Best Credit Card for NBA Fans | Cavaliers Card By Cardless

Eyma Victor
6 min readJun 25, 2021

Wondering which is the best credit card for NBA fans? Cardless offers an amazing product for one special group of basketball supporters.

What’s the Best Credit Card for NBA Fans?

If you are an avid basketball fan or parent to a child deeply immersed in the sport, you may be wondering ‘What’s the best credit card for NBA fans?’ The answer is, ‘Depends on your team’.

The National Basketball Association has 30 teams. Twenty-nine of these are based in US cities, with the 30th, the Raptors, located in Toronto, Canada. The NBA is the world’s premier men’s basketball league. It was founded in 1946, and is one of the top three most valuable professional sports leagues in the world, after the National Football League and Major League Baseball. In approximate order of their admittance to the NBA, the teams that currently play are:

  • Boston Celtics
  • New York Knicks
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Sacramento Kings
  • Detroit Pistons
  • LA Lakers
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Washington Wizards
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Houston Rockets
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Phoenix Suns
  • LA Clippers
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Utah Jazz
  • Indiana Pacers
  • New York Nets
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Miami Heat
  • Orlando Magic
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Toronto Raptors
  • New Orleans Pelicans

Why Get A Rewards Credit Card

Being a basketball fan is expensive. Between season tickets, merchandise, subscriptions to streaming services, and travel to games, the costs of rooting for your favorite team can add up to thousands per year. To get to an NBA game, you have to buy tickets. Once you’re inside an NBA arena, you still might want to spend some money on concessions, and perhaps a hat, a sweatshirt, or a piece of memorabilia. Whether your seats are in the “nosebleed” section or courtside, the fan experience costs add up.

A rewards credit card offers an opportunity to recoup some of your spend in the form of cashback, discounts, and/or special items and gifts. Credit card rewards come in different forms, but they all provide a benefit for using your card more. The value of the rewards you earn and the types of purchases that earn rewards can vary by credit card. You might earn a flat rate of rewards on all your purchases. Or, you also may earn rewards in different amounts based on different categories of spending. If you have good credit, pay off your balance each month, and are comfortable with the terms, a reward credit card can help enrich your NBA fan experience.

Thinking of the NBA fan experience, you could earn higher rewards for purchases related to your favorite team. For instance, the Cavaliers card by Cardless gives you bonus points on all Cavs purchases, such as season tickets, single-game tickets, merchandise, and concessions.

What To Look For in a Rewards Credit Card

When considering a rewards credit card, you ought to think about what you are going to use it for. A card that gives extra cash back on gasoline purchases is more valuable to a contractor who drives 50 miles a day to visit their clients than it is to a freelancer who works from home. Someone who eats out at restaurants three times a week will find more use in a card that offers cash back on eating out than someone who infrequently goes to restaurants. That said, not all cards offer cash back. Some offer points that can be redeemed for things like air travel, or other travel expenditures like restaurants and hotels. Make sure that you are positioned to get the most value out of your card, and that the rewards are commensurate with the fees for the card.

Another factor to consider when looking for the best rewards credit card is the annual fee. You can find plenty of rewarding credit cards that won’t charge you for the privilege of carrying them.

What Is the Smartest Way to Use a Credit Card that Offers Rewards?

Unfortunately, because different people have different financial situations and needs, there is no universally amazing rewards credit card. That said, there are some generally solid rules of thumb to get the most out of your rewards card.

  • Use frequently, pay off frequently: Your card shouldn’t dramatically change your spending habits. But if you can get rewards for spending that you would ordinarily do, it only makes sense to charge it to your card. The important thing is to pay off the credit as soon as possible. Interest charged on your balance will quickly wipe out any advantage the rewards can provide.
  • The right card for the right place and time: So long as you’re not facing huge fees or penalties, there’s often little reason not to have multiple cards open, in the interest of maximizing your rewards. For example, use the card that gives the best cash back for groceries while you’re at the grocery store, and the card that is better for gas at the gas station.
  • Know what you’re getting: There are often hidden bonuses that cards have that they don’t advertise as readily. Research what you’re entitled to, and don’t forget that payment networks (e.g. Visa and Mastercard) also have bonuses and perks beyond what the card issuer offers.

How To Apply for a Rewards Credit Card

Applying for a credit card is typically straightforward. Indeed, if your financial activity makes it look like you’re in the market, you may have financial service providers beating down your door with pre-approved offers for cards. Find the rewards card with the bonuses that you desire (such as extra points in the categories of your choice, or double cash back from certain vendors such as team pro shops). The most common way to apply for rewards credit cards today is through the financial service provider’s website, though some also offer application options via phone or through their apps.

Credit Cards for Sports Fans

Cardless offers a highly exclusive credit card to Cleveland Cavaliers supporters, with a cash back rewards program catering specifically to the interests of Cavs supporters. For example:

  • Our card offers a flat 10% off at the Cavs’ team shop.
  • Holders earn five times the normal rewards points on Cavs season ticket purchases and streaming services.
  • We also offer three times the normal rewards points on other Cavs tickets, as well as dining, groceries, and delivery.
  • Everything else is eligible for our normal rewards points provision.
  • Card holders who spend over $1,000 on qualifying purchases within the first 3 months of opening an account with us will receive a Cavs jersey in their size (terms apply).

Rewards points can be favorably applied to team gift cards, put towards statement credits, or even converted into charitable donations to the Cavaliers Community Foundation. You can also redeem your points for exclusive rewards such as team-signed items, meet & greets with your favorite players, or being an honorary bench-warmer.

Why Is Cardless Different?

A lot of credit card issuers like to sway people with flashy, up-front promises without much substance to the rewards cards behind them. Then they nickel-and-dime them with hidden rates and fees, annual fees, and the like. Cardless is not one of those card issuers. We offer this option to select sports fans with the goal of providing an exceptional service to enrich their relationship with their favorite team. Do you have the right credit score? Do you want to earn 3% cash back/3 times the reward points per dollar spent on Cavs tickets or multiple other purchase categories? Our card will grant you opportunities to support and interact with your team that no other card provides, all while receiving compensation comparable to many other competitive financial products. Apply for yours today!

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