By Marcy Bialeschki

2020-12-14

5 Min. To Read

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It’s no secret that technology changes our society at warp speed. Credit cards and debit cards are rapidly replacing cash, and banking is also continually evolving. Venmo is not new on the scene; however, the Venmo credit card is. You can now add a credit or debit card to your Venmo app and do more than ever with your cash.

With a QR scannable code on the front, Venmo says, “This card has you written all over it!” Quite frankly, the concept is ingenious. The QR code makes paying online more straightforward than ever, and when paying in-store, the code creates a safe transaction with contactless pay.

Like most desired credit cards, Venmo has added a rewards program unlike any other. The Venmo Visa is a category card, but there’s no opting-in or signing up for the category rewards every quarter. This process is done for you automatically. Even better, the Venmo Visa gives 3% back on your most-used category, 2% back on your second most used, and 1% on everything else.

The categories automatically adjust every month to your top two. Yes! Automatically, every month. So, if one month your highest expense is gas, you’ll receive 3% back. But if the next month it’s groceries, the 3% category changes for you. All of your purchases are tracked in the app monthly, and your rewards drop into the bank account attached to the card at the end of every month.

The categories eligible to receive the 3% or 2% include the following:

Gasoline Groceries Transportation Travel Entertainment Dining & nightlife Bills & utilities Health & beauty

While all of these features are indeed unique to the Venmo Visa, it does have some limitations or downfalls. For starters, the Venmo credit card does not have a sign-up bonus. The lack of this widely popular feature takes the Venmo Visa off of the top of the list for several people.

And then there is the cash back cap. For the first year, Venmo says, “The sky’s the limit” when it comes to cash back. Then, the honeymoon is over, and the higher cash back categories disappear after $10,000, making your rewards drop to 1%.

Returning to some good news -- the Venmo Visa has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee, making it a top contender as a travel card. Use your Venmo credit card to pay for all of your travel expenses and earn 3% or 2% cash back, assuming it is a top category that month.

Very few travel cards that have 3% cash back have no annual fee. The downfall of your Venmo Visa serving as your travel card is your rewards will always be cash back, not miles or points. Many dedicated travel credit cards have other valuable perks attached, such as VIP airport lounge access and TSA Pre-check or Global Entry credit. The Venmo Visa does not offer these specific travel features.

However, your Venmo Visa can do everything a credit card does, plus everything Venmo can do, such as split a dining check three ways and instantly pay your portion. You can also send and receive money quickly and choose to apply payments from your friends to your Venmo account or directly pay your credit card bill. You can track all transactions and activity in your Venmo app.

Basic features

No annual fee No foreign transaction fee 15.24% - 24.24% APR $40 max late fee Max over-limit fee -- none Max penalty APR - none Cash advance APR -- 24.24% Cash advance fee -- 5% with a $10 minimum $0 liability on fraudulent or unauthorized charges Needs good to excellent credit

Other cool features

In true Venmo trendy style, you can pick your two-tone card color from five eye-popping styles: black and grey, red and white, blue and pink, blue and green, dark blue and light blue. And you can access emojis, bit-emojis, and animated stickers in the app when paying others and getting paid.

Who Needs this Card

Let’s begin with who doesn’t need this card. People who do not already use Venmo and who have no reason to use the service it provides won’t fully utilize this card’s capabilities. And even though Venmo is proclaiming their card is ‘the future of credit cards,’ this group is not seeing it. Therefore, they can be better served by a different credit card.

However, people who already use Venmo can clearly see how this card can work wonders for them. For this population, the Venmo Visa provides a way to consolidate spending assets and multitask with one app that controls it all. This card will be a no-brainer for some people because of its connection to Venmo, its no annual fee, and its automatic category rewards.

The final verdict -- Venmo users can rejoice! However, if Venmo is ‘no big deal’ to you, you can stick with a traditional credit card.

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