Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card Review
The Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card is a travel rewards card that shows great potential for cardholders who consistently spend money on travel and wish to maximize the points they can earn from their purchases and have flexibility when redeeming those rewards.
Earning Rewards Points
This Travel Rewards Visa card from Synovus Bank has some serious points-earning power, when used correctly. Cardholders who plan to spend the most money on travel purchases using their new card will see their points balance take flight, and with no limit to the number of points that can be earned, you’ll reach your destination in no time. Points are earned through a dynamic earning system, broken down below:
5X on Travel: Cardholders will earn the most points for travel purchases, which include hotel stays, airline tickets, car rentals, and vacation packages. 5X points can be earned for each dollar spent on travel, up to $5,000 each year in net spending (the 5X rate caps annually at 25,000 points, after which it reverts to 1X points for each dollar spent on travel until the next calendar year).
3X on a Category of Your Choice: Cardholders can choose a Dynamic Earn category that suits their financial preferences and goals, for which they will earn 3X points on each dollar spent towards that category up to $3,000 in net spend each quarter. The default category is gas purchases, although if you find that you spend more money on groceries, or dine out often, you can switch the Dynamic Earn category to groceries or restaurants – the choice is yours. Cardholders have until the last day of the current quarter to decide as to which category they would like to select for this 3X rate the following quarter. Once the cardholder has spent $3,000 on this category, the earning rate for points reverts to 1X points per dollar until a new quarter begins.
1X on All Eligible Purchases: Cardholders will earn1point for each dollar spent on all eligible purchases with their card, with no cap or limit to how many points can be earned.
Redeeming Rewards Points
Points earned with the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Card can be redeemed both online and by phone. Cardholders can visit the Synovus® Purchase Perks portaland log in to their account to redeem their rewards, or they can call 1-800-SYNOVUS (1-888-796-6887) and follow the prompts. Points can be redeemed for the following:
- Travel – Cardholders can use their points to purchase travel in the form of airline tickets, hotel stays, and car rentals. Additionally, points can be converted into travel gift cards from brands like Best Western, Budget, Choice Hotels, and even Carnival “Fun Ship” Cruise Dollars gift cards. Remember – points are worth an additional 20% more when you redeem them for travel options.
- Merchandise – Points can be converted into merchandise from top retailers. Choose from electronics, handbags and luggage, jewelry, baby and kids’ toys, and much more. Retailers include Bose®, Sony, KitchenAid, Apple, Cuisinart®, and much more.
- Gift Cards – Gift cards to some of the most popular brands in the world are also available; redeem your points for gift cards to Amazon, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Panera, and everything in between. Choose from hundreds of retailers.
- Cash Back – Your rewards points can be used toward cash back rewards. If you’re wondering, “How can this card Pay Me Back” – it’s simple. Rewards points can be used towards certain purchases, to pay for a purchase in part or in full; if you’d prefer to apply your point total to help pay down your balance, you can opt to receive a statement credit in exchange for the points you’ve earned with this card. Additionally, a direct deposit can be made to place the cash equivalent of the points you’ve redeemed directly into your bank account. If you’d prefer, you can even use points towards the annual fee for your card as a credit.
As an added incentive for those who will use this card to maximize their travel rewards as they prepare to explore the world at large, points earned with the Travel Rewards Visa from Synovus are worth 20% more when they are redeemed towards travel rewards. Synovus Bank is dedicated to helping you get to where you’re going.
Additional Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card Savings
Although the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card does have an annual fee of $50 per year, new cardholders will save thanks to an introductory bonus that waives the annual fee for the first year.
Additional savings can be found with Synovus’s generous introductory APR. Cardholders can save money thanks to an interest rate of 0% for all purchases forsixmonths. This introductory APR also applies to balance transfers, and fees incurred due to overdraft protection charges andareeffective for the first six months that the credit card account is open, so plan accordingly. With proper planning, a big-ticket purchase or a balance transfer to the Travel Rewards Visa from Synovus can save you beaucoup bucks.
Synovus Bank Perks
Synovus Bank has provided cardholders who have the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card in their wallet with several great perks to make life easier and streamline savings. Customers who enroll inCardviewwill benefit by being able to manage their credit card account the waytheywant to. UseCardviewto view account activity – the date, amount, and description of recent transactions – as well as make payments each month quickly and easily (and set up automatic payments), and set up reminders for their account: balances, payment due dates, and more.
