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Sallie Mae Accelerate vs Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card 2023

Q: Is the Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card good?

Impressive menu of rewards categories, Sallie. Impressive. 2% cashback on your two biggest spending categories each month1.5% cashback on everything elseNo caps on rewards spendingBroad list of spending categoriesNo annual fee Many rewards categories may sNo sign-up bonus or 0% intro APR on purchases or balance transfers3% foreign transaction fee is le yuck$25 minimum redemption requirementHigher cashback rates available elsewhere if you’re a planner Category Default Rate Bonus Rate Bonus Spend Cap Bonus Spend Period (Months) Gas 1.50% - - - Travel 1.50% - - - Dining 1.50% - - - Entertainment 1.50% - - - Pharmacy 1.50% - - - Groceries 1.50% - - - Other Purchases 1.50% - - -

Written by investor.com

In head-to-head competition, which of these rewards credit cards wins out? Here’s what each has to offer and how they fare when put to the ultimate test — the cash back you’ll earn for using them.

Sallie Mae Accelerate
Redeem 2% cash back to help pay down any student loan, or earn 1.5% cashback for everything else.

Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card
Earn 2% cash back on your two highest spending categories per month and 1.5% unlimited cash back on everything else.

Credit Card Calculator

Monthly Spend

Spend Categories expand_more

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dining Dining

theater_comedy Entertainment

local_gas_station Gas

shopping_cart Groceries

monetization_on Other

local_pharmacy Pharmacy

card_travel Travel

local_shipping Amazon

storefront Costco

construction Home Improvement

shopping_bag Online Shopping

smart_display Streaming

local_taxi Transit

power Utilities

kitchen Whole Foods

receipt_long Wholesale Clubs

Calculate Cash Back

Sallie Mae Accelerate

Read review

Cash Back Per Year

$...

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Apply Now on Sallie Mae's secure website

Best for Rewards Rotators

Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card

Read review

Cash Back Per Year

$...

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Apply Now on Sallie Mae's secure website

Want to compare more cards? Use our full calculator.

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Which credit card earns more cash back overall?

Based on identical spending inputs, you’ll earn $180.00 cash back per year with Sallie Mae Accelerate and $180.00 with Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card. For context, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $181.73.

The annual rewards payout assumes you charge $1,000 each month spread across the following spending categories: Dining ($145), Entertainment ($134), Gas ($140), Groceries ($198), Travel ($128), Pharmacy ($15), and Other ($240). The dollar amounts for each category are based on consumer spending data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (i.e., how much the average American spends proportionally across the major credit card rewards categories). But you can — and absolutely should! — customize the inputs based on your actual monthly spending habits, using our rewards calculator.

To ensure the most accurate results possible, the rewards calculations for Sallie Mae Accelerate and Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card incorporate bonus rewards rates, spending caps, default rewards rates and annual fees, where applicable.

Is the Sallie Mae Accelerate good?

If paying down your student loans is a priority, this cashback card from Sallie Mae offers an incentive — a 33 1/3% rewards rate booster (turning a 1.5% cashback rate to 2% cashback) to direct the money towards any federal or private loan.

thumb_up Likes

Earn 2% cashback when redeemed to help pay down a student loan
No annual fee
$200 bonus for spending $1K in first three months
No cap or expiration on rewards
Secondary cell phone coverage and other Mastercard bennies

thumb_down Dislikes

Limited redemption options (which is kinda the point, but still)
The 1.5% base cashback rate is pretty basic
$25 reward redemption minimum
No welcome bonus or 0% intro APR on transfers or purchases
The 3% foreign transaction and 5% cash advance fees will leave a mark
Not really worth it if you don’t have student loan debt

Category	Default Rate	Bonus Rate	Bonus Spend Cap	Bonus Spend Period (Months)
Gas	1.50%	-	-	-
Travel	1.50%	-	-	-
Dining	1.50%	-	-	-
Entertainment	1.50%	-	-	-
Pharmacy	1.50%	-	-	-
Groceries	1.50%	-	-	-
Other Purchases	1.50%	-	-	-

Is the Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card good?

Impressive menu of rewards categories, Sallie. Impressive.

thumb_up Likes

2% cashback on your two biggest spending categories each month
1.5% cashback on everything else
No caps on rewards spending
Broad list of spending categories
No annual fee

thumb_down Dislikes

Many rewards categories may s
No sign-up bonus or 0% intro APR on purchases or balance transfers
3% foreign transaction fee is le yuck
$25 minimum redemption requirement
Higher cashback rates available elsewhere if you’re a planner

Category	Default Rate	Bonus Rate	Bonus Spend Cap	Bonus Spend Period (Months)
Gas	1.50%	-	-	-
Travel	1.50%	-	-	-
Dining	1.50%	-	-	-
Entertainment	1.50%	-	-	-
Pharmacy	1.50%	-	-	-
Groceries	1.50%	-	-	-
Other Purchases	1.50%	-	-	-

More Comparisons

Sallie Mae Accelerate vs USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express Card Sallie Mae Accelerate vs Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Sallie Mae Accelerate vs Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi Sallie Mae Accelerate vs Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Sallie Mae Accelerate vs USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card Sallie Mae Accelerate vs SoFi Credit Card Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card vs Capital One Quicksilver Rewards Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card vs Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card vs Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card vs Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card vs Capital One QuicksilverOne Sallie Mae Evolve Credit Card vs Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards (Gold Tier)

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Methodology

The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.

To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:

Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.

What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)

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