Verizon Visa Card Review

If you’re a Verizon loyalist who spends a lot on the company’s services (including Fios), this card could unlock some nice savings on cellphone and wireless expenses. Plus, there’s some redemption flexibility for those who prefer to use their dollars toward travel or gift cards. 

Using the rewards to offset your Verizon bill or to help pay for your next phone upgrade could make it worthwhile. But let’s face it—having the option to redeem for a gift card or money off of a travel booking is nice, too.

Pros Explained

• High rewards-earning rates: Getting 4% back on gas and groceries, and 3% back on dining is very appealing, and a high rate among no-annual-fee rewards cards. If you spend the same amount as the average household on groceries—about $387 per month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—you have the potential to earn a bit more than $15 back just from grocery spending every month. If you also use the card for gas—especially as gas prices soar—and dining, you can tack on even more rewards.
• Cellphone bill savings that add up: The 2% back earned on Verizon purchases can effectively serve as a discount on subsequent monthly bills. If you set up autopay on the card you will save an additional $10 per month per line. This can be significant if you have multiple phone lines and/or other services like Fios bundled in. For instance, on a $300 per month bill, you’d earn the equivalent of $16 off just for paying it ($6 in reward dollars and $10 off for autopay), and that doesn’t include the other Verizon Dollars earned in other categories.

Cons Explained

• Loopholes in the $10 off/month promotion: In its list of card benefits, Verizon touts the opportunity to save $10/month per line by enrolling in Verizon’s autopay with the card, along with paper-free billing. This sounds great, but read the fine print: If you’re a Verizon customer who’s already enrolled in autopay using a bank account or debit card and paper-free billing, you won’t get this discount for re-enrolling with the card.
• No cellphone insurance perk: Considering that the card is offered by a cellular provider, not offering this benefit is a missed opportunity.

Bonus for New Cardholders

New cardholders can get up to $100 in credit applied to their Verizon wireless bills. However, you’re going to have to wait two years to enjoy the full benefit since it will be spread out as a monthly credit on your Verizon Wireless bill over 24 months. This comes out to $4.17 off your monthly bill, and to be eligible, you must use the Verizon Visa Card or Verizon Dollars to pay the bill. 

This bonus is lackluster compared to typical new cardholder bonuses—including one from a cellular competitor’s card—in which you get an instant boost of rewards after meeting a minimum spending requirement in the first few months of account opening.

Earning Points & Rewards

The real appeal of this card is its rewards-earning potential. Cardholders get 4% back on gas and grocery store purchases, 3% back on dining purchases (including delivery and curbside pick-up), 2% back on Verizon purchases, and 1% back on all other purchases. 

This card’s highest earnings categories—groceries and gas, followed by dining—are on par with or better than similar co-branded retail cards on the market—and even some cash-back cards. You can really rack up the rewards. Even at 2% back, the rewards you earn on Verizon spending translate to easy savings if you use the card to pay your cellphone or Fios bill.

Redeeming Rewards 

While the main redemption options for the Verizon Visa credit card involve Verizon products and services, the issuer recently added options to redeem for travel and for gift cards. You can redeem your Verizon Dollars to:

• Buy a smartphone, basic phone or tablet upgrade, or new line of service
• Buy eligible Verizon wireless accessories 
• Make a down payment on a device payment agreement 
• Pay off a device payment agreement
• Pay your Verizon wireless or Fios bill
• Pay for travel booked through the My Verizon App rewards center (including flights with 170 major airlines,150,000 hotels, and major rental car companies)
• Get gift cards from over 150 major retailers and brands, including for dining and entertainment

Each Verizon dollar is equivalent to $1, whether you redeem for travel or to pay some of your phone bill. In other words, there’s no number-crunching required to try to figure out the best way to redeem your earnings since you’ll get the same value for all options.

How to Get the Most Out of This Card

Your goal with this card should be to reduce your monthly Verizon bill. If you do the bulk of your grocery, gas, and restaurant spending with this card, plus enroll the card in auto pay to cover your Verizon bill each month, you can easily achieve double-digit percentage savings on your bill. Considering that the average cellphone bill was $102 per month as of 2019, any chance to bring that cost down is a good thing.

Here’s an example: Spend $300 on groceries, $100 on gas, $200 on dining out, and pay your $100 Verizon bill. You would earn $24 in Verizon Dollars.

Then, if you also qualify for the $10/month autopay/paperless discount, and add in the $4.17 credit from the new cardholder bonus, you’d be at more than $38 off of your $100 Verizon bill—a little more than a 38% discount. That’s a great deal for a card that charges no annual fee.

Verizon Visa Credit Card’s Other Features 

The Verizon Visa credit card offers one unique benefit: 

• Two free TravelPass days: This provides free talk, text, and data from more than 185 countries—a value of $20. The cardholder can choose which phone line on their account gets the TravelPass benefit.

If you qualify for the higher-tier Verizon Visa Signature card, you’ll also get a few additional perks including:

• Rental car discount at Silvercar
• Travel and emergency assistance
• Concierge for booking event tickets, travel, and other services
• Visa luxury hotel collection

Customer Experience

Synchrony Bank is not really known for top-notch customer service, and ranked seventh out of 11 credit card issuers in J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. It received a below average score in the study. That said, you can get customer support 24/7 via Synchrony’s hotline. You can also manage your account in a couple of ways: using the Verizon Visa card app or Synchrony’s website. The Verizon Visa card can also be added to a mobile wallet.

Security Features 

Security features are standard for the industry, including zero liability for fraudulent purchases. Visa also recently added ID Navigator Powered by NortonLifeLock, a tool for preventing identity theft, to all its cards.

Verizon Visa Card Fees

Fees on this card are typical for this type of credit card, but it’s worth noting that there is no annual or foreign transaction fee—always a consumer plus!