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Something you can do right now that is both free and easy and could open you up to more benefits is to check your wallet for a Visa card. If you do have a Visa credit card in your wallet, it’s most likely a Visa Signature Card. Did you know that it is full of extra benefits that can add even more value to your card? While credit cards offer different purchase rewards and point/mile redemption options may differ, you have the same set of Visa Signature card benefits that Visa offers you. Let’s check these out.
Best Visa Signature Credit Card Benefits
Before we look at the best Visa Signature credit card benefits, let’s give you a preview of some of the best cards that carry these benefits. (More details on the following cards are featured further down this list.)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Chase Freedom Flex®
- United℠ Explorer Card
- British Airways Visa Signature® Card
- Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
- Citi® Double Cash Card
You may notice that many of the best travel credit cards carry the Visa Signature label.
Here are some things to know about the Visa Signature credit card benefits.
Minimum $5,000 Initial Card Limit
All Visa Signature credit cards have a minimum card limit of $5,000. If your preset spending limit is below this mark and it’s a Visa, it’s most likely a Visa Platinum product. The Visa Platinum cards offer fewer benefits than Visa Signature.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
All Visa Signature credit cards come with secondary rental car collision and theft damage waiver protection. You will need to charge the rental to your Visa and decline the collision damage waiver the rental car agency offers.
If a covered incident occurs, your primary auto insurance policy offers. The Visa Signature benefits can cover any remaining damage costs. In most cases, this is your insurance deductible. This coverage is available for most rental car types and in most countries.
In the United States, this benefit applies to rentals shorter than 15 days and up to 31 days for international car rentals.
Select Chase Visa Signature cards offer primary coverage. This means your credit card benefits activate before any other insurance policies you may have. Two Chase credit cards offering primary rental car insurance are:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Even the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card offer primary coverage. Neither card charges an annual fee and they are some of the best business credit cards for travel.
Visa Credit Card Rental Car Privileges
While we’re on the topic of rental cars, your Visa Signature lets you save money on Silvercar rentals and GroundLink chauffeur service.
Silvercar
Silvercar is Audi’s luxury car rental service. It’s possible to save up to 15% on rentals and you can enjoy these complimentary benefits:
- Bluetooth
- In-car WiFi
- SiriusXM radio
- Apple CarPlay and Android integration
GroundLink
If you use GroundLink for car chauffeur service, you can save 10% on bookings plus get a one-time $20 credit.
Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
Enjoy special discounts and amenities at the Luxury Hotel Collection. There are over 900 hotels and resorts in this upscale portfolio. Some of the special benefits you can enjoy include:
- Automatic room upgrade (when available)
- In-room WiFi
- Complimentary breakfast for two
- $25 USD food and beverage credit
- VIP guest status
- Late checkout (upon request)
You will need to book your stay through the Visa Signature website to get these benefits.
Golf Course Discounts
Partnering with Troon, you can get special perks at more than 95 golf courses across the United States and the world. You will get a 10% discount on green fees, golf schools, and instructional classes. Existing Troon members can also upgrade one loyalty status tier.
Roadside Assistance
Although you will still need to pay the service provider for their roadside assistance services, Visa will dispatch help free of charge. The next time you need a jump start, flat tire assistance, or a tow, Visa can help you during this stressful situation.
If you have roadside assistance through your car insurance or AAA membership, you might try using these benefits first.
Travel and Emergency Assistance
Visa can also help you find alternate transportation or medical assistance if an emergency happens. Once again, you will need to pay the service provider for any services they render. But Visa doesn’t charge an assistance fee on top of this bill.
Your bank may offer additional travel assistance benefits to defray the incidental costs.
Emergency Cash Disbursement
If you need cash in a hurry, Visa will send funds to a local Western Union branch within 2 hours of bank approval. This benefit applies if your credit card is lost, stolen, or damaged.
Extended Warranty Protection
On qualifying items, Visa extends the original manufacturer warranty for up to 1 year. This Visa Signature card benefit applies to warranties that are 3 years or less. If the original warranty is longer than 3 years, Visa doesn’t extend the warranty.
The coverage for this additional year mirrors the manufacturer’s warranty policy. Make sure you hang onto the original paperwork to avoid any delays in processing your claim.
You will need to file a claim within 60 days of the product’s failure to submit an eligible claim.
