Best for low interest and low cost
Upgrade Visa® Card with Cash Rewards
Rewards rate
1.5%Annual fee
$0Intro offer
N/ARegular APR
8.99% - 29.99% APRRecommended Credit Score
Fair to Good (580 - 740)At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to:
At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
This content is powered by HomeInsurance.com, a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 8781838) and a corporate affiliate of Bankrate.com. HomeInsurance.com LLC services are only available in states were it is licensed and insurance coverage through HomeInsurance.com may not be available in all states. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
3.1
Rewards rate
1.5%Annual fee
$0Intro offer
N/ARegular APR
8.99% - 29.99% APRRecommended Credit Score
Fair to Good (580 - 740)If you’re trying to decide how best to cover large upcoming expenses, the Upgrade Visa® Card with Cash Rewards may be worth a look. Though the card lacks a zero percent intro APR, it could be a useful financing tool if you worry about your ability to manage a repayment plan.
Here’s how it works: When you sign up, you’re assigned a line of credit, APR and installment terms of 12 to 60 months, based on your credit score. You can use your card to make purchases or have funds transferred directly into your bank account. At the end of each month, your charges or bank draws are automatically put into an installment plan with fixed, equal monthly payments.
While you won’t be able to avoid all interest charges, the Upgrade Card’s unique blend of a credit card and personal loan could save you money by obligating you to pay off your purchases within a set period. Instead of risking the ballooning balance and high interest charges that come when you only pay the minimum due on a credit card, you’ll have a clear payoff schedule to follow.
That said, if you’re confident in your ability to pay off your balance on time, a credit card with a zero percent intro APR on purchases will probably be a better fit.
The Upgrade Visa card delivers an impressive cash back rate for such a low-fee card available for cardholders with “average” credit or higher (580+ FICO score): unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases when you pay them back on time. That’s a great deal considering the popular Citi® Double Cash Card, which earns up to 2 percent cash back on every purchase (1 percent at purchase and 1 percent upon payment) in a similar fashion, recommends an “excellent” credit score to apply.
Your cash back is added to your account balance after your next scheduled monthly payment as a statement credit.
While the Upgrade Card offers next to nothing in the way of cardholder perks, it carries a few key advantages over traditional credit cards. Chief among these is transparency: You’ll know exactly what you need to contribute each month to pay off your balance on time. You can also check your credit line and rate before you commit to the card.
Here are a few benefits of the Upgrade Card:
Depending on your credit history, you could qualify for an APR as low as 8.99 percent. That’s nearly half the rate of the current average credit card interest rate.
Of course, if you opted for a card with a zero percent intro APR on purchases, you could avoid interest completely for several months (typically 12 to 15 months). The catch is that when your intro APR period ends, any balance that remains will be subject to the card’s standard APR. If you have trouble managing payments and wind up underpaying your balance, you’ll soon find yourself drowning in interest charges.
The Upgrade website uses data from Bankrate’s credit card interest calculator to show how much you could save by paying off a $10,000 balance with the Upgrade Card instead of paying the minimum due on a traditional credit card (assuming you’re assigned an 18 percent APR and a 24-month term, accounting for interest accrued between the charge date and the due date 51 days later):
Upgrade Card | Traditional credit card | |
---|---|---|
Payoff time | 2 years | 28 years |
Interest paid over time | $2,102.71 | $14,423.16 |
In this (somewhat dramatic) example, using the Upgrade Card would save you over $12,000 and 26 years versus paying the minimum due on a credit card with the same interest rate. Of course, this is still a hefty amount of interest to pay, so you’d want to pay off the balance as soon as you were able.
Keep in mind also that you’re not guaranteed a particularly low APR with the Upgrade Card. If you have a thin credit history or middling score, you could wind up with the Upgrade Card’s high-end APR of 29.99 percent, which is extremely high, even compared to the rate offered on many credit cards designed for people with bad credit. If that’s the case, you may want to try working on your credit score for a few months first to see if you can get better terms.
