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Official RBS CustomCash (Accelerator Rewards) merchant category list

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alert mods    
rated:
   posted: May. 18, 2006 @ 8:38p

This thread is to help us manage purchases with the RBS CustomCash Credit Card. The card pays 3% Cash Back for purchases you make in the Merchant Category in which you spend the most money and 1% for everything else. So for those of us with a second card that pays more than 1%, the best strategy is to make all your purchases for a month in a single category. The problem is that its not always obvious what category a merchant is in. For example, the mail-order pharmacy Medco Health is not listed under Pharmacies and Medical Providers. And there are some merchants which never pay 3%.

Lets record the merchant categories for specific merchants here. As far as I can tell, you can only find out the category for a merchant from the printed bill, and only for the highest spend category. It says something like “This month you’ve earned 3% Cash Back in the Hotel merchant category …” and these merchants are marked with a * in the account activity section.

Please add merchants that you have found for that category in the Quick Summary below. The RBS website gives some examples, and they are included in the listing below.

Message edited by: bluechalk on 2006-10-11 15:34:08 CDT
   posted: May. 18, 2006 @ 8:38p

These are the RBS CustomCash merchant categories, with a list of merchants in each category. Please use the information from your billing statements to expand this list. The ones listed as unverified are information from the RBS Website. We have found several instances where the website is wrong.

Merchants that never earn 3%
General categories: administrative including taxes, court costs, bail bondsmen, law firms, professional services (CSR would not elaborate), tuition/school fees, automobiles, boats etc, insurance, OFFICE, PHOTOGRAPHIC, PHOTOCOPY, AND MICROFIL
Verified: 1000bulbs.com, AAA (insurance), Adorama.com (via paypal), Allstate, Apple Computer, Automobile Dealers, Buy.com, DMV (Calif), HP, PortableOne, US Mint, school tuition, law firms, Dell Small Business, PRECIOUS STONES AND METALS, WATCHES & JEWELRY (via Paypal)
Unverified: State Farm Insurance

Airlines
Verified: American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Southwest Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Frontier, Japan Airline, Alaska Airlines
Unverified: Airtrans Airways, America West, American Trans Air, British Airways, jetblue Airways, Northwest, U.S. Airways, United Airlines

Catalogers and Direct Merchants
Verified: LeisurePlus, Shopping Essentials, Dell, AAFES (Dell Computer Purchases anyway), Sears.com (online), Chadwicks (online), Nordstrom Direct (online), JCPenney Catalog (online), Victoria's Secret (online), China Airlines (online), eBags.com, Toshiba online, Everyday Values Gold/Everyday Privledges Gold
Unverified: Cabela's, Disney, Home Shopping Network, QVC Network, Quixtar

Clothing and Accessories Merchants
Verified: Izod, Shoes.com, Van Heusen Direct
Unverified: Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Ann Taylor, Burlington Coat Factory, D-ck's (FatWallet website does not allow the entry of the correct spelling of this store) Clothing Sporting Goods, Eddie Bauer, LL Bean, Men's Warehouse, TJX, Talbots, the limited, Victoria Secret

Electronics and Appliances Merchants
Note: Apple Computer, Buy.com, and HP always get 1%
Verified: Dell, Newegg, CompUSA, MicroCenter, Best Buy, Meritline.com, Sprint PCS, zipzoomfly.com, Mac Mall, Fry's Electronics
Unverified: Circuit City, Radio Shack

Gasoline
Unverified: 7-11 Stores with Gas Stations, Amoco, BP, Casey's General Store, Chevron, Citgo, Conoco, Cumberland, Diamond Shamrock, Exxon, Flying JCFJ, Hess, Marathon, Mobil, Murphy Oil, Pilot Corporation, Quik Trip, Racetrac, Sheetz, Shell, Texaco, Speedway, Sunoco

General Retailers
Verified: Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Nordstrom, Costco.com, Target
Unverified: BJ'S Wholesale, Big Lots, Chico's, Dillard's, Federated, JC Penney, Kmart, Kohl's, Michaels, Progressive, Ross, Sears (B&M), Saks Fifth Avenue, Stein Mart

Grocery Merchants
Verified: WalMart, WalMart Supercenter, Target
Unverified: Albertson's, Food Lion, Giant Eagle, H E Butt, HY-VEE, Krogers, meijer, Pathmark stores, Pick n Save, Price Chopper, Publix super markets, Safeway, Shaws Supermarkets, Shop-Rite, Trader Joe's Market, Wegmans, Whole Foods Market, Winn-Dixie

