While I usually write about travel rewards credit cards, Verizon and Synchrony Bank recently launched a potentially lucrative credit card. While it’s most definitely niche, it’s worth being aware of, for those who are Verizon customers.
In this post:
Details of the Verizon Visa® Credit Card
The Verizon Visa® Card is exclusively for Verizon Wireless customers, and it offers rewards that can be used towards Verizon purchases. For some this card will be worth spending money on, while for others the perks alone will more than justify it.
Let’s cover some of the highlights of the card:
No annual fee & no foreign transaction fees
First of all, the Verizon Visa Card has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. It’s always useful to have a no annual fee card that also has no foreign transaction fees, since that can otherwise be tough to come by. You do have to be a Verizon customer to be eligible for the card, though.
Earn 1-4% back in Verizon Dollars
The Verizon Visa Card offers Verizon Dollars as its rewards, as follows:
- Earn 4% back on gas and grocery store purchases
- Earn 3% back on dining purchases, including takeout
- Earn 2% back on Verizon purchases
- Earn 1% back on all other eligible purchases
Verizon Dollars can be redeemed towards all kinds of purchases with Verizon, ranging from your Verizon Wireless bill, to a new phone, tablet, or headphones. There’s no limit on how many rewards you can earn, and they don’t expire.
Sign-up bonus: $100 Verizon Dollars
The Verizon Visa Card offers several ways to save on the cost of your Verizon Wireless bill, and one of those ways is the sign-up bonus. Don’t get too excited about this (after all, this is a no annual fee card), but it’s something.
The Verizon Visa Card is offering a new member bonus of up to $100, though that’s not as straightforward as it may sound:
- You’ll receive this over the course of 24 months, as you’ll get a $4.17 credit applied to your monthly bill
- This only applies if you pay your bill with the Verizon Visa Card
Fortunately there’s another incentive to put your monthly bill on this card, so it goes beyond this.
$10 monthly credit for paying your Verizon Wireless bill
For first time enrollees in Verizon’s Auto Pay and paper free billing, you can receive up to $10 per month off each eligible account or line, up to 10 lines max. This offer is for first time enrollees who pay their bill with the Verizon Visa Card.
Two free TravelPass days annually
For having the Verizon Visa Card you can receive two free TravelPass days per calendar year, which is a $20 value. This is Verizon’s offering for talking, texting, and using data in more than 185 countries for a low daily rate.
If you’re a Verizon customer and travel internationally with any frequency, this is a fantastic value.
Visa Signature Card benefits
The Verizon Credit Card is a Visa Signature Card, meaning it offers the typical Visa Signature perks. Among other things, this includes:
- Access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection, offering extra perks at 900+ hotels
- Special rental car privileges, including with Silvercar
- Assistance with travel planning, dining reservations, and more, with the concierge service
- Extended warranty protection, roadside dispatch, and more
My take on the Verizon Visa Card
The Verizon Visa Card is definitely niche, in the sense that it’s only for Verizon customers, and you’re rewarded in Verizon Dollars. That being said, for Verizon customers this card seems like it could absolutely be worth it:
- Since the card has no annual fee, you can come out ahead just by having the card, thanks to the TravelPass credits, and the rewards for paying your Verizon Wireless bill
- The rewards structure is extremely competitive for a no annual fee card with no foreign transaction fees, as you’re earning 4% back on gas and grocery store purchases, and 3% back on dining
- Yes, on the surface Verizon Dollars aren’t as valuable as cash back, but if you’re a Verizon customer then you should almost view it as being good as face value; cell phone bills aren’t cheap, and neither are new phones or tablets, which people spend a lot of money on
So no, this card isn’t as well rounded as some of the other best cards out there. I absolutely wouldn’t put my everyday spending on this card with a 1% return. However, for specific categories and reasons, this card serves a purpose.
The best alternative to the Verizon Visa Card
If you’re looking for a straightforward no annual fee cash back rewards card, it’s hard to go wrong with the Citi Double Cash® Card (review). The card offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase. Best of all, you can even convert these rewards into ThankYou points at the rate of one cent per point.
So while the card has foreign transaction fees and doesn’t have the same bonus categories, it does have an excellent return on everyday spending, which is better than what’s offered on the Verizon Visa Card. Personally I wouldn’t be using the Verizon Visa Card for my everyday purchases, but rather for specific categories, and the credits that it offers.
