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Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...
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SoFi Credit Card
U.P. Rating
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
Earn 2% unlimited cash-back when you redeem it to save invest, or pay down an eligible SoFi loan --- all without an annual fee.
U.P. Rating
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
The information regarding the SoFi Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
SoFi has quickly become one of the most popular fintech companies around by offering a combination of investing, saving, and loan refinancing, all in 1 platform.
Now, the company has its very own credit card that rewards you with 2% back on all purchases, helping you get even more out of your SoFi account.
Card Snapshot
Welcome Bonus & Info
Earn 3% cash back for a year when you set up direct deposit with SoFi. After that, earn 2% unlimited cash back on purchases when redeemed toward investing, saving, or paying down an eligible loan with SoFi.*
Earn $100 when you fund an Invest account as well as a Checking and Savings account after getting approved for the SoFi Credit Card.
When you make 12 on-time payments, we’ll lower your APR by 1%.
No annual fee.
No foreign transaction fees
Cell phone protection (insurance coverage up to $1,000)**
** Cell Phone Insurance Protection, Mastercard ID Theft Protection(TM), Lyft and Other Partner Rewards have additional terms and conditions, which can all be accessed through the World Elite Mastercard® Benefits portal. Please see the guide to benefits for details or call 1-800-MASTERCARD.
3% cash back for a year when you set up direct deposit with SoFi
1% unlimited cash-back when you redeem as a statement credit
No annual fee
Cell phone insurance
No foreign transaction fees
World Elite Mastercard benefits
Lower APR by 1% after making 12 on-time payments
Cons
Only useful if you already use the SoFi platform
Does not offer bonus categories for those looking to optimize their spending on certain purchases
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as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect
our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
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Great Card If
You’re already a SoFi customer
You want a no annual fee cash-back card that helps you save, invest, and pay down your debt
Don’t Get If
You want a card that earns flexible rewards
You want a card that offers bonus categories
The Ideal Cardholder
The SoFi card is best suited for those who have a SoFi loan, or utilize a SoFi Money and/or SoFi Invest account.
The SoFi card is also a solid option for those looking for the following card benefits:
Cell Phone Insurance Protection
If you pay for your cell phone bill with your SoFi card, you’ll receive complimentary cell phone insurance coverage, up to $1,000, that covers the actual cost to replace or repair your stolen or damaged phone.
The maximum reimbursement is $800 per claim, and $1,000 per 12-month period. Each claim requires you to pay a $50 deductible, and your coverage is limited to 2 claims per 12-month period.
World Elite Mastercard Benefits
Since the SoFi card is a World Elite Mastercard, you’ll also receive the following benefits:
$5 Lyft credit for every 3 rides taken in a month, once per month
Free annual Shoprunner membership
3-month free trial of DashPass for non-members, plus a $5 discount on two orders each month for DashPass subscribers
5% back on every HelloFresh order
How To Use Your SoFi Cash-back for Max Value
Pay Down a SoFi Loan
SoFi’s first-ever consumer product was its loan product. Namely, the service allowed you to consolidate and refinance your student loan debt at more favorable rates. Now the platform even offers the ability to apply for and take out a personal loan directly through the app.
While both these services can be helpful depending on your situation, both are debt obligations that you’ll certainly want to get paid down. This is where the SoFi card can help because as you earn your 2% cash-back rewards, you can then apply those rewards directly towards your loan balance to help you pay it off more quickly.
Invest With SoFi
Looking to grow your net worth? SoFi’s investment platform allows you to purchase stocks and even cryptocurrencies directly through the app. You can buy and sell virtually any public stock through the platform, along with 28 different crypto assets. Plus, you can redeem rewards from your SoFi card to help boost these balances even further.
You can earn rewards on every purchase you make, then redeem them to grow your investment account, where ideally they will then grow even further. Talk about a win-win!
Save With SoFi
The SoFi Money account is a cash management account that allows you to earn a 0.25% APY on your deposits, has no account fees, and free ATMs at 55,000+ Allpoint locations. You can handle all of your bill payments using it, and if you set up direct deposit, you’ll automatically get your paycheck up to 2 days early each time you get paid.
Just like with a SoFi loan or a SoFi Invest account, you’ll earn 2% back when you redeem rewards towards your SoFi Money account. However, if you’ve already built up an emergency fund and your bills are paid for this month, you might be better off redeeming your rewards to pay down debt or invest, as both of those options will help you save more or grow your money faster over time.
