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Although the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card looks like a credit card, it’s actually more like a personal loan. When you use it, Upgrade converts your debt into an installment loan to be repaid in fixed installments over a number of months—usually at a lower interest rate than you’d get with a loan.
However, unlike with a loan, you won’t have to reapply every time you want more credit, and you’ll also benefit from 1%–3% cashback rewards while you spend. This makes the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card a nice win–win solution if you’re torn between getting a traditional credit card and taking out a loan.
Quick Review
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards credit card is one of several Upgrade cards that share the unusual feature of offering borrowers installment credit rather than revolving credit, like you’d get with a normal credit card. Whereas revolving credit allows you to repeatedly borrow money up to a set limit and pay it back over time, installment credit—such as personal loans, car loans, mortgages, and similar products—gives you a predetermined amount that you repay in fixed installments.
With the Upgrade card, when you’ve finished using it at the end of each month, anything you’ve borrowed is turned into an installment loan.
You can borrow money from your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card in one of two ways:
- By using it to transfer money into your bank account: You can borrow money from your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card by using it to move funds (up to the amount of your credit limit) directly into your bank account. You must then pay back a set amount each month over a period of 24–60 months, where the interest rate is fixed. You can transfer funds to your bank account as many times as you like with no need to reapply for a new loan.
- By using it as a credit card: You can use your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card for purchases as you would with a normal credit card. But whereas a normal credit card would allow you to settle your balance either in full or in part (and carry over the rest to the following month to be paid later), with the Upgrade card, everything you’ve borrowed is turned into a single loan at the end of each month. Again, this loan has a fixed interest rate and is repaid in equal monthly installments.
There are several reasons why the installment loans you owe on an Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card might be preferable to the revolving credit line you’d get with a normal credit card:
- Equal monthly repayments with fixed interest rates: Whenever you take out a loan on your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card (which you do by using the card over the course of a billing cycle), a fixed interest rate is applied to the debt. This means that your interest rates can’t increase, as often happens with normal credit cards, and you repay your debts in fixed installments. As such, it’s easier to budget repayments.
- Potentially high credit limits: The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card gives you credit limits of between $500 and $25,000, which is more than a lot of credit cards for fair credit offer.
- Some borrowers’ credit will benefit: If you don’t have any installment loans yet (or none that are reported to the credit bureaus), an Upgrade card could also be beneficial for your credit. This is because your credit score is partly based on a criterion called your credit mix. If you have a combination of installment credit and revolving credit, it means you have a better credit mix, and a better credit mix means a better credit score.
The other huge advantages of the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card are that it has no fees and cashback rewards of 1%–3%. Many cashback rewards cards are only accessible to holders of good-to-excellent credit. However, the Upgrade website recommends the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card for holders of only average credit or above.
So if your credit is only so-so, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card might be one of the better options available to you. But anyone who likes the sound of 3% cashback rewards should take a closer look at what this card has to offer.
Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Card Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Credit card issuer: Sutton Bank
- Regular APR: 14.99%–29.99% (variable)
- Annual fee: $0
- Credit limit: $500–$25,000
- Rewards rate: 1%–3%
Additional Information
- Pay down balances from each month at a fixed rate with equal payments.
- No fees (including late fees, foreign transaction fees, or annual fees).
- 3% cash back on purchases in the categories of home, auto, and health.
- 1% cash back on everything else.
- Up to 10% extra cash back from select merchants (on top of your normal cashback rate).
- Cash back is typically credited to your balance after your monthly payments.
- Prequalification is available.
- No need to reapply for credit like you’d normally have to with installment loans.
Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Card Feature Breakdown
Let’s take a look at the features of the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card to better understand what it has to offer.
Fees
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card spares you the fees you get with normal credit cards:
- Annual fee: $0
- Monthly fee: $0
- Foreign transaction fee: 0%
- Late payment fee: $0
- Cash advance transaction fee: N/A
- Balance transfer fee: N/A
Note that Upgrade doesn’t charge late payment fees. If you pay late, they may take other steps, such as:
- Declining to replenish the credit you’ve used.
