Visa Platinum or Visa Signature: Which is Better in 2024?

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What’s the difference between a Visa Platinum and a Signature card? Basically, it’s all about the perks. Did you know you may be carrying Visa card benefits like cell phone protection, theft protection, and rental car discounts? If you have a Visa Platinum or Visa Signature branded card, there are likely unused perks available to you.

My favorite Visa card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. 

New Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.

Best Visa Credit Cards 2024:

The list below is a quick look at my favorite Visa credit cards.

1. Best flexibility: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
2. $300 Annual travel credit: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Visa Platinum or Visa Signature

Most credit cards are either a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card. What people don’t realize is there are several different tiers of Visa credit cards. When talking about credit cards, usually the main topics are signup bonuses or credit card offers.

However, Visa Platinum and Visa Signature cards offer various fringe benefits that most people don’t know much about.

Just like a hotel or airline loyalty program has different membership tiers, Visa offers four different card levels:

• Classic
• Platinum
• Signature
• Infinite

When credit cards were still “new,” there was only one type of Visa card. As Visa rolled out new versions with more benefits than previous generations, the original Visa became the Visa Classic. The best type of Visa (and the hardest to qualify for) is Visa Infinite. And a Visa Signature is better than a Visa Platinum.

Visa Signature Cards

Let’s look at what the Visa Signature is all about first. You can begin qualifying for select Visa Signature credit cards with a 670+ credit score. However, some cards require a 740 credit score to have the best approval odds.

Visa Signature Benefits

Here are some of the built-in Visa Signature benefits regardless of which bank you get your Visa card from:

• Minimum $5,000 initial credit limit
• Secondary rental car collision and theft damage waiver
• Rental car discounts
• Special discounts and perks at the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
• Extended warranty protection for up to 1 additional year

Your bank may build on the above benefits or offer other exclusive benefits:

• Trip delay reimbursement
• $100 discount when booking qualifying flights on the Visa Signature Discount Air website
• Emergency cash disbursement
• Cell phone protection
• Theft protection

You should check with the bank and individual card to see what Visa benefits are included.

Visa Signature Credit Cards

Below are some of the best Visa Signature credit cards. How many of these did you know are Visa Signature?

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Arguably the best travel rewards credit card for most people, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more. Cardholders can earn points on the following:

• 5x points on travel purchases made through Chase Travel℠
• 3x points on dining, takeout, and qualifying food delivery services
• 3x points on select streaming services
• Also, 3x points for online grocery purchases (excludes Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs)

All remaining travel purchases continue to earn 2x Ultimate Rewards if you book directly from the carrier or a non-Chase travel booking site. Non-bonus purchases earn 1x points.

Members also get a 10% anniversary point bonus (receive 10% of the points you earn each year at your next card anniversary).

You can redeem your points for travel, cash, gift cards, and merchandise rewards. Your Ultimate Rewards points are worth 25% more when redeemed for any award travel booked through Chase Travel℠.

New Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.

Additional Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits

You can also transfer your Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to airline and hotel loyalty programs, including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and World of Hyatt.

This card also offers primary rental car insurance rather than the standard secondary coverage that Visa offers. With primary coverage, your credit card benefits activate first if your rental car is in a collision or gets vandalized. However, secondary coverage only activates after your other insurance policies are enacted.

There is a $95 annual fee for this card but a $0 foreign transaction fee.

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card

The information for the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card is a hotel rewards card with a $0 annual fee. This Visa Signature card comes with the following benefits:

• Earn up to 14x Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Card
• Earn 2x points for every $1 spent at grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable, and phone services
• And earn 1x point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Receive 15 Elite Night Credits annually
• Silver Elite Status
• $0 foreign transaction fees

Your points don’t expire as long as you make purchases on your card every 24 months.

New Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card cardholders can earn 60,000 Bonus Points plus 1 Free Night Award after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. The Free Night Award is valued at 50,000 points. Certain hotels have resort fees.

Travel now, pay later – Break up purchases into equal monthly payments with no interest plus no plan fees on qualifying travel purchases. Terms apply.

Visa Platinum

The Visa Platinum, at one time, was the best Visa credit card tier. Then, Visa launched the Visa Signature and, eventually, the Visa Infinite. Most Visa Platinum cards are “starter credit cards” and make good best first credit cards for the start of your credit journey. These cards don’t require a security deposit like a secured credit card.

