Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: 3 percent cash back on home, auto and health purchases and 1 percent cash back all other purchases
- Welcome offer: Earn a $200 bonus after opening a Rewards Checking account and making 3 debit card transactions within 60 days.*
- Annual fee: $0
- Purchase intro APR: None
- Balance transfer intro APR: None
- Regular APR: 14.99%-29.99%
Current welcome offer
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa card does not currently offer a typical sign-up bonus, which is unfortunate given that most rewards credit cards offer welcome incentives. The card’s lack of an intro APR offer is especially disappointing considering its bonus categories are geared toward spending on big-ticket expenses like car repairs, home renovations and health.
Rewards rate
Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa cardholders earn 3 percent cash back on spending in the home, auto and health categories, which includes major expenses such as car repairs and health expenses, as well as 1 percent cash back on all other purchases. Examples of purchases for which you can earn 3% cash back include:
- Auto: car washes, car dealership purchases, auto parts, auto repairs and towing services.
- Home: home improvement stores such as Home Depot or Lowe’s, furniture stores such as Ikea, home repair services, appliances, landscaping and cleaning services
- Health: sporting goods store purchases, spa services, doctor visits, drugstores, home gym and gym memberships
Few competing cards offer rewards in these niche categories, making the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card a solid choice if you spend regularly on auto, home and health purchases. Its wide variety of eligible bonus categories also make it ideal for both costly recurring expenses like counseling and one-off large purchases like an HVAC repair. Take a look at the types of purchases that fall into the Upgrade Triple Cash card’s bonus categories and you’ll quickly realize just how valuable the card could be for homeowners and families.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you’ll only earn rewards as you pay off your purchases. If you’re planning to make a large purchase and pay it off over time by carrying a balance long term, you’ll have to wait for your 1 to 3 percent back.
How you earn
Unlike the Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®, which earns unlimited 1.5 percent cash back, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card only earns unlimited 1 percent cash back on general purchases.
If you spend frequently on home, health and auto expenses like car washes, gym memberships and house repairs, the Upgrade Triple Cash card could be an easy way to earn cash back. But if you don’t have any large purchases for big car repairs, home renovations or health and wellness services already and don’t plan to frequently make purchases in these categories, the card is likely a poor choice.
How to redeem
You can earn unlimited cash back rewards as you pay back eligible purchases. After your next scheduled monthly payment, your cash back will be applied to your account. You don’t have to pick when to redeem rewards because they are applied automatically to your next month’s balance.
Sadly, you don’t have much flexibility when it comes to how you receive rewards with the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Card. That said, though more flexibility is always an advantage, having rewards applied automatically to your balance as a statement credit could allow you to save consistently and predictably.