Home Improvement Merchants
Note: Blinds.com is not in this category
Verified: Kanter's Carpet, Thomasville, Stickley Audi, local window blinds shop, Bed Bath & Beyond, Raymour and Flanigan (furniture store), Agway (NJ Plant store), Crate & Barrel, Linens N Things, Home Depot, local nursery, Calico Corners, Ashley Furniture
Unverified: Ace Hardware, IKEA, Lowe's, Menard

Hotels
Verified: Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, La Quinta, Marriott, lots of non-chain motels, Bidwell House (bed and breakfast in Chester, CA), Rio, Monte Carlo, MGM, Gold Coast
Unverified: Best Western Hotels, Choice Hotels, hampton inn Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, Marriott, Starwood Hotels, Wyndham

Pharmacies and Medical Providers
Verified: Medco Health, Mount Sinai Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital, Quest Diagnostics, opticians, local doctor and dentist offices
Unverified: CVS, Lenscrafters, Longs Drug, Rite Aid, Walgreen's

Restaurants, Eating Places, Fast Food (but not Caterers)
Unverified: Applebees, Brinkers, Darden Restaurants, Outback, Pizza Hut, Ruby Tuesday, Starbucks

Service Providers
Note: Car repairs at a car dealer always get 1%
Verified: PayPal (sometimes), local hair salon, myFICO.com, Priceline, USPS, Southern Management, eBay
Unverified: Google, Jiffy Lube, SprintPCS, Verizon Wireless

Specialty Retailers
Verified: The Grand Handyman
Unverified: 7-11 Stores without Gas Stations, Gap, Hallmark, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Kinko's, Mary Kay, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Petco, PETsMART, Pier 1 Imports, Sherwin-Williams, Williams-Sonoma

Sports and Leisure Merchants
Verified: New York Sports Club membership, Amazon.com , Hastings
Unverified: Barnes & Noble, Blockbuster, Borders, Follett, Hobby Lobby, Sports Authority, Ticket Master, toys r us, Baltimore Zoo

Transportation Providers
Verified: Hertz, U-haul, eMove.com, Schucks Auto Supply, Discount Tire
Unverified: Advance Auto Parts, Alamo Rental, Amtrak, Apple Travel, Auto Zone, Bridgestone, Carnival Cruises, Dollar Rent A Car, E-ZPASS, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Expedia, Firestone, Hotwire, National Car Rental, Norwegian-Kloster Cruise, Pep Boys, Royal Carribean Cruises, tractor supply

Utilities and Associations
Note: Sprint PCS is not in this category
Verified: AT&T, Cingular, Earthlink, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, AAA (membership), GoDaddy, HostMonster, Bright House Networks, Verizon Wireless, Cablevision, Con Edison, Suddenlink, Spark Energy, Verizon
Verified charitable organizations: CARE, FINCA (via Network for Good), Clinton Foundation, nycharities.org, YMCA
Unverified: AOL, Comcast Cable, Direct TV, Dish Network , MCI, Microsoft, Nextel, Southwestern Bell


Please post other discussions regarding the card in this thread.

Message edited by: p8er on 2009-10-01 13:30:30 CDT

alert mods    
rated:
   posted: May. 20, 2006 @ 12:03p

The listing of merchants and categories on the RBS Website seems to have several mistakes. I've changed the listing above to show all the information that I gleaned from the website as Unverified. When you add anything new, please show it as verified, so we can tell the difference. And please remove any unverified merchants that are wrong.


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: May. 20, 2006 @ 12:09p

great start. i hope to verify a few of those merchants when i get my card


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jun. 18, 2006 @ 12:40a

I haven't received my printed statement yet, but I can definitely say that Allstate falls under the category of "does not qualify for 3%". I made my insurance payment this month and it was definitely my highest spending but that is not what I got the 3% for.

The rest of my spending was on some lesser known specialized stuff so I'm not sure if you guys will want me to add it to the summary. I think it could get rather cluttered up if we were to do that. If my assumption is incorrect, let me know and I will add them by all means.

I can definitely confirm what many others have said as far as how arbitary RBS is in their classifications. I had a lot of cosmetics purchases this month and half of them were considered "specialty store" and half were considered "variety store". I only got the 3% back on the ones marked "specialty store". Actually I had another classification for one of the cosmetics purchase, but that was through Paypal and it was marked "professional services".


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 10:04a

This was a great idea OP. I want to apply for this card, so I would love to know what stores are classified as which. Keep it coming card users!


