First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa®

First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa® Review

The Cash Rewards Visa® from First Citizens Bank offers cardholders a straightforward rewards system that earns them the same amount of cash back on almost all their purchases. Cardholders don’t have to worry about reaching rewards limits with this card, making your earnings potential almost endless.

There are some restrictions in place, however. Additionally, this card’s cash back rewards may not function like other cash back programs.

In addition to these rewards, new cardholders have the opportunity to transfer a balance to their new card and pay it off in 12 months with no interest. Add to that the fact that there’s no annual fee, and this may be an ideal card for some consumers.

Earn Cash Back on Your Purchases

The First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa® has a very simple rewards system. Basically, cardholders earn 1.5% cash back on all their purchases. There are certain restrictions to what purchases will earn you rewards, but these are common to a lot of credit cards from many different issuers. You can’t earn rewards on financial transactions, like cash advances and balance transfers, for instance.

Signing up for a cash back card like this one makes it simple to know how much in rewards you’ll earn when you use your card. You don’t have to calculate what value your points have. Furthermore, you don’t have to try and figure out what merchandise will give you the most value for your points when browsing through a rewards catalog.

You know that you’ll be earning $1 for every $100 you spend with your Cash Rewards Visa, no matter where you use your card. And with Visa being one of the most widely accept credit cards in the world, there are lots of places where you can use this rewards card.

How First Citizens Issues Rewards

Even though the First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa® is technically a cash back credit card, you don’t automatically receive cash from the bank when you use your card. Instead, your rewards appear on your account as points.

Now, don’t get put off by this detail. You’ll still be earning cash back. There’s just an extra step you have to take before you actually reap the rewards. This extra step is designed to give you – the cardholder – more flexibility, and you can find out more about redeeming your rewards in the next section.

Essentially, the 1.5% cash back equates to one point for every dollar you spend. If you spend $1,000 with the Rewards Visa, you end up earning 100 points, which is equal to $100. When you look at your rewards on your account, they’ll appear as reward dollars instead of cash.

Once your reward dollars appear on your account, they’re yours and ready for you to redeem. This isn’t something that every credit card offers. In fact, some credit cards may only let you redeem your points a few times a year.

Redeeming Your Points

The First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa® gives cardholders options for redeeming their cash back rewards. As previously mentioned, First Citizens Bank issues your rewards as cash rewards.

That being said, you must actively redeem your cash rewards to get the cash back. First Citizens doesn’t automatically issue cash back to any cardholder.

You have two options for redeeming your cash rewards: a cash deposit or a statement credit. In order to receive a cash deposit, you’ll need to have a First Citizens checking or savings account. You can’t opt to get a check mailed to you or have money transferred to an account with another bank.

On the other hand, you don’t need to have a checking or savings account to receive a statement credit. Whatever amount you want to redeem will be deducted from your credit card balance. What’s more, you can even opt to get a credit on any other type of loan you have from First Citizen’s Bank.

Keep in mind that an account credit will not reduce your minimum monthly payment amount. As such, don’t expect to reduce or eliminate your monthly payment by redeeming your cash back points. You can, however, reduce the total amount you owe on your credit card or loan.

You can choose how you want to receive your cash back every time you redeem your cash rewards, and you can redeem your cash rewards whenever you choose. Just remember that your cash rewards expire three years after you’ve earned them.

0% APR on Balance Transfers

One of the most appealing features of the First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa® is its introductory balance transfer promotion. New cardholders can transfer a balance from another credit card when they first sign up and not have to pay interest on it for 12 full months.

There are a couple of details you should keep in mind with this deal, however. First, you must transfer a balance within 90 days from the date that you open your account. You’ll want the extra time to pay off your balance, anyway.

Second, you have to pay a fee for transferring the balance. Granted, it will be a small fraction of what any credit card issuer (including First Citizens) will charge you in interest. Just remember that this isn’t a zero-cost transfer.

This feature is particularly good for people who have an existing balance on a high-interest credit card. If you find that you’ve been approved for a lower APR with this card, then you can let your balance roll over after the 12-month promotion period.

However, you’ll want to try your best to pay off your balance in 12 months to take full advantage of this offer.

Should You Apply for the First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa®?

This credit card doesn’t offer the greatest cash back rewards compared to other card on the market. Earning 1.5% for every dollar you spend is above the baseline ratio for most cards which is usually 1% cash back. However, this card charges no annual fee, so you don’t have to worry about trying to earn enough points to make up the cost. This is something that you have to figure into a lot of rewards cards that do charge an annual fee.

If you want a basic credit card that just so happens to offer you cash back, then the First Citizens Cash Rewards Visa® might be a good match. However, if rewards aren’t that important to you, you may end up saving more money with the Smart Option card.

The balance transfer feature is one of the star benefits of this credit card. But this is a perk of all First Citizens Bank’s credit cards.