Verizon Visa Card Overview, Better Than You Would Expect
When I first heard about the Verizon Visa card I figured it would be garbage warmed over. What good would a cell company’s credit card be? After a quick glance I realized that I was pretty wrong with my preconceived notions. So much so that the Verizon Visa card has me considering a cell phone service provider switch. I wanted to do a quick Verizon Visa card overview as well. I will discuss the card, its earning structure and what has me excited about it.
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Verizon Visa Card Overview
Welcome Offer
The Verizon Visa has a welcome offer of $100 in credit applied to your wireless bill over the first 24 months. It is basically a $4.17 credit each month when you use the card to pay your bill. Nothing all that inspiring really but something at least.
Earning Structure
The earning structure is where the card shines and has some potential:
- 4% back on grocery and gas purchases
- 3% on dining
- 2% on Verizon purchases
- 1% on all other purchases
- You can redeem the earnings towards your cell phone bill or anything in the Verizon store like headphones etc.
- There is no annual fee.
I am surprised that the earning on Verizon purchases is so low. It kind of reminds me of the Citi Costco card. I assume they get better fees on the other purchases and that is why. And those charges are where the value lies, but more on that later.
Card Perks
The card also gets you $10 off per line if you auto pay your bill. You can also get this when auto paying with a bank account or debit card so it isn’t as good as it looks at first. You would earn an extra 2% on the purchase going this route versus going with those options. The value there will depend on how much your bill is. It will most likely only be a couple of dollars a month unless you are paying for a lot of business accounts etc.
Crunching the Numbers
Let’s compare this to my current favorite option for my cell phone bill, the Chase Ink Cash. That earns 5% back on cell phone bills, or 5X Ultimate Rewards with a premium card to unlock the earnings. Since we have a Chase Sapphire Reserve that is like 7.5% back with Pay Yourself Back.
Assuming a cell phone bill of $100 a month, at the end of 2 years you would have paid $2400 for service. Here is a breakdown of what I would get with the two cards.
- Chase Ink Cash
- $2400 x .075 = $180 in savings
- Verizon Visa
- 24 x $10 rebate – $240
- 2400 x .02 = $48
- $100 in statement credits
- $388 in savings
If, however, you paid your bill with a debit card or checking account the card would lead to $148 in additional savings versus going that route.
If you are a Verizon customer paying with your bank or checking account is better than every other credit card option, unless you value cell phone insurance. The Verizon Visa still comes out slightly ahead, but not by much.
So Why Am I Excited About This Card Again?
Those numbers above are not very exciting, are they? Nope, it amounts to a few bucks here and there over the lifetime of your account. Not as bad as Benjy’s Citi Rewards+ experiment but still not great.
So why am I excited about the card then? The earning structure! Getting 4% back on gas and grocery purchases is tough to beat, especially for a no fee card. And the fact that it is uncapped makes it even more interesting.
There are better options out there with an annual fee for sure. But for people that do a lot of spend at the grocery store this could be a back up option for surplus spending. Something to pull out when you max out your Amex Gold $25,000 limit etc.
Let’s look at it this way. If you could reliably spend $2,500 on groceries and gas every month you are getting a $100 cell phone bill covered. While that isn’t a possibility for everyone out there it is an option for some of us.
Verizon Visa Card Overview – Final Thoughts
I had already been considering a provider change before this card launched. We have been having very spotty reception in a few areas we frequent often and Verizon seems to be the best option there. If T-Mobile / Sprint doesn’t up their game by the time our contract is up, and get some coverage there, a change may be inevitable.
And if I make a change the Verizon Visa will play a role in that decision I think. I like the opportunity to diversify where I put my grocery spend some. And this would allow me a chance to get near free cell phone service. It is something I am sure some others have thought about too. The card is issued by Synchrony Bank which lets you diversify your applications as well.
I guess you could always cash in your earnings for phones, headphones and tablets to resell and turn it into cash as well. There are occasionally decent deals on Verizon’s site for electronics that can be profitable. I know I have purchased some AirPods in the past to resell from them. So there is that option as well.
What do you guys think? Is the Verizon Visa something that has your interest piqued or am I just being crazy?
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You can pay your Verizon bill with a Chase ink card using your paypal key and it considers it a debit card so you get the 5x Ultimate rewards and the $10 Autopay Discount. Of course, with the numerous changes on Paypal Key, there is no guarantee how long this will work.
That is a good tip Jason. True – no idea how long it works 🙁
Do you get it per line or just $10 total per account?
