The Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature is a straightforward card for earning cash back on everyday purchases. It gets an unlimited 2% back on everything, without category restrictions or fees. The card is offered in partnership with Elan Financial Services. As of September 2023, the card no longer has a foreign transaction fee (previously 1%).
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fee
- 2% cash back on everything
SIGN UP BONUS
Public sign-up bonus offers are infrequent. In April 2022, you could get a $150 bonus after spending $1500+ in your first 90 days, plus 0% APR for 12 months. Targeted bonuses are available for some existing Fidelity customers, usually ranging from $150 to $300. These offers can be sent out via mail.
Fidelity usually has sign-up bonuses for its other products too. For example, $100 for opening a new IRA, or $135 with the Fidelity Bloom app, or $100-150 for opening a new Cash Management or Investing Account.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE FIDELITY REWARDS CARD
- Visa Signature benefits, including:
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement
- 24/7 Visa Signature Concierge
- Purchase Security
- Zero Fraud Liability
The card previously had an Extended Warranty benefit; it was removed in 2021.
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 670+
You’ll need a free Fidelity account to redeem rewards as a deposit. Additionally, as a Visa Signature card, you’ll need to be eligible for a credit line of at least $5,000 when applying.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE FIDELITY REWARDS CARD
Cash back is unlimited and rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open. Some categories don’t earn rewards, such as purchases made through the U.S. Mint.
Rewards can be redeemed as a deposit into any Fidelity account. One of the downsides is a $25 minimum reward to cash out. Other card issuers allow people to redeem any amount of rewards, even $1. On the other hand, you can set up your Fidelity account to automatically redeem all rewards whenever you hit the $25 threshold, so you don’t have to think about this. Some people like auto-investing rewards much like auto-invested dividends.
Fidelity occasionally has limited-time opportunities for bonus points, often up to $10 or $20 total in rewards. Keep an eye out for these targeted offers. YMMV.
If you have a large amount of assets with Fidelity, you can get extra cash back, like the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. Fidelity tiers are:
- Under $250k: 2% cash back
- $250k-1M: 2.25% cash back
- $1M-2M: 2.5% cash back
- $2M+: 3% cash back
The higher tiers also include benefits like up to $5M in identity theft insurance. However, these elevated rewards are only available for Wealth Management clients. This has an ongoing advisory fee of 0.20% to 1.50% depending on your level of assets. Whether this is worthwhile for you depends on your personal situation and levels of spending/wealth.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE FIDELITY REWARDS
There are dozens of cards now which offer at least 2% cash back on all purchases without fees. As such, to find the best card for you, we’ll have to look into non-standard perks.
Most people will be best off with the Signature FCU Visa because it can earn more cash back and has the best perks of no-fee cards, including travel accident insurance and return protection. The SoFi Mastercard is notable mostly for having better Cell Phone Insurance.
Higher spenders and travelers will prefer Visa Infinite cards like the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve, which can both earn more than 2% back on purchases, among many other perks.
CONCLUSION
While the Fidelity Rewards card used to be one of the best options for everyday spending, the credit card world has become more competitive over time. As a result, the Fidelity card isn’t really a go-to option in most situations. You can check out several alternatives and choose the one which best fits your lifestyle.
Fidelity’s card is decent. It just isn’t a must-have. It could use additional perks to set itself apart from competitors.
We rate the Fidelity Rewards card 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Note: This review was last updated in October 2023. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!