The rewards programs for most Visa Platinum cards are less robust than Visa Signature cards. In fact, some Platinum cards don’t offer any reward points for any purchase at all. But, each on-time payment can help improve your credit score.

Visa Platinum Benefits

You will see that Visa Platinum cards offer fewer built-in benefits than Visa Signature cards:

• Minimum $500 initial credit limit
• Secondary rental car damage and collision waiver
• Travel and emergency assistance service
• Extended warranty protection of up to 1 year
• Visa shopping and travel discounts (available for all Visa credit cards)

If you get a Visa Platinum, you won’t get perks like rental car discounts nor the likelihood your bank will offer additional card benefits. Yet, despite having fewer rewards, banks are likely to charge an annual fee for these Visa Platinum cards.

Visa Platinum Credit Cards

Below are some of the best Visa Platinum credit cards. These two cards don’t charge an annual fee, either!

Chase Freedom Unlimited

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® will either be a Visa Platinum or Visa Signature. For the Visa Platinum, your starting credit limit will be at least $500. The minimum limit is $5,000 for the Visa Signature.

Cardholders earn unlimited:

• 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
• 1.5% cash back on all other purchases

These are great opportunities to earn cash back on every purchase, all without worrying about an annual fee. Points can be used for travel, gift cards, and merchandise rewards. You can learn more about it in this Chase Freedom Unlimited review.

New Chase Freedom Unlimited® cardholders can enjoy an additional 1.5% cash back on everything they buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back! So, they’ll earn 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, a premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).

And if you were wondering, yes, you can transfer Freedom Unlimited points to the Sapphire Preferred.

You will need a 670 credit score or higher to have the best approval odds. Yet, you can qualify with a score as low as 620 if you have a strong enough credit history or annual income.

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card

The information for the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card offers these perks:

• Cell phone protection
• Free TransUnion credit score
• Flexibility to choose a payment due date that works with your schedule
• No annual fee (See Rates and Fees)

Cardholders can enjoy up to $600 protection on their cell phone (subject to a $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when paying their monthly cellular telephone bill with their U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Credit Card. Certain terms, conditions, and exclusions apply.

There is also fraud protection, and you can set up autopay to make things a bit easier. Additionally, you can set up your card in your digital wallet like Apple Pay.

The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card is also contactless.

Summary of Visa Platinum vs. Visa Signature

Are you still deciding whether to get a Visa Platinum or Visa Signature? If possible, try Visa Signature credit cards first, as they tend to offer better benefits and purchase rewards. But even if you get a Visa Platinum, you can earn rewards, get fringe benefits from Visa, and build credit to qualify for better cards.

FAQs

What does Visa Signature mean?

Visa Signature is the second-highest tier Visa credit card you can get. Many of the best travel credit cards and best cash-back credit cards have the Visa Signature logo stamped on the card. If you’re unsure, look for the Visa logo, and you should see the word “Signature” printed below it.

Some of the key Visa Signature benefits include:

• Minimum initial $5,000 credit limit
• Secondary rental car collision and theft damage waiver
• Rental car, travel, and golf course discounts
• Select travel and shopping protection benefits

Many of these cards are also some of the best credit cards for groceries.

What does Visa Platinum mean?

The Visa Platinum is the second tier of the four Visa credit card types. It’s better than a Visa Classic but less luxurious than a Visa Signature or Visa Infinite. Most Visa Platinum cards require a credit score in the 600s. You might be able to qualify for some with a score in the very high 500s. Visa Platinum credit cards are unsecured, meaning they don’t require an upfront security deposit.

Some of the automatic benefits include:

• Minimum $500 initial credit limit
• Secondary rental car collision and theft damage waiver
• Emergency and travel assistance (fees from non-Visa service providers still apply)
• Extended warranty up to 1 year for select purchases

What credit cards are Visa Signature?

The below list is by no means exhaustive. However, below is a list of some of the best Visa Signature credit cards:

• Chase Freedom Unlimited
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
• Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card
• Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card

Related Articles:

• Beginner’s Guide to Points and Miles
• Easiest Credit Cards to Get Approved For
• What Credit Card Gives The Highest Credit? Elevate Your Spending
• Credit Score Needed For The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

Johnny Jet has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Johnny Jet and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.