I don’t know, since I only have verizon fios not cell service so I get one $10 autopay discount per month.
okay thanks – looks like per their term it should be per line. That can really add up for some people. Nice!
I have a grandfathered family Verizon plan with 9 lines. About $25 a month each plus taxes/fees.
I find it hard to believe I could get $90 back a month, but stranger things have happened. If someone has this card and can verify that will happen, I am glad to hear.
I can get $10 off on the whole plan by paying from my bank account of course, but 5x Ink URs outweighs that.
Says $10 off each up to 10 lines – game changer for you 🙂
I have been reading the CC FAQ. Suffice it to say there are all kinds of details and footnotes and limitations, including notice that some plans only give $5 a month off with the card. So check that.
Also “up to” language like “You can get up to $10 per month off each eligible account or line… on select plans…”
I may still get it as an experiment, but I highly doubt I am getting $90 a month off.
Check out Jason’s comment above and give it a try 🙂
I just joined Tmobile a few months back. About 2 times a year, they seem to offer the Insider Code for 20% off for life(only for new accounts but maybe YMMV for existing accounts if you find a sympathetic representative. Just get one of those codes then have someone in your family sign up for a new line and get that code attached. If you have Magenta, the cost is $96 for 2 lines. Then keep adding the free lines when they offer it every few months. They’re handing them out like cotton candy. The terms and conditions for the free lines are you need to keep all your lines for 12 months without cancelling any. Plus if you canceled any lines within the last 3 months you need to re-activate. I’m now up to 6 lines with 2 lines paid for $96 per month. My goal is to get to 8 lines total for $96 per month.
If you’re looking to Verizon, I really think the best deal is the Bring your own Device. You can get $450 verizon gift card for 12 months of service. If you do that for 2 lines, that’s $900 and you keep the service for 1 year and can use this verizon credit card you mentioned for a sweeter deal. You can even get the iphones from Tmobile before you leave and use them on Verizon.
Thanks Danny – I’ll have to check that out
I know what provider you go with depends on where you live, coverage etc. We’ve been with Mint Mobile for almost two years now and pay 12 months at a time $199/ea. Not to mention we’ve used two amex offers specifically for Mint Mobile. Verizon is too rich for my frugal blood, although I also don’t need added coverage.
I know a lot of people really enjoy Mint. A good option for sure.
Switch to a no contract cell provider and save much more than you ever will with Verizon. Check out visible, it’s unlimited prepaid on Verizon for $25 a month. It’s even owned by Verizon.
We used to use Virgin but I got tired of the lack of international options with prepaid providers. Even in parts of Michigan you would lose service if you got to close to the Canada border.
If international service is an issue for you then Google Fi is the best choice in that arena.
Your initial hunch that it’s garbage warmed over is right on, in my opinion. I’ve been using it strictly for gasoline. I just closed my Amex Gold, so I may use it for grocery purchases now but I committed to using my United Club Card starting the 1st of the year for bonus miles.
I guess it all depends on your spending patterns and goals 🙂
Kick myself often for not jumping on the original $1MM bonus distribution offer. Heard that led to about $450 per card holder (over 2 years). But pleased with the card otherwise.
I do not follow the $148 extra by paying with debit or checking. Math? And I’ll have to reread the terms but I believe terms are that using the Verizon card auto pay triggers all discounts exactly as a debt/checking auto pay. So do not follow that on two points.
You get 2% per month paying with the card vs the debit card ($48 for 2 years in the example). Plus the $100 welcome offer is $148 in the first two years vs just paying your account with a debit card etc.
No foreign transaction fees either and really generous benefits. 4% back on grocery shopping and 3% on restaurants (really good). I love the card!
That is a nice additional perk for sure
Or you could switch to something like Mint, and save much more on the phone bill.
That is true but it has some limitations on the international side etc.
Even if the card is decent it’s hard to get excited about anything tied to Synchrony Bank.
Any idea if it will earn the 4% back on gas from Costco and Sam’s Club?
I would imagine not since warehouse clubs are usually a separate category
Every time I buy gas at Sam’s it codes differently than the warehouse so I would think you would get the 4%.
All gas stations are 4% so that is why it works that way. You would think in the store would get 3% since there are a ton of 2% cards you can use in its place.
I love this card. Got it as soon as applications came open. I have AMEX gold, BC, and BCP (as well as CIC) and I resell on Amazon and resell GCs too so I have plenty of options to liquidate various gift cards. I max them all out every year so now I spend about $4k per month on Verizon visa and pay almost nothing for my family’s cell phone Bill.
Awesome Joe!