Best Visa Signature Credit Cards
While there are many Visa Signature cards to own, these are some of the best.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best travel rewards credit cards. It offers these benefits:
- Points are worth 25% more when booking award travel through Chase
- 1:1 airline and hotel point transfers (includes United, Southwest, and World of Hyatt)
- Primary rental car collision and theft damage insurance
- Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance (up to $10,000 per person/$20,000 per trip)
Purchase Rewards
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns unlimited:
- 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit)
- 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out)
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target®, Walmart®, and wholesale clubs)
- Also 3x points on select streaming services
- 2x points on all other travel purchases
- 1x point per $1 spent on all non-bonus purchases
There is a $50 annual Hotel Credit. It comes in the form of a statement credit that will automatically be applied to your account when your card is used for hotel accommodation purchases made through the Chase Travel℠ program, up to an annual maximum accumulation of $50.
Plus, on each account anniversary, you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. So, if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you’ll get 2,500 bonus points.
Chase Freedom Flex
The information for the Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Chase Freedom Flex® offers rotating 5% quarterly bonus categories. You earn 5% back on the first $1,500 spent on rotating bonus category purchases each quarter (once activated). Cardholders also earn:
- 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate (then 1% back)
- 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
- 1% on all other purchases
There isn’t an annual fee with the Chase Freedom Flex.
New Chase Freedom Flex® cardholders can earn a $200 bonus after they spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Related: Best Cash Back Credit Cards
Summary
The Visa Signature card benefits can help you save money when you travel or an unplanned incident happens. Your bank may build upon these benefits to offer more in-depth coverage. Before paying for a large travel or retail purchase, it’s worth looking at the Visa Signature benefits guide.
FAQs
Does Visa Signature have lounge access?
No, airport lounge access isn’t a built-in Visa Signature card benefit. Some airline credit cards will give you one-time passes or discount access. But, you will need to get a Visa Infinite product, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, to get automatic Priority Pass lounge membership.
Are Visa Signature cards hard to get?
You will need good credit or excellent credit to qualify for a Visa Signature card. Many cards require a credit score above 670 to have the best approval odds. Certain cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, need a 740+ credit score to give you an instant approval decision.
What does Visa Signature card mean?
Visa Signature is the mid-level Visa credit card product. This means they are not the most luxurious but at least offer a few discounts and protection benefits.
The best Visa credit cards are Visa Infinite. These cards have a minimum $10,000 initial credit limit, have primary rental car collision and theft damage protection, and Priority Pass lounge membership.
The entry-level Visa Platinum (Visa Traditional) cards offer fewer benefits than Signature cards. While you still get secondary rental car insurance, you won’t get extended warranty protection or the various hotel, rental car, and golf course discounts.
What is the best Visa Signature card?
The best Visa Signature card can be a matter of opinion. If you like to travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is probably the best overall. Your points are worth 25% more when you booking award travel instead of cash or gift card rewards. And you can transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to many of the largest airline and hotel loyalty programs.
The information for the Citi® Double Cash Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
For cash rewards, the Citi® Double Cash Card earns up to 2% back on all purchases and it has no annual fee. Earn 1% when you buy, plus an additional 1% when you pay for your purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. The Citi Double Cash has no limit to how many rewards can be earned.
Saving Money on Wine Tastings in Sonoma with a Visa Signature Credit Card
I needed to unwind, so my wife and I recently took a quick trip to San Francisco a few years ago. We had a blast, especially during our day trip to Sonoma. We always have fun in the wine country. How can you not?
What made our trip even better was that we were able to save $$ with our Chase Sapphire Preferred on wine tastings! What, what. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a Visa Signature card, and with that comes extra benefits. One of those benefits is free wine tastings in Sonoma. Winning.
That’s right, if you hold a Visa Signature card, you can receive:
- Two complimentary tastings per cardholder
- Savings on wine and non-wine purchases same day in Tasting Room
- Savings on Reserve tasting and special wine and food pairings
However, benefits vary from winery to winery, so you should call ahead if you want to know exactly what the Visa Signature perks are at a specific winery. From our experience, we received 2 for 1 tastings at the participating wineries we visited. They knew about the Visa Signature program and were friendly when we mentioned it. Each tasting sampled 6 wines, so between us, we got 12 wine tastings for $10 at 3 different wineries. That’s value!
You can see the list of over 60 wineries in Sonoma that participate in the program here. Here are the wineries we visited.
