5 Things to Know About Truist Credit Cards

Truist Bank — a merger of former banks SunTrust Bank and BB&T — offers a suite of credit card products that include cash back, travel and secured card options:

• Enjoy Cash credit card, $0 annual fee.

• Enjoy Travel credit card, $0 annual fee.

• Future credit card, $0 annual fee.

• Enjoy Cash Secured credit card, $19 annual fee. (A $400 minimum refundable deposit is required.)

• Enjoy Beyond credit card, $195 annual fee.

Each card comes with its own distinct set of features, so the right one for you will depend on your goals. Some of these options offer competitive rewards and benefits. But in other cases, capped rewards and an inflexible redemption process make them lackluster compared with other options on the market.

Here’s what to know about the Truist credit cards.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best rewards credit cards

1. They offer lucrative rewards for popular spending

Aside from the Future credit card, which earns no rewards, the Truist cards earn bonus cash back, miles or points in popular spending categories.

For instance, the Enjoy Cash credit card and the Enjoy Cash Secured credit card each earn 3% back (up to a capped amount; details below) for gas purchases, which is a competitive rate for that category. The Enjoy Travel credit card in particular stands out not only for its decent 2x miles earn rate, but also because it comes with an $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee every four years — all for a $0 annual fee. Other travel cards that feature TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit typically charge annual fees.

Similarly, the Enjoy Beyond credit card’s 3x earnings rate for airfare, hotels and car rentals is on par with what some of the best general travel cards on the market offer. It also comes with a $100 statement credit toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fees once every four years, as well as a $100 annual statement credit for ground transportation and streaming services. In this case, the card’s $195 price tag is comparable to the annual fees of some of the more premium travel options out there, but it lacks many of the same high-value perks.

» READ: These cash-back credit cards are great for travel, too

2. Some rare features stand out

• Uncommon bonus category: Both the Enjoy Cash credit card and the Enjoy Cash Secured credit card earn cash back for utilities, which is a rare but useful category that not many other cards feature.

• Customizable rewards: Even more rare is the fact that the Enjoy Cash credit card offers the ability to choose which rewards structure you want: a flat 1.5% or a tiered rewards system. While there are cards that allow holders to choose their own bonus categories, none offer the ability to customize the entire rewards structure like the Enjoy Cash credit card does. The choice here comes down to your spending habits. While there’s a cap on how much you’ll earn when you opt for the card’s tiered rewards ($1,000 per month), the 1.5% cash back is unlimited. If your spending varies widely, you'd be better off with a flat rate that will reward you no matter what. If you consistently spend on utilities, gas or groceries, it might make sense to opt for the tiered rewards structure.

• Secured card offers unusually high rewards rate: Not many secured cards offer rewards and the ones that do, typically come with low ongoing flat rates. But the Enjoy Cash Secured credit card earns impressive 3% and 2% cash-back rates (up to a cap) in common spend categories. The card also reports to all three credit bureaus, which is important when it comes to helping holders build their credit. However, it does charge an annual fee as well as an upfront minimum cash deposit of $400 into a Truist Secured Card Savings Account, the latter of which is significantly higher than what most secured cards require.

» READ: 8 under-the-radar credit cards with hard-to-find perks

3. Redemption options have caveats

Whether the Truist card in question earns cash back, miles or points, rewards can be redeemed for a statement credit, check or as a deposit into an eligible Truist account. Rewards can also be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise and travel booked through Truist. But there are a few rules that make the redemption process inflexible:

• There are minimum redemption requirements: For the cards that earn cash back — the Enjoy Cash credit card and the Enjoy Cash Secured credit card — you must have $25 before you can redeem rewards for a statement credit, deposit or check. And for the Enjoy Travel credit card and the Enjoy Beyond credit card, you’ll need at least 2,500 miles or points, respectively, to redeem for a statement credit, deposit or check. (Points and miles are worth one cent each when redeemed for a statement credit, check or deposit, but redemptions' value may vary for non-cash redemption options.)

• You’re on the clock: All rewards will expire five years after you’ve earned them, regardless of which card you have.

There are many card options that don’t come with such restrictions that tie up your rewards and make it difficult to get your money’s worth. Cards that allow you to redeem your awards in any amount include:

» LEARN: How minimum redemptions can devalue credit card rewards

4. It pays to have a Truist account

When you redeem your rewards as a deposit into an eligible Truist account, you’ll earn an additional redemption boost. How much of a boost you'll get, though, depends on which account you have and how much money you keep in eligible Truist accounts.

Everyone depositing rewards into an eligible account will automatically receive a 10% boost. Depending on how much money you keep with the bank, you could receive up to a 50% boost.

5. They are good cards to travel with

None of the Truist cards charge foreign transaction fees, which means that using the cards abroad won’t be expensive. Some cards charge such fees — typically 3% — when you use your card internationally, which can add up when you’re making frequent purchases from non-U.S. merchants.