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Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card Review: Competitive Cash Rewards, but Only for Fidelity Customers

Review Updated
Brittney Myers
Brittney Myers
| 1 other [ + ]
Nathan Alderman
Fact Checked: Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Fact checker

Nathan Alderman has been a full-time Motley Fool employee since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As Motley Fool Money's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.

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OFFER STATUS

Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® is unavailable on Motley Fool Money. All information was collected independently and not reviewed for accuracy or provided by the credit card issuer. Some items may be out of date.

The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card is good for Fidelity customers who want to use their credit card rewards for savings and/or investing. This card has a competitive 2% flat rewards rate, but only when you redeem into a Fidelity account. There are a lot of other 2% card options now, so this card is really only best for Fidelity fans.

See if this card is a good fit for you in our detailed review.

Ratings Methodology

Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature®

Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature®
Rating image, 2.50 out of 5 stars.
2.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 2.50 out of 5 stars.
2.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Credit Score: Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good (670-850)
Credit Score Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.

Good (670-850)

Intro APR

Purchases: N/A

Balance Transfers: N/A

Regular APR

19.24% (Variable)

Rewards Circle with letter I in it. Earn unlimited 2% cash back on everyday spending.

2% cash back

Annual Fee

$0

Welcome Offer

N/A

  • The cash back rate is competitive, but you have to redeem your rewards into a Fidelity account to get it. The card also lacks a welcome bonus or intro offer. With many other flat-rate rewards options out there, this may be a pass for most people.

    • Unlimited cash back rewards
    • Deposit into investment accounts
    • No annual fee
    • No foreign transaction fees
    • Top rate is only for Fidelity redemptions
    • Welcome offers are missing/hidden
    • No bonus categories
    • Earn unlimited 2% cash back on everyday spending.
    • You can spend your rewards or deposit them into any eligible Fidelity account, giving your money more chances to grow.
    • No annual fee, foreign transaction fee, caps, limits, restrictions, or expirations, plus Zero Fraud Liability.
Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® is unavailable on Motley Fool Money. All information was collected independently and not reviewed for accuracy or provided by the credit card issuer. Some items may be out of date.

Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card review

Is the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card worth it?

If you already have an eligible Fidelity account and you want a simple way to boost your savings, this card could be worth it, especially with no annual fee. Otherwise, I'd choose a competitor with a good welcome bonus. There several flat-rate cash back rewards competitors offering the same 2% rate -- plus great welcome offers and easier redemption.

Author's note

I'm a Fidelity customer, but I've never been overly impressed with this card. Right off the bat, I don't like cards without welcome bonuses. (You can find special offer links that have modest bonuses, but jumping through hoops for a bonus isn't ideal.) Beyond that, the fact that you can only get theERROR: Incorrect value for 'field'. 'CreditCard' object has no attribute 'reward_1_' advertised rate by redeeming into specific Fidelity accounts is a no-go. I prefer to redeem my cash back for statement credit rather than into a savings or investment account. All in all, this card simply doesn't stand up to the competition to me.

What everyone else is saying

Sometimes getting other points of view can help make a decision easier. Here's a look at what other folks think of the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card.

What our competitors think

Average competitor rating: 3.8 / 5.0 stars

We took a look at the reviews from five of our top competitors to get a feel for what they think about the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card. Overall, it seems like they all found the same pros and cons we did.

Everyone likes the simplicity of the flat-rate rewards, and we all laud the lack of an annual fee. But I wasn't the only one to notice that the card's perks don't extend too far from there.

Similarly, the main pain point for all of us is the fact that you only get the 2% advertised rate when you redeem into a Fidelity account. This affected the card's rating more for some competitors than others.

Social media consensus

Oddly enough, social media is way more positive about this card than any of us experts seem to be -- especially the Fidelity fans. They love the simplicity of the flat-rate rewards and easy redemptions into their Fidelity accounts. And commenters were especially pleased that the card got rid of its foreign transaction fees.

Opinions get a bit more mixed when we talk about customer service. Some folks found it great, while others had issues. A few commenters even said they canceled the card because of poor customer service. However, there were quite a few people saying they've had the card for years and like the customer service, so your mileage may vary here.

Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card features and benefits

Earn up to 2% cash back on purchases with no limits or spending caps

The main selling point of this card is that you can earn up to 2% on purchases. While this is how it's advertised, it's not quite that straightforward.

Your Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card technically earns 2X points per $1 on net new purchases. If you redeem those points into your eligible Fidelity account, they're worth $0.01 each. So, you get an effective rewards rate of 2% cash back.

There are no caps on how many rewards you can earn, so your effective 2% rate is unlimited. You can set up automatic redemptions so that your rewards are redeemed into your designated account when they hit the 2,500-point minimum.