Statement Credit
Finally, SoFi gives you the option to redeem rewards as a statement credit to offset purchases you made with your card. But when you redeem this way, you cut the value of your rewards from 2% back to just 1% back.
Because of this, we highly advise against redeeming this way. Not only can you do much better than earning 1% back on purchases with another card, but if you genuinely want to offset purchases made with your card then it would make more sense to earn 2% back by redeeming to your SoFi Money account, and then using those funds to pay the balance on your SoFi card.
How To Earn More SoFi Cash-back
Using Your Card for All Your Purchases
Since the card doesn’t have any bonus categories and instead rewards you with 2% cash-back on all of your purchases, this is really the best and only way to earn as much cash-back as possible. This way, you’ll know that every purchase you make is earning you 2% back towards paying down your loan or adding to your SoFi Invest or SoFi Money account.
Alternative Cards to the SoFi Credit Card
Citi Double Cash® Card
Those looking for a card with a bit more flexibility when it comes to rewards should consider the Double Cash card. As with the SoFi card, the Double Cash card earns an unlimited 2% back on all purchases you make with the card with no annual fee.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!
Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!
Earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.
$200 cash back
$0
0% Intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers, then 19.24% - 29.24% Variable
Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.
Fair to Excellent (580-850)
The Citi Double Cash® Card has long been one of the top cash-back credit cards on the market, and the card now has the ability to earn Citi ThankYou Points!
This means that cardholders of the Double Cash card will now earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou Points. This means each billing cycle, you will earn 1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on purchases and an additional ThankYou point for every $1 paid on your purchase balance as long as there is a corresponding balance in your Purchase Tracker.
Citi has turned the Double Cash card into a top choice for those who are looking for an everyday, no-fuss credit card.
Pros
Uncapped 2% for every $1 spent (1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay)
Bonus Offer: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% – 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness.
Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
Citi Double Cash® Card Travel Portal Limited Time Offer: Earn a total of 5 ThankYou Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental, and attractions, excluding air travel, when booked through the Citi TravelSM portal on ThankYou.com or by calling 1-800-Thankyou and saying “Travel.” Offer is valid through 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) 12/31/2024.
Financial Snapshot
APR: 0% Intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers, then 19.24% - 29.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase
However, instead of being limited to redeeming your 2% rewards towards a SoFi loan, or into a SoFi Money/Invest account, you can redeem your cash-back as a statement credit, direct deposit, check, or convert to ThankYou Points that can then be pooled with a premium Citi ThankYou Rewards card for high-value travel opportunities.
Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
The Fidelity Rewards card and the SoFi card are similar as both offer 2% cash-back on all purchases with no annual fee. Fidelity then allows you to cash out these awards into a Fidelity Brokerage account, Fidelity Cash Management Account, Fidelity Retirement Account, and basically every other account type that Fidelity offers.
So, essentially, deciding which card is right for you mainly comes down to which company you prefer to handle your finances through.
The information regarding the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the SoFi Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Citi Double Cash® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SoFi Credit Card good?
If you’re someone who uses at least 1 SoFi product, whether that be a loan, a SoFi Money account, or SoFi Invest account, then having the SoFi card can help enhance the value of each of those accounts.
With it, your 2% cash-back rewards can be deposited into one of those accounts to help you pay down debt faster, or grow your cash reserves or investments faster.
Will applying for the SoFi card impact my credit score?
When you submit your application, SoFi conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score should your application be denied. However, if your application is approved, SoFi will do a hard credit pull and a new account will be added to your credit report, which likely will reduce your credit score by a few points temporarily.
How can I redeem the rewards earned from my SoFi card?
You can also redeem your rewards as a statement credit to offset purchases made with your card. However, your rewards rate will be just 1% back when redeeming this way — so you’re much better off opting for one of the 2% back options.
Is the SoFi Credit Card hard to get?
Those who have at least a couple of years of solid credit history, along with a credit score of 700 or higher, should find it reasonably easy to get approved for the card. That said, there are no set parameters that will guarantee your approval for the SoFi card.
Fortunately, SoFi allows you to submit an application for the card where it performs a preliminary soft pull to your credit, and if you are denied, that soft pull will not impact your credit score.
Can you pay your SoFi student loan with a credit card?
Yes, you can pay your student loan through SoFi with a credit card, including your SoFi card. This is a great way to help pay down your debt even faster as each loan payment you make with your SoFi card earns 2% cash-back, and you can then redeem that cash-back balance towards your student loan balance.
Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.
This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.
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