Gundlach Bundschu
The first winery we went to was Gundlach Bundschu, and the wine we tasted was top-notch! It was our favorite wine of the trip. I especially enjoyed the pinot noir.
GunBun had great views of the countryside and it overlooked a pond. It was a scenic place to enjoy a bottle of wine. The tastings inside were more like drinking in a cave, but the staff was great and gave us many recommendations on other wineries to visit and restaurants to eat at.
Bartholomew Park
Bartholomew Park is the little sister winery to Gundlach Bundschu, basically their boutique. We ran into a group of 6 girls from Austin here that were having a great time, and we ended up chatting with them for a while. Always cool to run into people on vacay from where you live, but that seems to happen a lot with Austin.
Hawkes
Hawkes winery was located in Sonoma’s town square. I don’t actually think they participate in the Visa Signature program, but we were given a 2 for 1 tasting coupon from the girl helping us at Gundlach Bundschu.
We really enjoyed the chic modern design (what am I saying) of the tasting room and had a blast talking to Douglas. A perk to this spot is that they do their own olive oil in house, and it’s excellent. We went to town on the fresh bread samples and olive oil. Don’t judge, we bought a bottle.
Visa Signature Cards
You most likely already hold one, two, or maybe three Visa Signature cards in your wallet. To see if you have a Visa Signature card, just look at the bottom right corner of your card and it will have “Signature” under the Visa logo. Here’s a list of Visa Signature cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
One of the best travel cards on the market, with transfer partners like airlines (Southwest, United, British Airways, etc.) and hotels (IHG, Hyatt), this card is incredibly flexible. And earning the sign-up bonus is a great way to get closer to a free vacation!
Chase Freedom Flex®
Great benefits, including its categories of “5% cashback,” up to $1,500 in rotating categories, which change every quarter. If you have a Chase Sapphire card, that “cashback” becomes points. This is known as a Chase trifecta.
United℠ Explorer Card
Great for flyers of United, it will allow you to board the plane before most passengers, get lounge passes, and waive bag fees. Check your United account online, or a local Chase branch for the best offer.
This is one of the best United credit cards.
British Airways Visa Signature® Card
A great card for those who fly oneworld, since British Airways’ Avios Miles are distance-based, making short-distanced award flights a great redemption value.
Compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs British Airways Visa Signature Card if both cards sound interesting to you.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
Alaska Airlines’ miles are great because of the breadth of partners Alaska has acquired over the years, across many alliances.
More options are:
- Nordstrom Notes
- Williams-Sonoma
- Priceline Rewards Visa
- Wyndham
- Holland America
- Princess
- NFL Extra Points
- Merrill Lynch Visa
Having a Visa Signature card can help you save money in a variety of ways, one of them being wine tastings in Sonoma. I always love finding little unexpected savings. It made our day trip to Sonoma even better.
Visa Signature Cardholder Benefits
We all know every credit card is different. The benefits you receive from them may make the difference between a normal vacation and an amazing one.
Not all cards are created equal, and the Visa Signature brand is hosting a large array of benefits across its co-branded cards that you may not be aware of. These you qualify for in addition to your other card-specific benefits. I know over the years of having a Visa Signature card, I’ve saved money from theater tickets to Fandango.
This post will outline many of those “hidden” benefits of the Visa Signature Program.
Some Examples of Benefits
Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
This is one of the best benefits that Visa Signature offers its cardholders. A select number of 4 and 5-starred hotels in many cities around the world offer you extra benefits, just for booking through Visa Signature. Often, the rate is the same or a little more for a large number of extra benefits.
In addition, if you have status with one of their loyalty programs, you’ll receive all the benefits of that as well Some benefits include free internet, room upgrade, free breakfast, late checkout, a $25 food or beverage voucher, and VIP guest status.
Signature Events
Often, limited time (6 months, usually) offers appear on the Visa Signature page. These can range across a number of industries. Check before you book to see if your hotel is offering limited-time discounts.
Fandango BOGO
The last few summers, Visa Signature & Fandango have teamed up to give cardholders a free movie ticket after purchasing a movie ticket.
Conclusion
With so many choices out there, it may be hard to choose a card. However, the benefits speak for themselves: if you travel a lot, a Visa Signature Card is incredibly worth it.
Johnny Jet has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Johnny Jet and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
