If you decide to go green, keep in mind that sustainable finance is really a nascent market and that no matter what card you choose, ‘all the cards in the market place are kind of first drafts,’ says Arnold.
Here are five green cards that we feel make the grade:
1. GE Earth Rewards MasterCard
GE (GE) has partnered with power firm AES (AES) to create this new card, through which borrowers can put up to 1% of net purchases towards purchases of carbon offsets, redeemed annually on Earth Day.
2. Brighter Planet Visa
A group of Middlebury College grads partnered with banking giant Bank of America (BOA) on both a credit and a check card. Every $1,000 you spend will fund an estimated 1 ton of carbon offsets.
3. Working Assets Visa
This Visa (V), the greenest of the so-called affinity cards, allows borrowers to donate 10 cents on every purchase they make to the participating charity (or charities) of their choice.
4. GreenPay MasterCard (MA)
For every dollar of net purchases on this card, you buy 5 lbs of carbon offsets. This figure automatically doubles for environmentally less friendly purchases such as gasoline or utilities. So, while you’re still fueling your car, you’ll be purchasing more offsets at the same time.
5. Defenders of Wildlife Card
Issued by Bank of America (BOA), this card donates two cents for every $10 in purchases towards protection of endangered species and their precious habitat. So far the card has contributed more than $4.3 million dollars to the Defenders’ campaign.
