4.4
Redeeming rewards for phone service or gift cards isn't flashy, and cash back isn't an option. But this card is ideal for Verizon customers looking to slash their monthly bill without much extra effort.
$0
18.99%-25.99% Variable APR
N/A
$0
18.99%-25.99% Variable APR
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1%-4%
Bonus offer
None
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 18.99%-25.99% Variable APR
Foreign transaction fee
None
The Verizon Visa® Card, issued by Synchrony Bank, offers close-to-jaw-dropping rewards in common spending categories for a card with a $0 annual fee. They include 4% back on gas and at grocery stores, 3% back at restaurants and 2% on Verizon purchases.
The generous rates on everyday expenses mean your rewards can add up fast. (Use our calculator below to see for yourself.) The catch? You have to be a Verizon customer.
Card type: Rewards.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: Up to $100 in credit applied over the next 24 monthly wireless bills ($4.17 per month) when you use the card to pay your Verizon bill.
Rewards:
4% back at grocery stores.
4% back at gas stations.
3% back at restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
2% back on Verizon purchases.
1% back on all other purchases.
There's no limit to the rewards you can earn, and rewards don't expire. As long as you remain a Verizon customer and you earn or redeem rewards on the card at least once every 24 months, you can hold onto them as long as you want.
Redemption options: Purchases with the Verizon Visa® Card earn rewards called "Verizon Dollars." Each Verizon Dollar is worth $1 when applied toward:
A new phone or accessories.
Paying your monthly bill for Verizon cell phone service or Fios internet.
Travel booked through Verizon's portal.
Gift card purchases through Verizon.
Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 18.99%-25.99% Variable APR.
Travel benefits:
Two free TravelPass days per calendar year. TravelPass lets you use your phone outside the U.S. It usually costs $5 a day in Canada and Mexico and $10 a day elsewhere.No foreign transaction fees.
The Verizon Visa® Card is effectively a store-branded Visa card: You can earn rewards anywhere that accepts Visa, but you can redeem those rewards only through Verizon (either for purchases with the carrier itself or for travel bookings or gift cards with the company's loyalty partner). That relative lack of rewards flexibility will undoubtedly turn some people off.
But there's also a key difference from typical store cards. If you have $50 in rewards piled up on a store card, you have to make another purchase at the store to redeem them. If you don't need or want anything from that particular store right now, your rewards are useless. If you have the Verizon Visa® Card, however, you're already paying for Verizon wireless service every single month, so you always have an opportunity to redeem your rewards.
Your Verizon Dollars won't automatically go towards your cell phone bill. You'll have to wait until the bill posts and manually apply the Verizon Dollars to it.
If you were to put all your purchases on the card and then apply your rewards toward your Verizon payment, you could take a decent chunk out of your monthly cell phone bill. Say your household spends $300 a month at grocery stores, $50 on gas, $100 at restaurants and $300 on other expenses that could go on a credit card, and you also use the card to pay your $110 Verizon bill. Every month, you'd earn $22.20 worth of Verizon Dollars, enough to shave more than 20% off your phone bill.
See how you'd do with your own spending:
Verizon customers can get a discount of up to $10 a month per account or per line (depending on their plan) if they sign up for autopay and paperless billing. Ordinarily that discount is available only for those who pay their bill from a bank account or with a debit card. Credit card payments aren't usually eligible. But if you autopay with the Verizon Visa® Card, you can get the discount on up to 12 lines, depending on plan.
You can't get the Verizon Visa® Card unless you're a Verizon wireless customer with at least one active line on your account (but no more than 12). To even apply, you have to sign in to your Verizon account online. When you're approved, the card is automatically added to your account as a payment option. That makes setting up autopay with the card easy. You're also automatically enrolled in Verizon Up, the carrier's rewards program. That's where you can see your Verizon Dollars balance.
If you like to have the option to redeem your credit card rewards for cash, the Verizon Visa® Card probably isn't for you. Verizon has expanded its redemption options — adding travel and gift cards on top of Verizon purchases — but you can redeem your rewards only through Verizon and nowhere else. If it helps, consider that every dollar saved on your phone bill is a dollar you have available for something else. So it's kind of an indirect cash-back card.
For simple rewards you can use anywhere, consider a card like the Citi Double Cash® Card, which earns 2% cash back on every purchase (1% when you buy, and 1% when you pay it off), or the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, which earns a flat 1.5% cash back on nearly everything and allows you to earn a substantial cash sign-up bonus.
Considering that an increasing number of credit cards are offering cell phone protection as a perk if you pay your wireless bill with the card, it's worth noting that the Verizon Visa® Card does not. This isn't exactly surprising, since offering such a perk would undercut Verizon's ability to sell add-on device insurance to customers. Still, if you were hoping your cell phone credit card would protect your cell phone: nope.
This card earns a flat 2% cash back: 1% when you buy something and another 1% when you pay it off. The straightforward structure translates into a high rewards rate on everything. Plus, cash is a reward you can use for anything, not just your phone bill.
If you're a Verizon customer, the rewards on the Verizon Visa® Card are hard to beat for a credit card with a $0 annual fee.
Having a cell phone is a necessity for most people, and the Verizon Visa® Card can help Verizon customers reduce cell phone expenses with little effort. But if you want the ability to redeem rewards for cash, a straightforward cash-back credit card might be a better option. This list can help you determine what's the best credit card for your needs.
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
The card earns 4% back at grocery stores and gas stations; 3% back at restaurants, including takeout and delivery; 2% back on Verizon purchases; and 1% back on other spending. Rewards are paid as "Verizon Dollars" that you can use to pay your bill or buy devices or accessories.
The Verizon Visa® Card is available only to Verizon wireless customers. The rewards earned on the card are redeemable only with Verizon, so there'd be no point in getting it as a non-customer even if you could.
Rewards can be used to pay your monthly bill for Verizon wireless or Fios internet service, or to buy devices or accessories. Other redemption options include things like travel and gift cards, but those still must be redeemed through Verizon's portal.
If you cancel your Verizon wireless service, you'll forfeit any unredeemed rewards you've earned on the card. Your card account can stay open — the card is issued by Synchrony bank, not by Verizon — but you won't earn any rewards.
If you cancel your Verizon Visa® Card account, you'll have 90 days to use any remaining Verizon Dollars earned on the card. After that, those Verizon Dollars will be forfeit. Your Verizon Up rewards account will remain open, though, and you'll hold onto any rewards earned from activities other than credit card spending.