The Quicksilver card is a solid flat-rate cash back card for cardholders who value simplicity, minimal fees and low-maintenance rewards. If you’re looking for an attainable sign-up bonus or an intro APR to chip away at debt or finance new purchases, take a look at what this card can offer.
Welcome offer: Generous, easy-to-earn bonus
That’s not only on par with the bonus value you’ll find on several other cash back cards, but it’s among the easiest welcome offers to earn. A $500 spending requirement within a three month window is one of the lowest you’ll find on a no-annual-fee rewards card. While you can find welcome offers valued higher than $200, these offers come on cards that typically have annual fees and higher spending requirements.
Several flat-rate cards have welcome offers valued at roughly the same amount, but they have higher spending requirements. These higher spending amounts might put the respective bonus out of reach for savvy spenders who are working within a budget. Meanwhile, the Quicksilver card’s combination of flat-rate rewards, no annual fee and an attainable welcome offer make the card a good choice for fast, simple rewards that won’t stretch your spending. (See Rates & Fees)
Fees: Skip costs that can add up
The Quicksilver card doesn’t charge an annual fee, making it a solid option if you want to keep things simple and would rather not focus on offsetting card costs via rewards and perks.
The card also carries no foreign transaction fees, so it could come in handy as a travel companion. This detail is especially noteworthy considering plenty of no-annual-fee rewards cards charge at least 3 percent in fees for every international purchase.
If you’ve recently boosted your credit score up from the “fair” range and want a card for good credit, the Quicksilver card’s low fees should be a welcome sight and make it a good option if you need an easy-to-manage starter rewards card (See Rates & Fees)
Intro APR: Solid offer on both purchases and balance transfers
Along with a generous welcome bonus, the Quicksilver comes with a solid introductory APR on both new purchases and balance transfers. And these offers are on par with the intro offers on the best intro APR cards.
An intro APR period of 15 months is about average for a no-annual-fee rewards card, but some competitors only offer an intro APR on either new purchases or balance transfers — not both. The Citi Double Cash® Card, for example, only offers an intro APR on balance transfers, not on new purchases. Excluding balance transfer intro APRs can make it hard to take advantage of a card’s rewards rate if you’re paying off debt.
Although the Quicksilver card’s intro APR period is shorter than the intro APR periods you’ll find on many dedicated balance transfer cards, the Quicksilver only charges a 3 percent balance transfer fee (for balances transferred during the first 15 months). Many of the best balance transfer cards charge a 5 percent balance transfer fee, which could end up costing you more than you’d save with a few extra months of 0 percent APR (See Rates & Fees).
Redemption: Ultra-simple rewards program
The Quicksilver is one of the most straightforward types of rewards cards available.
You’ll earn cash back at the same flat rate on all purchases and you can redeem rewards as a check, a statement credit or to cover recent transactions. You can also use cash back for gift cards and online purchases at checkout on Amazon.com and PayPal. Or, if you have a Capital One travel card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you can even turn your cash back into points at a 1:1 ratio and redeem for travel bookings.
Your Quicksilver rewards also hold a reliable value of 1 cent each, regardless of how you redeem them. Several competing rewards cards earn points that offer a higher or lower redemption value depending on how you redeem them (for example, many cards offer lower redemption value when you opt for gift cards or merchandise). With the Quicksilver, you won’t have to worry about maximizing redemptions.
You also won’t need to track your rewards balance because you can set up automatic cash back redemptions at the same time each year or at a specific cash value.