Bottom line
The Verizon Visa Card was launched in 2020, and can make a lot of sense for Verizon Wireless customers. The card has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, offers up to 4% back in the form of Verizon Dollars, and offers credits towards your bill and even towards TravelPass.
Learn more about the Verizon Visa Card
To readers who are Verizon customers, what do you make of the Verizon Visa Card? Have you applied yet?
I got the card and it's gotten me significant discounts on my Verizon bill. One thing that you didn't mention is that Verizon has a rewards program, and each month you get 1 credit to redeem towards a reward. Each month one of the rewards they offer is $5 decide credit. However, if you have this credit card, those device dollars come through as Verizon $$ that you can use on your bill. So on...
I got the card and it's gotten me significant discounts on my Verizon bill. One thing that you didn't mention is that Verizon has a rewards program, and each month you get 1 credit to redeem towards a reward. Each month one of the rewards they offer is $5 decide credit. However, if you have this credit card, those device dollars come through as Verizon $$ that you can use on your bill. So on addition to all the rewards you mentioned above, I also get $5 per month in Verizon dollars vis the rewards program.
I signed up for the card in November 2020 and have been using for groceries, groceries via Instacart and Shipt. All spending I take on the Verizon Visa is at 4% category. For every $1,000 per month I am getting $40 credit to my Verizon phone bill. I am basically getting my monthly Verizon service for my family substantially covered. If any non-4% categories then that is going to cash back cards that have between...
I signed up for the card in November 2020 and have been using for groceries, groceries via Instacart and Shipt. All spending I take on the Verizon Visa is at 4% category. For every $1,000 per month I am getting $40 credit to my Verizon phone bill. I am basically getting my monthly Verizon service for my family substantially covered. If any non-4% categories then that is going to cash back cards that have between 2-3% cash back. If I start traveling again I will have to re-evaluate depending on circumstances but for now the Verizon Visa 4% sending category for groceries and gas is very worthwhile as a Verizon customer and the points transfer easily after statement over to Verizon App for easy application to monthly bill. The $10 credit also applies to the Verizon Visa instead of using my checking account draft to get the auto pay discount (and I get 2% on that spend too).
The article states the following "For first time enrollees in Verizon’s Auto Pay and paper free billing, you can receive up to $10 per month off each eligible account or line, up to 10 lines max. This offer is for first time enrollees who pay their bill with the Verizon Visa Card."
Question: If one is already enrolled in Auto Pay with Verizon with another different credit card (a non-Verizon credit card), and then one...
The article states the following "For first time enrollees in Verizon’s Auto Pay and paper free billing, you can receive up to $10 per month off each eligible account or line, up to 10 lines max. This offer is for first time enrollees who pay their bill with the Verizon Visa Card."
Question: If one is already enrolled in Auto Pay with Verizon with another different credit card (a non-Verizon credit card), and then one applies for this Verizon Card and enrolls it into Auto Pay, will one still get the $10 monthly credit?
Appreciate your input.
I would only agree that the benefits would work if you are a Verizon customer and use the card to pay your bill. The primary reason is because it is unknown at least based on your article how much "real money" the Verizon Dollars are worth. Furthermore, it may be that the best thing to redeem for is Verizon credits. Verizon tends to be more a more expensive providers compared to others. In addition, your...
I would only agree that the benefits would work if you are a Verizon customer and use the card to pay your bill. The primary reason is because it is unknown at least based on your article how much "real money" the Verizon Dollars are worth. Furthermore, it may be that the best thing to redeem for is Verizon credits. Verizon tends to be more a more expensive providers compared to others. In addition, your comparison to Citi just means that you are being paid by Citi to place them in this article because that is a return of only 2%. The three cards with Chase work much better. Reserve, Freedom, and Freedom Unlimited. Consider the increase of the value of the points when redeemed with Reserve for Chase travel. It even tops the Verizon card's 4%.
Synchrony Bank is my biggest concern about this card. I got mixed up with them a few years ago on a 0% APR Google device purchase. Customer service was horrible... hope they have addressed that.
I got the card when it first came out and got the $400+ early signup bonus. There are some incorrect comments above. First, I believe that AT&T and others require you to use a checking account or debit card to get the autopay discount. And yes, using the Verizon Visa card gets you the $10 per line discount. That is one of the great things about this card since otherwise it wouldn't make any sense...