You also have a chance at a higher credit limit with the Upgrade Card than you’re likely to find on a typical credit card. The Upgrade Card offers personal credit lines from $500 to $25,000, depending on your credit history. That rivals some of the best high limit credit cards on the market.
A large credit line could be an especially big help if you need to finance a few big expenses and want to avoid signing up for a deferred interest financing plan (which could end up costing a ton if you have any balance left at the end of the promotional period).
But again, there’s no guarantee you’ll be offered a high limit. It all depends on your credit history. In fact, Upgrade’s card terms state that they actually offer credit lines up to $50,000, however, the terms also say that the majority of credit lines are below $25,000.
Luckily, you can check your Upgrade Card credit line and APR before you commit to the card. This gives you a chance to see whether it makes sense to move forward, without risking your credit score via a hard credit inquiry. Contrast this with traditional credit cards, which almost always require you to actually apply and face a hard pull before you know what your credit limit and APR will be.
While the Upgrade Card does not technically support balance transfers, there is an easy workaround: Simply have your funds deposited to your bank account, pay off your existing debt and then pay off your Upgrade Card balance over time according to your account’s installment terms.
Given how tough it can be to qualify for a balance transfer card, this could be a decent option. While you won’t be able to completely avoid interest charges as you would with a zero percent intro APR, you could still save a ton if the APR you’re offered on the Upgrade Card is much lower than the rate on your current credit card.
As discussed, the Upgrade Card’s APR is a bit of a mixed bag: You’ll be assigned an APR between 8.99 percent and 29.99 percent, depending on your credit score. While a 29.99 percent APR is very high, an APR of 8.99 percent is rock-bottom — even compared to the lowest-interest credit cards on the market. Just keep in mind that the Upgrade Card terms state that you’re required to enroll in autopay to be potentially eligible for the lowest rates.
When it comes to fees, though, the Upgrade Card is a clear winner. The card charges no fees of any kind: No annual fee, transfer fee, cash advance fee, late payment fee, or any of the other fees you’ll typically find on traditional credit cards.
There’s also no prepayment fee, so you can pay your balance off as soon as you’re able and save on interest.
While the Upgrade Card can be a good fit if you need a helping hand as you work to pay down large purchases, you’ll have to pay at least some interest. If you opted for a card with a zero percent intro APR on purchases or balance transfers instead, you could chip away at a balance for 12 months or more without paying any interest at all.
Annual fee
$0Intro offer
N/ARewards rate
1.5%Recommended credit
Fair to Good(580 - 740)Annual fee
$0Intro offer
$200Rewards rate
1%–3%Recommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)on Chase's secure site
Annual fee
$0Intro offer
Earn an Additional 1.5% Cash BackRewards rate
1.5%–5%Recommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)Since the Upgrade Card offers flat-rate rewards, it may be wise to pair it with a credit card that earns a higher cash back rate on specialized categories. This way, you can chip away at the cost of a large expense like a home repair with applicable bonus categories while also earning rewards on the things you purchase every day.
If you don’t mind doing a bit of legwork to earn extra rewards on some of your purchases, the Discover it® Cash Back card is worth a look. You’ll earn 5 percent cash back in bonus categories that rotate each quarter (upon enrollment, on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter, then 1 percent) and 1 percent back on general purchases. The Discover cash back calendar for 2021 has included grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, Amazon.com, Walmart.com and more.
The Upgrade Card could offer a predictable and transparent financing alternative for cardholders who struggle with managing credit card balances. By putting your balance into an installment plan, the card could help you minimize interest charges and keep your debt repayment efforts on track while earning cash back on all purchases.
But how much you’ll save — and whether you’ll save at all — comes down to the Upgrade Card APR you’re assigned. If you can’t qualify for one of the card’s lower-end APRs, it won’t be nearly as compelling as a traditional credit card that comes with a zero percent intro APR on purchases and helps you avoid interest completely for 12 months or more. Luckily, though, you can see your credit line and APR before you move forward with your Upgrade Card application.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, please click here
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
Share