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 10:42a

I've waffled on this card, I found out about it after an app-o-rama and I was going to hold off for 6 months, since I already have most of the 5% back cards - citi dividend, advanta business, discover. But with pets at home, 3% back on PETsMART and Petco is always useful. Then mix in that the option to pick a month and (assuming the unverifieds become verified of course) go on a:

stockpiling run at Wal-Mart/target/big lots/Sears/Kohls/michaels with 3% back, or a

holiday shopping run at Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Blockbuster/borders/ticketmaster/toys-r-us with 3% back

that's a very flexible card, I'll be applying tonight...

Message edited by: dustin1836 on 2006-07-03 10:43:26 CDT
alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 10:58a

dustin1836 said:I've waffled on this card, I found out about it after an app-o-rama and I was going to hold off for 6 months, since I already have most of the 5% back cards - citi dividend, advanta business, discover. But with pets at home, 3% back on PETsMART and Petco is always useful. Then mix in that the option to pick a month and (assuming the unverifieds become verified of course) go on a:

stockpiling run at Wal-Mart/target/big lots/Sears/Kohls/michaels with 3% back, or a

holiday shopping run at Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Blockbuster/borders/ticketmaster/toys-r-us with 3% back

that's a very flexible card, I'll be applying tonight...

Can you let us know, because I thought it was invite only?


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 11:12a

ahh, ok, I thought it said online you could call, so I guess I'll give it a go and report back...


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 11:28a

dustin1836 said:ahh, ok, I thought it said online you could call, so I guess I'll give it a go and report back...
Just be careful, Some have reported that they were told they were applying for the 3% card only to end up getting a regular card. I have an RBS 1% cash and tried to get them to change it to the 3% but was told I could not but CSR told me I could apply for the 3%. I declined not wanting to take a chance of getting the wrong card


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 11:34a

Guys, I really think this thread should stay devoted to the RBS merchant category list, so please continue all of the general discussion about the card and application to the thread that was started about that here.

Thanks!


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 1:25p

dustin1836 said:But with pets at home, 3% back on PETsMART and Petco is always useful.
Why on earth would you settle for 3% CashBack when you can more than double that return right here on Fatwallet by simply purchasing their giftcards on a free shipping promo and taking them into the store?

Tytie


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 3, 2006 @ 1:36p

two bad reasons

I have to guess how much I want on the card then leave it sitting there earning no interest until I do use it...
Fatwallet says it takes up to 3 months to get me my money, I'd assume that the 3% comes fairly quickly

but your point is great and I do need to do a better job of researching the purchase through fatwallet options, I didn't realize it was a 7% payback. Obviously that is a good deal and now I know better. I clearly need to get more comfortable the fatwallet purchasing options...


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Jul. 11, 2006 @ 4:41p

TYTBUDGET said:dustin1836 said:But with pets at home, 3% back on PETsMART and Petco is always useful.
Why on earth would you settle for 3% CashBack when you can more than double that return right here on Fatwallet by simply purchasing their giftcards on a free shipping promo and taking them into the store?

Tytie

And use the RBS card to purchase the gift cards to get the 3% on top of that!


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rated:
   posted: Aug. 1, 2006 @ 12:49p

Great thread, I gave you a Green.

Anybody know the category for DealPass Purchases?


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rated:
   posted: Aug. 1, 2006 @ 4:13p

I've found two places that I was expecting to count as hotels, but did not. Both had cottages that were rented out nightly, just like a hotel.
One was The Inn at Schoolhouse Creek in Mendocino, CA which the website says is "REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND MANAGER--RENTALS". The other was Forest Houses in Sedona, AZ which was listed as TIMESHARES.


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Aug. 23, 2006 @ 6:30p

Paypal is categorized as "PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIE" in my statement, I'm getting 3% back on that.
So far I use it exclusively for Paypal because I don't know of any other merchants in the same category.


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Aug. 23, 2006 @ 9:48p

Professional Services - not classified elsewhere is the description of ISO Merchant Category Code 8999. See here for the full list. I don't think that this is one of the RBS merchant categories. Neophyte, please check your bill where it says "This month you’ve earned 3% Cash Back in the xxx merchant category" and let us know what xxx is. Or you can look online under "Highest Merchant Category Spend:".


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Aug. 24, 2006 @ 12:13a

I noticed that not all Paypal transactions have the same description even though most do. I've had a couple of people I've bought from through Paypal and they had a specific category.


alert mods    
rated:
   posted: Sep. 19, 2006 @ 2:25p

Car repairs done at a car dealer always get 1%.

I just had major work done at the local BMW and Toyota dealers. They both only got 1% Cash Back even though they were the largest expenses on the month's credit card bill. I called customer service and it appears that any expenses charged by a car dealer are not eligible for a 3% category


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