Venmo Credit Card Review

Pros Explained

• Card Comes Printed With a Unique QR Code That Links to Your Venmo Account: Your credit card’s front side will be printed with a unique QR code that links to your Venmo account. This makes splitting bills easy, as your friends or family can pay their part of a split bill with Venmo by scanning the QR code on your card.
• Payments for Split Bills Can Be Applied to Your Credit Card or Venmo Account: Payments received for split bills can be applied to your credit card balance. This is a useful feature for those who may forget to use the payments from friends to pay off their credit cards, helping them avoid accidentally spending the money elsewhere.
• Top Spend Cash Rewards Categories Are Calculated Automatically and Retroactively: Other credit cards may require you to pick a bonus cash back category at the beginning of a statement period. If you guess wrong, you may not earn the optimal amount of cash back. The Venmo Credit Card, however, looks at your spending and retroactively applies your top spend and second top spend categories to help you earn the most cash rewards.

Cons Explained

• Low Cash Rewards Rate on All Other Purchases: Many other credit cards offer at least 1.5% cash back on all purchases. For that reason, it may not make sense to use this card for purchases that only earn 1% cash rewards.
  
• Only Available to Venmo Customers With the Latest Version of the App: Currently, you can only apply for the card if you’re using the latest version of the Venmo app.

Who This Card Is For

The Venmo Credit Card is for loyal Venmo account users who want another way to pay for their purchases. The card may work for you if you consistently make most of your purchases in one or two of its eight top spend categories. 

Alternatively, it can be a good fit for people who regularly split purchases with others and want to use those payments to pay off their credit card bill. Since you can get reimbursed from your friends and family using Venmo and apply those payments directly to your credit card balance, this card can help you avoid the temptation of spending that money elsewhere.

Rewards Earning Details

Earning rewards with the Venmo Credit Card is easy. There is nothing you have to do other than put purchases on the card. The card will calculate your top and second top spend category each statement period and automatically apply the higher reward rates.

You earn 3% cash rewards on your top spend category and 2% cash rewards on your second top spend category. The eight eligible spending categories are dining and nightlife, travel, bills and utilities, health and beauty, grocery (including wholesale clubs), gas, transportation, and entertainment. You earn 1% cash rewards on other purchases, as well as when you use your card to send money to other Venmo users through your Venmo account.

Cash rewards don’t expire, but there are several instances where they may be suspended or forfeited:

• If your credit card account is suspended, you won’t earn cash rewards. 
• If your credit card account is closed by Synchrony, the issuing bank, any rewards you’ve earned but not transferred to your Venmo account will be forfeited.
• If you close your credit card account, you will stop earning cash rewards, but previously earned rewards will still be transferred to your Venmo account at the end of the statement period. 
• If your Venmo account is suspended, cash rewards may not be transferred until it is reinstated.
• If your Venmo Credit Card isn’t linked to your Venmo account, your credit card will be closed and cash rewards earned but not yet transferred to your Venmo account will be forfeited.

Rewards Redemption Details

You don’t have to redeem your rewards. That is done for you automatically. After your statement closes, Venmo calculates your rewards based on your top spend categories. Then, it transfers them to your Venmo account, generally within three business days.

Once the cash rewards are in your Venmo account, you can use them just as you would your usual Venmo account balance. Your Venmo Credit Card and Venmo account must be open, in good standing, and linked to each other for the rewards to automatically transfer.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

Maximizing your rewards with this card depends on how much money you spend in your top spend categories throughout the year. That said, other credit cards offer higher cash back rates on other purchases than the 1% cash rewards that the Venmo Credit Card provides.

Standard Benefits

These are a few of the benefits offered to Venmo cardholders:

• Roadside dispatch (Visa Signature and Visa)
• Travel and emergency assistance services (Visa Signature only)
• 24/7 Visa Signature concierge (Visa Signature only)

Cardholder Experience

Synchrony Bank issues the Venmo Credit Card which scored 786 out of 1,000 points in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study; this is below the national issuer average of 814.

You can manage your credit card account in the Venmo app or by calling Venmo credit card support at 855-878-6462.

Security Features

The Venmo app allows you to disable your card account within the app if you can’t find your card or it is compromised. If you find your card and it isn’t compromised, you can unlock it in the app. If your card is compromised, you can request a virtual card in the Venmo app to keep shopping while your physical card is being replaced. You can also use this feature to start using your card after you’re accepted but before your physical card arrives.

Fees to Watch Out For

While the Venmo Credit Card doesn’t charge an annual fee, watch out for the cash advance fee of $10 or 5% of each cash advance’s amount, whichever is greater.

Final Verdict

The Venmo Credit Card offers competitive cash rewards in your top-spend and second-top-spend categories, 3% and 2% respectively. Rewards are automatically and retroactively calculated based on your spending, helping you earn the most cash possible. 

When you also consider the ease of getting reimbursed for split purchases by friends and family members using the QR code on the front of your card, this card can be very convenient for people who regularly use Venmo. Unfortunately, the Venmo Credit Card is currently limited to select Venmo account holders.