U.S. Pride Visa Review

The U.S. Pride Visa is a rewards credit card aimed at people who want to earn cash back on everyday purchases. There is a signup bonus currently available as well as a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers. It is issued by Bank of America.

us_pride_visaNew members have the opportunity to receive a $100 cash rewards bonus. To qualify, you must have at least $500 in eligible net purchases during the first 90 days that your account is open. Net purchases are considered the total amount of transactions minus any credits, returns, fees, or other adjustments. Once you pass the spending threshold, it may take 8-12 weeks for the bonus rewards to post to your account. Important: This is an online-exclusive offer. All applications must be submitted via the internet. Current cardholders are not eligible for this bonus offer.

The U.S. Pride BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Card currently offers new account holders a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers. This promotional rate is good for the first 12 billing cycles of your account. For balance transfers to qualify for the 0% rate all transfer requests must be completed and post to your account within 60 days from the time your account is opened. After this time, the APR will be 12.99% to 22.99% (variable based on the Prime Rate) and will be determined by your creditworthiness at the time of approval.

A balance transfer fee of 3% of the total amount of the transfer or $10 (whichever is greater) is applied to all balance transfers. This fee is not waived during the promotional period.

Cardholders earn cash back rewards at the following rates:

  • 3% for every $1 spent on qualifying gas purchases
  • 2% for every $1 spent on qualifying grocery purchases
  • 1% for every $1 spent on all other purchases

There are no rotating categories and cash back rewards do not expire as long as your account remains active and in good standing.

The Gas and Grocery bonus categories are capped at $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter. Any amount over $1,500 will earn cash back rewards at the 1% rate for the remainder of the quarter. The spending threshold resets every quarter and any deficit does not carry over. There is no limit on the amount of rewards you can accumulate in the Cash Reward program.

All purchases must be submitted with an eligible merchant code in order to receive the bonus cash back rewards rate (double and triple). Superstores and discount warehouse retailers that sell groceries and/or gasoline do not qualify for the bonus rate. This means that purchases made at retailers such as Costco, Sam’s Club, WalMart, and Target will only earn 1% cash back.

Members can choose how they want to redeem their cash back rewards. The options are:

  • Statement credit
  • Check
  • Electronic deposit to a Bank of America checking or savings account

Cardholders who are also Bank of America banking customers receive a 10% bonus when redeeming rewards as an electronic deposit. For instance, if you redeem $25 worth of rewards $27.50 will actually be deposited into your account.

Bank of America issues Cash Reward credit cards which also include a charitable donation feature to various causes. The U.S. Pride BankAmericard Cash Reward Visa Card is not associated with any charity or group (Military veterans for example) as the logo might suggest. It is simply a Cash Rewards credit card.

Account holders have access to additional Bank of America services. These include:

  • Mobile Banking- Pay your credit card bill online, check your available credit, and make other financial transactions quickly and securely from almost anywhere.
  • Text Banking- Request account information simply by sending a text. Receive a reply in seconds.
  • Account Alerts- Keep track of payment due dates, balances, and transactions either with email or text alerts.

Cardholders are charged a 3% foreign transaction fee on all purchases made on the card while traveling outside of the U.S.

Members are not charged an annual fee for this card.

The Facts

Below we have broken down the specific details of the U.S. Pride BankAmericard Cash Reward Visa Card to help you determine if it’s the right card for you.

The Good:

Signup bonus:

New cardholders currently have the opportunity to earn $100 in cash back bonus rewards simply by spending at least $500 on the card within the first 90 days that your account is active. This spending threshold must consist of eligible net purchases which are the total amount of transactions minus any credits, returns, fees, or other adjustments. Once you qualify, it may take 8-12 weeks for the bonus rewards to post to your account. This is an online-exclusive offer. All applications must be made via the internet in order to earn the $100 cash rewards bonus.