Card Alerts
Cardholders can also take advantage of the Synovus Card Alerts app. Available on the iTunes Store and Google Play, this app allows easy access to account activity via real-time updates. Enrolling a Visa® debit or credit card is quick and easy.
Automatic fraud alerts are sent to Visa credit card customers each time fraudulent activity is suspected on their account. You’ll get a fraud alert:
- If a questionable purchase hits your statement
- Ifthere is atransaction in a city that’s not in your normal footprint (or outside the U.S.)
- If a transaction exceeds your normal spending habits
You’ll be automatically notified by text, email and/or phone. Since this is an automatic alert, it’s best to ensure that your contact information is always up to date.
Cardholder Protections and Perks
Folks who open a Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card account will benefit from Visa Secure®, a program from Visa that is designed to provide greater protection against online fraud when consumers are shopping online. Visa offers a comprehensive fraud protection program (Visa Zero Liability), which is taken a step further with Visa Secure. When a cardholder enters their card information online, Visa Secure provides an extra layer of security, behind the scenes; you may see that you are asked to provide additional information in order to confirm an online purchase, which helps to ensure that you are the only person using your card details for online transactions.
The Synovus Travel Rewards card also has digital walletcompatibility. Whether you use Apple Pay®, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay™, you’ll be able to add your Synovus credit card to your preferred digital walleteasily, and use it for whatever purchases you’d like – at the shops, in an app, or online.
Visa Card Travel Benefits
The Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card is designed to make travel more rewarding. As such, it’s accompanied by a suite of sweet travel-related benefits from Visa. These benefits include:
- $500,000 Travel Accident Insurance (for accidental death and dismemberment)
- Concierge Service
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Travel & Emergency Assistance Services
- Hotel Theft Protection
- $5,000 Lost Luggage Reimbursem*nt
Should You Apply for the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card from Synovus Bank?
All in all, the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card is a lucrative card offer for anyone who loves to travel; with a low annual fee (that is waived for the first year of account use), competitive interest rates, a generous introductory APR for purchases, balance transfers and account overdraft, this credit card is already a powerful tool for savings. Particularly useful for cardholders who will use their Synovus Visa card abroad, the Travel Rewards Visa does not have foreign transaction fees, either, which adds up to additional savings no matter where in the world you are.
Cardholders who travel often and use their card to pay for it can maximize their point-earning potential thanks to a rewards program that is designed to reward travel purchases (and point redemptions towards travel). Weighing in at 5X points for each dollar spent in the travel category, cardholders can easily earn 25,000 points each year from net spending (the 5X reward is capped at $5,000). 3X points in a category of your choosing, up to $3,000 in net spend each quarter is also a generous offer, since all other purchases get 1 point per dollar. This sort of offer isn’t easily matched by other travel credit cards.
One of the credit cards that most closely matches the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa is the BankUnited Premier Rewards American Express® Card, whichhas a slightly higher annual fee of $99thatis also waived for the first year. Cardholders can earn 4 points per dollar on restaurant purchases, 3 points per dollar on airline purchases, 2 points per dollar on gas station purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other spending. Although the annual fee for this card is almost double that of the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card, there is no cap to the number of points you can earn with BankUnited’s travel card. Cardholders also have an opportunity to earn 10,000 introductory bonus points by spending $1,000 or more in the first three months, an offer that simply isn’t available from Synovus.
Another credit card offer that will give the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card a run for its money is the Union Bank Travel Rewards Visa Credit® Card. This card features a comparable annual fee of$49that is waived for the first year, along with comparable interest rates as well. Here’s how its rewards structure breaks down:
- Cardholders earn 3X points for every $1 spent on travel net purchases, up to $6,000 annually (a higher cap, but a lower earning rate for travel spending than with the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa card)
- Cardholders earn 2X points for every $1 spent onrestaurantpurchases, up to $6,000 annually
- Cardholders earn 1X points per dollar on all other purchases
- There is a 50% reward bonus when points are redeemed as a principal reduction payment to a mortgage from the issuer, Union Bank
- There is a 25% reward bonus when points are redeemed as a direct deposit to a Union Bank checking, savings, or money markets account
Before applying for the Synovus Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card, weigh your options carefully – and look at your budget and financial goals. If you plan to use this card abroad, another credit card with no foreign transaction fees may be a better fit; likewise, not every travel card allows for 5X points for purchases made on travel, and the flexibility to change your Dynamic Earn category each quarter is definitely a feather in Synovus’s cap. Ultimately, the decision to choose this card over another travel card offer will boil down to personal preference – but this card will certainly help the savvy cardholder take their points far and away.
