about the announcement of the new Robinhood Platinum card, he mentioned the Robinhood Gold card, which offers 3% back on all eligible purchases, being of interest “if you can get it”. That reminded me that I’d recently stumbled on a post at Reddit that explains how you may be able to apply for it, no waitlist required. I should note that I’m not sure this will work — there are a number of failure data points, but I thought it was worth sharing for those who have been waiting for the card and have been unable to try to apply.
The Robinhood Gold card launched with a waitlist model, where you had to join a waitlist and wait to be chosen to apply. I spent more than a year and a half on that waitlist before finally getting the email late last fall telling me that I was off the waitlist and could apply. However, Robinhood only gave me a 30-day window in which to apply. I was nearly under 5/24 and not ready to immediately apply. Unfortunately, when I was ready to apply for it recently, the link from my email no longer worked, only bringing me to the part of my account where it said I was on the waitlist for the card. I couldn’t find a way to apply in my Robinhood app or on the website.
Then, I noticed an advertisement for the card at Credit Karma that looked like it would lead to an application page. After a little digging, I found this helpful reddit post that explains how to take advantage of that targeting relationship with Credit Karma.
These are the instructions, as posted by KaiiTK on reddit, with an additional note or two from me:
- Go to https://www.creditkarma.com/cards/shop (Note from Nick: you need to be logged in for this step)
- Click “Continue” on a card offer
- In the URL, grab your ID from:
https://di.apply.creditkarma.com/ea/application/{YOUR_ID}/…
Note from Nick: I found the URL structure to be a bit different from one card to another, so I found it helpful to do this part twice: I clicked “continue” on a card offer and copied the URL and pasted it into a notepad file. Then I went back and did the same thing on a different card (I used the Amex Gold card and the PayPal Mastercard). Then, I compared the URLs to find an identical number string in both. For instance, I found the identical 11-digit number in the places marked below with eleven X’s in the URL beginnings below:
https://ax.apply.creditkarma.com/ea/application/XXXXXXXXXXX/
https://www.paypal.com/credit-application/co/landing?clickref=11111111&present=clpCOB32CONTROLSIPRIMB&track=cltAFFCKLBO&pubref=XXXXXXXXXXX
I used the number represented by XXXXXXXXXXX above for step #4. - Paste that ID into the Robinhood Gold link:
https://robinhood.com/creditcard/?cksubid={YOUR_ID}&ckbadge=EX&ckoffertype=LB
Example:
https://robinhood.com/creditcard/?cksubid=42211111111&ckbadge=EX&ckoffertype=LB
- Go to the link and apply
Sure enough, that brought me directly to a page to apply. I used the same browser where I had previously logged into my Robinhood account. I don’t know if it was a case of the browser having me cookied or the ID from Credit Karma passing along info, but when I hit the “Apply now” button, my name and address were prepopulated.
As noted at the top, Reddit has a number of failure data points from folks saying that the application errored out at the last step. Another redditor posted a potential workaround for those who run into an error. Your mileage may vary. Even if you aren’t able to make use of this method, it is at least worth being aware that the card does appear to be available via Credit Karma on at least a targeted basis, so it might be worth logging in there from time to time to see if you get a targeted ad to apply.
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This card declines IRS payments and offers the chance to push it through and accept no rewards.
I was on the wait list too and never applied when I got off the waitlist. My invite expired as well. I used the chat feature and they were able to resend me a new invite and I was approved. I tried the trick in the article and it didn’t work.
error. tried vpn and everything. any suggestions?
SOP: clear cookies, clean browser in incognito, wait a day.
Already did everything you say. It’s not working. Any other ideas please? I used vpn. different browsers. waited weeks, cleaned and used other browsers, laptops and etc.
This work around was discovered about 5 months ago by Reddit. Robbinhood has caught on and this loophole has since been closed.
But Why?
The argument is that with 3%, when points can be purchased for less than 1.5cpp, you can buy more than 2 points. Which is the “best” alternative earn rate.
However, the Bilt Palladium can easily earn 3x on “all other” spending. .Even without a transfer bonus, I’m not certain you turn that down. Then, if there’s a transfer bonus, multiply by up to 2.25x.
To me, it’s hard for someone seeking travel points to justify cash back cards. Bilt has changed the economics.
I’m sorry, you said Bilt can do something “easily”? Not sure it’s super easy
Forget rent.
Just apply Bilt Cash towards point accelerators and you have a 3x card. If you find that too complex, I’m not sure what to tell you.
If there’s a transfer bonus, apply Bilt Cash towards an extra 0.25x transfer bonus. If you find that too complex, I’m not sure what to tell you.
The Lyft credit works just like the Amex Uber credit. If you find that too complex, I’m not sure what to tell you.
I’ve used the semi-annual hotel credit combined with a monthly Bilt Cash allocation twice. Piece of cake.
This is all basic stuff. Do people expect to be spoon fed?
I just wanted to know ( BUT WHY) I would spend so much money on an annual fee with Robin Hood without some sort of sign up bonus and chinzy coupons?
You are absolutely right. If you have SUB opportunities or other incentives, you would prioritize those. (I’ll assume they far outpace the earning power of the Robinhood Gold.)
When someone does not have those opportunities and wants a card for ongoing spending in otherwise unbonused categories, some hobbyists have sought the Robinhood Gold’s 3% or the BofA Premium Rewards’ 2.625% earning rates for the reason I mention above. That’s the context of this article.
But, as I also mention . . . in this restricted case of no lucrative opportunities . . . the argument in favor of the Robinhood Gold or BofA Premium Rewards has been overtaken by a superior offering.
(As a side note, I don’t hear anyone really talking about the Coinbase credit card, which offers 4% on the first $10k per month and 2% thereafter.)
All of the foregoing being said, circumstances and choices are very personal. And, sometimes a person might forego superior earnings for simplicity or convenience. Some people go for Hyatt’s CPP redemptions in spite of Hyatt’s geographic footprint. Other people forego Hyatt’s CPP redemptions because of it.
Again, for your circumstances, you are absolutely right.
On the Accelerators, it’s 5x up to 25K bonus, so it’s not unlimited.
However, it’s $5,000 at a time, so if you have a $5,500 charge, it’s 5,000 bonus via the 1x Accelerator, but that extra $500 only earns 2x, not 3x.
And, if any charges are refunded (let’s say you purchase a $500 flight, but the airline cancels it, you get a refund $500, 3x points removed, obviously), the Accelerator for that portion is lost (does not reset, as in, you miss out on that 1x for the $500 of the $5,000).
For some, they’ll quickly spend through the 5x, then it’s just a 2x card, which is still good, but there are no-fee cash-back 2x cards out there, like Citi DC, Fidelity, etc.