Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards Review

Simmons First Visa® Platinum Rewards Excellent Credit Required - Applicants that do not have excellent credit will not be approved Low 9.25% variable standard purchase APR and platinum benefits No balance transfer fee for balances transferred in response to this online offer Travel Rewards - cardholders who enroll in the program receive one point per net dollar spent Choose any U.S. based airline or ticket class. No blackout dates or seating restrictions Other travel related options are hotels, cruises, vacation packages, car rental, and restaurants No Annual Fee Go to issuer's official application, terms, and details Intro APR for Purchases Intro APR for Balance Transfer Regular APR Annual Fee N/A N/A 9.25% (Variable) $0

Low Interest

If you carry a balance on your Simmons First Visa Platinum Card, you save money on interest compared to most other credit cards. The current interest rate is 9.25%, much lower than most other cards. When you first sign up for this card, you are allowed to transfer balances from other cards without paying a fee. This gives you the chance to use this card’s low interest rate to pay off your other card debts.

Travel Rewards

Most low-interest cards don’t offer purchase rewards. This is how they save costs to keep the interest low. This doesn’t apply to the Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards Card. Every time you make a purchase on this card, you earn travel points. You earn 1 travel point for every $1 you spend. You can use your points for free flights, hotel stays, gift certificates, and travel packages. Every 10,000 points you redeem is worth about $100 off a flight ticket. You can use your points with any airline or hotel as the points are redeemed as a credit against your travel purchases.

Difficult to Qualify

For the Simmons First Visa Platinum Card to offer its great combination of rewards and low interest, it needs to keep its cost low. This means it can’t take on cardholders that might not pay off their balances. As a result, you will only be accepted into this card if you have excellent credit. If your credit score isn’t well above 700, you probably shouldn’t apply to this card.

No Signup Bonus

One other disadvantage of the Simmons First Visa Platinum Card is it doesn’t offer a signup bonus. When you first get this card, you won’t receive any bonus travel points or cash back. You also won’t receive a 0% introductory APR, so you’ll owe interest on your account balances right away. The only benefit you get for signing up for this card is you don’t need to pay a balance transfer fee for balances transferred in response to the online offer.

Pros

• Charges a low interest rate -- currently 9.25%
  
• Earns travel points on all your purchases. Your travel points are good for free flights, hotel stays, and gift certificates.
  
• Doesn’t charge an annual fee
  
• Doesn’t charge a fee on balance transferred when you sign up

Cons

• Only accepts applicants with excellent credit
  
• Doesn’t give a signup bonus

Bottom Line

If you want to minimize your interest payments but still earn rewards at the same time, the Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards card is a good choice. If you don’t plan on carrying an account balance, you would be better off with a more generous rewards program.