Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card

Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card Review

The Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card is designed to reward cardholders for using it regularly by proffering a lucrative cash back rate in two spending categories, as well as by rewarding every eligible purchase in all other categories.

Earn Rewards From Every Purchase

Cardholders who use their Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card regularly will reap cash back rewards. After all, this is a credit card that rewards you for every purchase you make, meaning that planning to use it for everyday purchases will really add up when you check your cash back balance. Cash back can be earned at two different rates:

3% Cash Back on Dining: Foodies will love this perk from Synovus Bank. All dining purchases made with the Synovus Cash Rewards Visa will earn 3% cash back, without any spending cap. Perfect for someone on the go, this reward is particularly useful for folks who eat out regularly, or who often buy lunch while working. The dining category includes purchases made at restaurants, takeaway stands, most cafes, bakeries and fast food locations.

3% Cash Back on a Category of Your Choice: With the Cash Rewards Visa Card, Synovus gives its cardholders the flexibility to choose which other spending category they would like to earn the most rewards in. Each quarter, customers can pick the spending category they would like to earn 3% cash back in. 3% cash back is rewarded for up to $3,000 spent in this category each quarter, after which cash back is earned at a rate of 1%. Since dining is already rewarded at a rate of 3%, savvy cardholders can maximize their cash back rewards by picking a Dynamic Earn category that they know they will spend a lot of money in. For example, if you commute for work or take your kids to school before you head to the office each morning, you might choose gas as a spending category (gas is the default Dynamic Earn category for this card). Alternatively, if you enjoy cooking or feed a large family, you might select groceries as your Dynamic Earn category to get the most cash back you can each quarter. Cardholders have until the final day of the current quarter to decide which category they would like to select for this 3% rate the following quarter.

1% Cash Back on All Eligible Purchases: Cardholders will earn 1% cash back for every other qualifying purchase. There is no limit to the amount of rewards that can be earned at this rate.

Redeeming Cash Back from the Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card

Cardholders have the flexibility to redeem their cash back rewards in one of several ways. Choose your method – cash back can be applied as a statement credit to help pay down the current balance you hold, or it can be deposited as cash directly into your Synovus bank account. Enroll online to redeem your points online. Thanks to the Pay Me Back option from Synovus Bank, you can even apply your cash back rewards to specific transactions. If there’s an item you’d like to pay off faster, you can use your rewards to pay that particular purchase down, or apply it to the entire statement as you wish.

Are There Extra Fees?

You’ll save money right off the bat when your Synovus Cash Back Rewards Visa account is approved, since there is never an annual fee to use it. It is common for cash back credit cards to have an annual fee or a monthly service fee; not having to pay for the perks this card affords makes it an attractive offer.

There is, however, a foreign transaction fee associated with this card. Since travelers might be tempted to take advantage of this card’s dining cash back rate while abroad (exploring new cuisines and new cultures is part of the allure of travel, after all), it’s worth noting that there is a nominal fee for foreign transactions, which weighs in at 3% of each transaction. While this fee won’t break the bank, there are other travel rewards cards and cash back cards that do not charge a foreign transaction fee. Remember, the cash back reward for dining purchases is 3%, so using the Synovus Cash Back Rewards Visa for dining abroad will essentially cancel out the cash back rewards for each transaction in a foreign country thanks to that foreign transaction fee.

Introductory APR – No Interest for 6 Months

In addition to freedom from most fees, cardholders can avoid high interest rates thanks to a low introductory annual percentage rate. For the first six months of card use, the APR for purchases, balance transfers, and overdraft protection fees is 0%, after which it will be the regular fee listed in the card’s terms. This introductory period will prove particularly useful for anyone who wants to save money while paying down existing debt via a balance transfer while avoiding interest on their balance. With proper planning, debt can be eliminated without having to pay stodgy interest rates.

If you accidentally overdraw your credit limit during this introductory period, there is no interest on overdraft protection fees, either. While it’s best to avoid overdraft fees as a rule, this introductory APR period helps to mitigate the costs if you do accidentally spend too much – after all, no one is perfect.

Synovus Bank Perks

To make life even easier, customers can enroll in Cardview® , which allows you to manage your credit card account the way you want to. You can view account activity like the date, amount, and a description of each recent transaction, or make payments each month quickly and easily. You can also use Cardview to set up automatic payments and reminders, too. You’ll get notified when you reach a specific balance, or when a payment due date is coming up – the choice is yours.

Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card Benefits

Although the Synovus Cash Rewards Visa Credit Card has fewer Visa benefits included when compared to its sister cards, particularly the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card, it still provides great value for anyone who wishes to use it to rent a car. Thanks to Visa’s Auto Rental Collison Damage Waiver, cardholders who purchase a car rental using their Synovus Cash Rewards card will be eligible for insurance coverage that provides reimbursement for damage due to collision or theft up to the actual cash value of most rental vehicles.

Should You Apply for the Synovus Cash Rewards Visa® Credit Card from Synovus Bank?

The Cash Rewards Visa credit card from Synovus Bank is a flexible cash back rewards card offer that delivers when it comes to earning unlimited cash back from dining purchases, as well as versatility. After all, not every cash back card allows the user to choose the spending category in which they earn cash back at a higher rate. Finding the right cash back rewards card to suit your financial goals can be a daunting task, but rest assured there is a card for everyone. 

If you research the various options available for cash back rewards credit cards, you may notice that there are comparable offers on the market. Some, like the SunTrust Cash Rewards Credit Card, offer a higher cash-back earn rate, while others, like the Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurants, are not as flexible when it comes to choosing high-yield spending categories (but make up for it by more than doubling the introductory APR period, and/or matching the cash back earned automatically after the first year). Ultimately, the option that is best-suited to you will depend on how much you are willing to spend each year for the privilege of using your card, what range of interest rates you’re willing to pay if you carry a balance, how much flexibility you want when it comes to choosing a spending category to earn extra rewards in, and how long of an introductory APR you’re after. The answers to these questions will boil down to your financial goals, ultimately – but the Synovus Cash Rewards Visa Credit Card is a solid option for anyone who is looking for a way to save money while dining and making everyday purchases.