[Update] Verizon Credit Card With VerizonDollars 4% Back on Groceries & Gas; AutoPay Benefit; $200 Signup Bonus

Update 4/15/22: Some cardholders got an email offer for double cash back offer for one month up to $1,000 in spend. Works well for 8% on gas and groceries or 6% on dining. (ht readers James and MisterBill)

Update 12/9/21: They have now increased the signup bonus to $200: the regular $100 Verizon bill credit over 24 months (see below), plus a new $100 statement credit when you spend $500 within 30 days from account opening. Offer ends January 4, 2022.

Original Post:

Verizon launched a new credit card today, in partnership with Synchrony Bank which has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. It offers 4% back at grocery stores and gas stations, and offers 3% back on dining. There is a $100 bill credit signup bonus. There’s also a potential signup bonus of up to $1,000 for those who signup by June 25th.

Press Release | Signup Link | FAQs

Card Details

• Card is a Visa and is issued by Synchrony Bank. Card can be used anywhere Visa is accepted.
• Card only available for Verizon wireless postpaid customers. (Far as I can tell, the card is not available to those with Verizon Fios.)
• Card earns Verizon Dollars which can be used on Verizon phone bills, Verizon Fios internet bills, phones, accessories and more. Each Verizon Dollar is worth $1.
  • Update 7/2/21: Rewards can now be used to redeem toward gift card purchases as well to places like Amazon and more. Can be redeemed for travel as well.
• Card earns the following rates:
  • 4% back at gas stations and grocery stores, including delivery and pick up
  • 3% back on dining/delivery and curbside pick-up purchases
  • 2% on Verizon purchases
  • 1% on all other purchases
• Card made out of metal, reports indicate.
• No limits on how much you can earn, no expiration date.
• No annual fee.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Additional Details and Benefits

• Verizon customers get the Auto Pay discount – which either $5 or $10 per line each month – when paying with the Verizon credit card. Those who don’t have the Verizon credit card can only get the Auto Pay discount with bank payment or debit card, not credit card payment.
• Two free TravelPass days per calendar year (a $20 value). TravelPass eligibility rules apply.
• “New Auto Pay customers who enroll with the card can get the best pricing on Unlimited Verizon plans.”
• Rewards combine with Verizon Dollars earned through the Verizon Up rewards program which is available to all Verizon customers (no need to be a card member for that program).
• Card is available immediately for use on Verizon purchases.
• Card can be used in a mobile wallet or with the physical card.
• Standard Visa Signature benefits.

Standard Signup Bonus

There is an inconspicuous mention of a signup bonus for the card, seems like this will be the standard signup for the card:

• New cardholders can get up to $100 in wireless bill credits over 24 consecutive months when they use their new Verizon Visa Card to pay their monthly Verizon bill.
• To receive the full $100 credit, you must pay a Verizon Wireless or Verizon Fios bill with either a Verizon Visa Card or by redeeming Verizon Dollars to pay the total bill amount for the first 24 months of opening a credit card account. During that time, the monthly credit, equaling $4.17, will not be credited for any monthly bill that wasn’t paid using the Verizon Visa Card or Verizon Dollars. Visit the Verizon Visa Credit Card Rewards Program Terms and Conditions for details.

Launch Signup Bonus

Update 9/3/20: People are getting the prelaunch bonus now and a report of $411.35. That means 2,431 people signed up and qualified for that bonus. Hat tip to mothman69

Offer Link

There is a special pre-launch signup bonus of up to $1,000 Verizon Dollars, based on a pot of $1M divided between all those who apply during pre-launch:

• Signup between June 22 noon ET and June 25 p PM ET (before card launches officially on June 26) and get a chance to get up to $1,000 in Verizon Dollars if you are approved for the card.
• Verizon Dollars will be awarded within 2-3 billing cycles to each eligible account owner’s or manager’s My Verizon account who completes all the following: (1) signs up on the list during the promotional period, (2) applies for a Verizon Visa Card through the link provided by the specified date, and (3) is approved for the Verizon Visa Card (“Approved Participant”).
• $1,000,000 Verizon Dollars is available to be divided equally among all the Approved Participants, however in no event will any individual Approved Participant be awarded more than $1,000 Verizon Dollars. The actual amount awarded to each Approved Participant and the total amount awarded will depend upon the number of Approved Participants. For example, if there are 10,000 Approved Participants, then each will be awarded $100 Verizon Dollars and the $1,000,000 Verizon Dollars in total will be awarded. Void where prohibited. We reserve the right to remove anyone from the Early Access promotion in the event of fraud or abuse of the promotion.

It’s totally plausible you’ll end up just getting $10 or less, if a lot of people sign up. I’d personally guess that if so many people sign up they’ll put a floor on it and offer everyone $50 or something like that, but who knows.

Our Verdict

I hate these kinds of vague signup bonuses since it’s impossible to know how many people will sign up and what the reward will be. That said, if I were a Verizon postpaid customer and I wasn’t worried about 5/24, I’d consider signing up for the following reasons:

• Get 2% back each month on my Verizon bill (versus paying with bank account to get Auto Pay discount if I didn’t have the Verizon card). Let’s say a $75 monthly bill, means $1.50 per month or $18 per year. Also, if you use Verizon for wireless and internet, the monthly bills could add up and the 2% becomes more significant.
  • Some people use other credit cards for cell phone insurance, but if you’re anyway using your bank in order to get the AutoPay discount, this is a nice little incentive to sign up.
• Get $100 in Verizon credits over the course of 24 months, $4.17 per month.
• Get up to $1,000 signup bonus with no spend requirement. In order for the bonus to be $1,000, that would mean only 1,000 customers signup (see above). In all likelihood, the bonus will be much less than that, but it still possible it’ll be some worthwhile amount.
• The 4% gas and grocery categories will interest a lot of people.
• No foreign transaction fees is a nice feature for a card with no annual fee.
• Two free TravelPasses per year which might be useful for international travelers.
• (Seems that some ‘device dollars’ turn into un-expiring Verizon Dollars, but I’m hazy on the details.)

I can see this card especially for someone who plans to stick with Verizon wireless/Fios for a long time or for someone who values the 4% grocery category.