Nissan® Visa Signature®

At a Glance  

The Nissan® Visa Signature® earns cardholders five points for every dollar they spend at Nissan and INFINITI dealerships. Cardholders can also earn 5X points on gas purchases. What’s more, cardholders earn three points for every dollar they spend on dining and one point per dollar on all other purchases. This card periodically offers special financing promotions. All of these features are available with no annual fee.

Ideal for Those Who:

• Own a Nissan vehicle
• Plant to purchase a Nissan vehicle
• Don’t want to pay an annual fee
• Want to earn points on dining purchases
• Want to take advantage of limited-time financing options

Nissan® Visa Signature® Review

The Nissan® Visa Signature® credit card is a cobranded auto rewards card. Synchrony Bank is the issuer of this credit card. This issuer specializes in many retail credit cards, including those associated with automobile makers. It’s important to keep this in mind, as Nissan doesn’t issue this card and communications will come from Synchrony.

As with many retail cards, this credit card features interest rates that are higher than the national average. This particular credit card also doesn’t allow for balance transfers. However, there is no annual fee.

The benefits of this Visa Signature® card primarily revolve around its rewards system. Because this card is cobranded with Nissan, cardholders earn the most points when they make purchases at Nissan dealerships. As well, cardholders earn the most points when they make purchases at Nissan’s luxury division, INFINITI. Gas purchases also earn cardholders increased points.

Cardholders also earn extra points on gas purchases. However, they don’t earn as many points as they would on the above purchases. All other purchases earn cardholders a standard one point for every dollar spent.

The Nissan® Visa Signature® card also offers periodic financing promotions. To learn more about this card’s features, keep reading the sections below.

Earning Points

The Nissan® Visa Signature® is a rewards card. As such, it earns you points on all your purchases. You will earn the five points for every dollar you spend at Nissan and INFINITI retailers. What’s great about this feature is that you can earn these points for any type of purchase you make these dealerships. This means you can earn points on parts, service, or accessories.

You can also earn 5X points on gas purchases. However, you need to make sure that you purchase gas at a business categorized as a service station or automated fuel pump. The majority of gas stations are categorized as such. However, some businesses may not meet these requirements. Many supermarkets and wholesale clubs may offer gas, but they may not be categorized as gas stations.

Besides auto-related purchases, cardholders can earn 3X points on dining purchases. Just as with gas purchases, you need to make sure the business where you make the purchase is categorized as a restaurant. This may mean that you won’t earn 3X points if you buy prepared foods at a supermarket, for instance.

All other purchases will earn you one point for every dollar you spend. This is the baseline earning rate that most rewards cards offer consumers.

Redeeming Points with the Nissan® Visa Signature®

The Nissan® Visa Signature® gives cardholders limited options for redeeming their points. You can redeem points on Nissan and INFINITI purchases. However, you can use your points for any type of purchase at these dealerships.

These points can come in handy if you need to repair your car or perform maintenance. As well, you can use your points to purchase a new vehicle or pay for the down payment on a leased vehicle. Now, you cannot use your points for online purchases. You can only use them for in-store purchases.

These purchase rewards are valued at $0.01 (one cent) per point. This is a pretty standard conversion. However, the conversion rate is half as much when you try to redeem your points for a statement credit. Each point is only worth half a cent when you redeem them for a credit.

Additionally, you are limited to only $300 in statement credits per year. It takes about 30 business days for your points to appear on your account. Once you receive your points, you have five years to redeem them before they expire.

Special Financing Promotions

Periodically, Nissan® Visa Signature® cardholders can take advantage of limited-time financing promotions. These are similar to the introductory APR promotions many other credit cards offer new cardholders. However, there are some big different differences between those promotions and the financing offers that this card occasionally features.

On the positive side, the Nissan® Visa doesn’t limit these promotions to first-time applicants, as is the industry standard. All cardholders have access to these same promotions. And financing promotions can recur several times during the life of your credit card account.

The financing promotions typically feature 0% APR for 12 months. However, there is no guarantee.

The negative part of this feature is that the financing promotions only apply towards Nissan and INFINITI purchases. This acts as an incentive to make a purchase at a dealership. And if that’s what you intend to do, then this card can help you make a down payment, thus reducing the amount that you have to finance.

A major drawback of this feature that doesn’t present a silver lining is the fact that you cannot earn points when you take advantage of a financing promotion. This can be frustrating for cardholders as there is more incentive to make a large purchase at the dealer when you don’t have to pay interest and can earn 5X points.

Should You Apply for the Nissan® Visa Signature®?

The Nissan® Visa Signature® may not be the best option for many consumers. The rewards on this credit card really only benefit Nissan and INFINITI customers. If you don’t own a vehicle from either of these manufacturers, you may see little value in owning this credit card. This is especially true when you factor in the higher-than-average APR.

If you are planning to purchase a Nissan from a certified dealer (not an independent retailer), this card may save you a little bit of money. However, this only applies if the card is currently offering a financing promotion. You can make a large down payment with your credit card and pay it off with no interest over a year. This will reduce the amount of money you will need to finance on your vehicle purchase.