I got the card when it first came out and got the $400+ early signup bonus. There are some incorrect comments above. First, I believe that AT&T and others require you to use a checking account or debit card to get the autopay discount. And yes, using the Verizon Visa card gets you the $10 per line discount. That is one of the great things about this card since otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to use it. The autopay discount varies by Verizon plan, the current unlimited plans are $10 per line. So basically I get 2% cashback on my bill which I would have to pay from my checking account otherwise. And I have four lines, so it's $40 a month.
Also, the comment about Verizon Dollars misses a big point -- previously they were Device Dollars that could only be used towards a phone or accessory purchase. When you get this card, they become Verizon Dollars and can just be applied to your monthly bill. Furthermore, the Verizon Up program gives you a monthly perk, and you can select $5 in Verizon Dollars to save another $5 on your bill. If you have Verizon Wireless and FiOS you get also $10 a month in Verizon Dollars.
All of that being said, I do not use the card for anything other than my Verizon bill. I suppose that I could use it for gas, but I don't like that I lose some of the value of the rebate because I would have to use it on my Verizon bill, which means I wouldn't get the 2% on that amount. I use my Costco card for gas since I get the same 4% and can cash out the reward certificate when it arrives.
Free phone insurance would be great, but I can't see a cell phone company offering a feature that competes with something that they sell.
Not sure if the grocery store 4% CB is unlimited, could be an opportunity if were the case to MS spend into having my monthly $250 VZ bill free.
Got the card on the early sign up bonus several months back - the sign up bonus ended up being I believe $400+ - it's a no brainer if you have VZ - that's the only expense I use the card for is the phone bill. People mention using a card with insurance and protection I guess I've never needed/used that benefit so it has very little benefit to me.
What 5150 said. Much better value to pay with a card that provides phone insurance. Not worth the $140 in yearly benefits this card provides to not have insurance.
A World Elite Double Cash would be a much better option. The cell phone protection would offset any benefits of the Verizon card, even before considering the value of transferable currency.
Got the card, it gives you even more if you have FIOS as well. Plus the Verizon Dollars you earned before for having both wireless and FIOS - used to expire - now they don't. All reward dollars get put in one bucket.
And now you can apply them to your bill. Before the dollars could only be used toward purchase of a new phone and expired in a year if unused.
Two free TravelPass days ANNUALLY worth $20.
"If you’re a Verizon customer and travel internationally with any frequency, this is a fantastic value." Fantastic value? I must have missed something here? Please explain or possibly correct?
Cards that offer free cell phone insurance are better than this.
The $10 credit is also available if you setup auto pay thru checking account.
"Extended warranty protection" - I dont see this listed on the Verizon Visa Guide to Benefits page.
Oddly they also dont seem to detail any primary or secondary coverage for car rentals, nor any accidental death benefit during common carrier travel. Maybe its actually there in the paper copy of benefits, but odd they dont list it on the website and instead promote a silvercar discount which is really not helpful these days.
Yes...
"Extended warranty protection" - I dont see this listed on the Verizon Visa Guide to Benefits page.
Oddly they also dont seem to detail any primary or secondary coverage for car rentals, nor any accidental death benefit during common carrier travel. Maybe its actually there in the paper copy of benefits, but odd they dont list it on the website and instead promote a silvercar discount which is really not helpful these days.
Yes - good for Verizon customers in certain categories - but not good for travel if these common travel benefits dont exist.
I got this card a few months ago and am underwhelmed by it. Wanted it to reduce my monthly bill. Maybe I didn’t read the (scant) details well enough because I feel it’s confusing. If you don’t redeem your rewards every month, they’re gone. Looks like they’ve upped the ante to $10 if you use auto pay - I’m only getting $5.
Verizon is the only carrier that requires you to pay with a debit card or bank transfer only to get the $10 monthly AutoPay discount, if you pay part of your bill early with a credit card or Verizon gift card they will charge you back the $10 AutoPay discount; if this credit card doesn't also get the $10 AutoPay discount and/or Verizon dollars would void the $10 AutoPay discount it would make this card totally useless.
Lucky, I’m curious to know what phone plan you use to accommodate your frequent international travel?
A great card that I've got my eyes on for sure! Two 4% categories and one 3% category on a no-fee card is a strong offering.