0% introductory APR:

This card currently offers new members a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 billing statements of your account. Balance transfer requests must be submitted, completed and post to your account within 60 days of your account being opened. A balance transfer fee of 3% of the transfer amount or $10 (whichever is greater) will be applied to all balance transfers including those made during the promotional time period.

Cash back rewards:

Cardholders earn cash back rewards at the following rates:

  • 3% for every $1 spent on qualifying gas purchases
  • 2% for every $1 spent on qualifying grocery purchases
  • 1% for every $1 spent on all other purchases

No rotating categories:

The gas and grocery bonus categories do not change.

Rewards do not expire:

Your cash back rewards do not expire as long as your account remains active and in good standing. There is no limit on the amount of rewards you can accumulate with the Cash Rewards program.

Simple redemption process:

Card members can redeem rewards in the following ways:

  • Statement credit
  • Check
  • Electronic deposit to a Bank of America checking or savings account

10% redemption bonus:

Cardholders who are also Bank of America banking customers receive a 10% bonus when redeeming rewards as an electronic deposit. If you redeem $25 worth of rewards $27.50 will actually be deposited into your account.

Additional Bank of America services:

  • Mobile Banking- Pay your credit card bill online, check your available credit, and make other financial transactions quickly and securely from almost anywhere.
  • Text Banking- Request account information simply by sending a text. Receive a reply in seconds.
  • Account Alerts- Keep track of payment due dates, balances, and transactions either with email or text alerts.

No annual fee:

There is no annual fee for this card.

The Bad:

Variable APR:

Once the 12-month introductory APR expires, the APR on purchases and balance transfers will be 12.99% to 22.99% (variable) depending on your credit score at the time of approval. If you have average or below credit, you may be looking at a high APR starting with the second year that your account is open.

Foreign transaction fees:

Members are charged a 3% foreign transaction fee on all purchases made on the card while traveling abroad.

Not everyone will qualify:

Bank of America states (in the fine print of the terms and conditions) that if you qualify for a $5,000 credit line or more you will receive a Visa Signature credit card. If you are approved for a credit line that is less than $5,000 you will receive a Platinum Plus credit card. These cards come with different terms and benefits. Some applicants will not qualify for any card.

The Ugly:

Cap on bonus cash back rewards:

There is a quarterly spending limit of $1,500 in combined gas and grocery purchases. Amounts over this cap earn 1% cash rewards for the remainder of the quarter. Spending limits reset every quarter. Any deficit you may have does not carry over to the next quarter.

Fine print alert:

To qualify for the 2% and 3% cash back bonus rewards, all gas and grocery purchases must be submitted using an eligible merchant code. Superstores such as WalMart and Target and Discount Warehouse retailers such as Costco and Sam’s Club do not fall into the eligible merchant code category. Gas and grocery purchases from retailers such as these will earn 1% cash back rewards.

Rewards are weighted in favor of Bank of America customers:

The 10% redemption bonus is only available to Bank of America customers who choose to redeem rewards as an electronic deposit. If you do not have a banking relationship with Bank of America you could be missing out on a significant amount of cash back rewards.

The U.S. Pride BankAmericard Cash Reward Visa Card offers members a good cash rewards program on everyday purchases. Appearances to the contrary, this card is not affiliated with any military or veterans organization so if you are looking for a rewards card that also donates to a specific cause, this one is not it.

Members earn decent enough rewards on everyday purchases but there are certain restrictions for the gas and grocery bonus rates. If you routinely shop at superstores or discount warehouses for gas and groceries your purchases on the card will only earn 1% cash back- a very weak return. Plus if you know you regularly spend more than $1,500 per quarter on these items, a large portion of your spending may still only earn 1% cash back. You may want to look for a rewards card that offers a high percentage of cash back on the things that you buy the most- and preferably with no spending cap.

The card does offer a 12-month 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers. This feature makes it a good candidate for someone wanting to move an existing high-interest credit card balance to a new card. If you are thinking about purchasing a big-ticket item, this card will allow you to pay it off over a year with no interest charges.