Boost your savings and investments easily with simple redemptions

You'll want to redeem your rewards into a Fidelity account to get the best value. You can redeem into any of these Fidelity accounts:

  • Brokerage
  • IRA
  • HSA
  • 529
  • Fidelity Charitable Giving Account
  • Cash Management

In addition to giving you an effective 2% rate, redeeming into one of these accounts has another benefit: Boosting your savings and/or brokerage accounts. Every extra $1 you can pop into that IRA or brokerage account is another $8 (assuming 7% growth over 30 years) you'll have in retirement.

Unless you're part of team maximize-every-point or are hoarding your travel rewards, letting your credit card purchases help fund your retirement -- with very little effort on your part -- can be a huge positive.

Use your card around the world with no foreign transaction fees

What good is a catch-all card if it can't actually catch it all? You can take your Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card abroad without fear, as it charges no foreign transaction fees.

Typically, foreign transaction fees are 3% fees tacked on to any transaction made in a foreign currency or that routes through a foreign bank. These charges can make using your card while traveling an expensive prospect. Few non-travel cards skip this fee, so it's a nice thing to see here.

Never worry about value with no annual card fee

Many otherwise great rewards cards are overlooked because of annual fees. The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card doesn't have that problem, since it doesn't have an annual fee at all.

Having no annual fee means you don't need to worry about making up for lost value. It also means you don't have to try and use the card more often than you organically need it just to justify a continually costly existence.

What could be improved

You can only get 2% back when redeeming into Fidelity accounts

So, I've spent a few paragraphs lauding the value of the 2% cash back and how it's great you can redeem it into a Fidelity account. But at the same time, for the folks who don't want -- or need -- their credit card rewards to go into a Fidelity account, this requirement is an easy dealbreaker.

The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that you have to redeem into a Fidelity account to get the full 2% effective rewards rate that's advertised. It's not optional. If you'd rather just get a statement credit, too bad; you'll get less than $0.01 per point, so your effective rate drops.

It's one thing to offer the option. It's another to require it.

More hoops to be had when trying to find a welcome bonus

It's become standard practice for the majority of rewards cards to have a welcome bonus of rewards, an intro 0% APR offer, or (ideally) both. Unfortunately, the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card has neither -- at least, not ones that are simple to find.

To get a welcome offer of some type on this card, you need to do some specific searching in online forums or reviews. Then you may find a link to a semi-targeted offer that has a not-very-competitive welcome bonus and lukewarm intro APR deal.

However, if you fail to do this and instead, I don't know, go to the card's main lander through Fidelity? Nada. No offer. So, if you didn't know to specifically look for an offer elsewhere, you'd miss out entirely. This is somewhat shady, I think, and not something I've seen from other cards.

There's a distinct lack of bonus rewards categories

You can't expect a card to do everything. So a card with a good flat rate probably isn't going to have a ton of bonus categories. That doesn't mean I can't wish it did, however. And I feel this is particularly true of a card that only offers that flat rate -- with hoops, no less -- and not much else. If you're going to have redemption restrictions and no reliable welcome offer, I'd like a bonus category or two. Even one with a spending cap would be a nice addition.

What to know before applying

Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card credit score

It's recommended that you have excellent credit, or a FICO® Score of 720 and up, when applying for this card. You could be approved with a lower credit score, as the issuer will consider your entire credit history and income before making a decision.

Pre-approval process

There is no online pre-approval application for this card. You may receive a pre-approval or prequalification offer through the mail or through your existing Fidelity account. The only way to know for sure if you'll be approved for this card is to apply.

Regular APR

The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card has no intro APR offer of any kind. As such, the standard 19.24% (Variable) APR applies to both purchases and balance transfers.

Fees

  • Annual fee: $0
  • Foreign transaction fee: 0%
  • Balance transfer fee: either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater.

Credit limit

I couldn't find any data from the issuer on the credit limit for this card. However, searching user reports, the lowest starting limit I found reported was for $500. Other data points suggest that there may be a $25,000 credit limit cap to this card, but that hasn't been verified by the issuing bank so take it with the proverbial grain of salt.

Should you apply for the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card?

This card makes sense if you say yes to all the following:

  • You have (or are willing to open) a Fidelity account
  • You want to deposit your credit card rewards into that account
  • You're willing to do some sleuthing to find a mediocre welcome offer

If you're a "no" on any of these points, then I'd suggest checking out one of our alternative options.

Our credit card methodology

At Motley Fool Money, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates credit cards.

FAQs

  • The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card is issued by Elan Financial Services.

  • Yes. You can manage your credit card through the Fidelity Investments app. To find your card account, simply log into the app, choose "Accounts" from the menu, then select the credit card account you want to manage.

  • No. Your Fidelity Rewards Points don't expire as long as your account is open and in good standing.