- Declining to issue your rewards.
- Reporting your late payment to the credit bureaus.
- Suspending your account temporarily.
It’s important to stay up to date with your payments to avoid these kinds of negative consequences. One way to make sure you don’t miss any payments is to use Autopay.
Repayment Terms
When you use your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card for a purchase or to transfer money, Upgrade turns the debt into a loan. You can repay this in fixed installments over 24–60 months.
Your interest rate and the exact length of time you’ll have to repay the loan will depend on your creditworthiness.
Interest Rates
When you use the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card, your credit card APR (annual percentage rate) will be in the range of 14.99%–29.99% (variable).
Unlike with many credit cards, this APR isn’t variable. This means that it won’t increase, as happens with many credit cards, when the banks change interest rates.
According to the Upgrade website, to get the lowest APR rates, you’ll have to set up Autopay so that your monthly payments come out of your account on time automatically every month.
Rewards
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card is a bit inflexible in terms of rewards redemption. You can only redeem your rewards as statement credits.
Also, unlike with most cashback credit cards, you won’t get rewards immediately at the time you use your card. Instead, you’ll receive rewards as credit in your account when you make your monthly balance payment. (Your cash back will normally be added to your balance after you pay your bill at the end of the month.)
When you use your card, you’ll get a cashback rate of 1% for most purchases. However, there are three specific categories of purchases where you’ll earn a higher cashback rate of 3%:
- Home: This includes hardware and home improvement supplies, home repairs, landscaping services, furniture, appliances, and other purchases from stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, Wayfair, or IKEA, for example.
- Auto: This includes car rentals; car washing; roadside assistance services; and purchases of vehicles, auto parts, or other items from merchants like Tractor Supply Co, Discount Tire, Firestone, Tires.com, and Mavis Tire, for example.
- Health: This includes gym memberships, sporting goods and home gym equipment, health and beauty spa treatments, doctors’ appointments, pharmacy purchases, and other purchases from places like Walgreens, CVS, Academy Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods, MidwayUSA.com, for example.
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card also has opportunities to earn even more cash back—up to 10%.
To do this, activate your Upgrade Shopping offers through your account dashboard. This will allow you to opt in for bonus cashback rates from selected merchants. Then, use your Upgrade card to shop at stores or online through Dosh (an app that gets you automatic cash back for shopping, eating out, and booking hotels).
It’s particularly nice that the Upgrade Shopping cash back you earn is in addition to your other Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card cashback rewards. This means even more opportunities to earn rewards.
Benefits
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card is a Visa® Signature card. Visa® Signature cards give you premium benefits such as trip and baggage insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty coverage.
You can also add your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card to Google Pay or Apple Pay and use it at contactless terminals.
Intro Offers and Welcome Bonuses
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card unfortunately doesn’t give you any welcome bonuses or offers such as 0% intro APR. These kinds of offers commonly come with credit cards for good or excellent credit.
If your credit score is fairly solid, take some time to shop around before you decide whether to go with the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card. Borrowers with higher scores may get a better offer with another card offering welcome bonuses and intro offers.
Balance Transfers and Cash Advances
A cash advance is when you use your credit card to take out money at an ATM. You can’t make cash advances with the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card.
A balance transfer is when you move debt from one credit card to another, and it’s a common method of debt consolidation. The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card doesn’t allow you to make balance transfers in the traditional sense, as you can’t move debt balances onto your card with a direct transfer.
However, you can use credit from your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card to transfer money into your bank account (similar to when you get a debt consolidation loan). Simply transfer the Upgrade funds to the bank account you usually use for paying your credit card. You can then use those funds to settle your balance as you normally would.
Credit Limit
The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card offers initial credit lines between $500 and $25,000. The Upgrade website, however, says that the maximum limit you can get on the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card is usually $20,000.
Credit Reporting
If you open an Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card, none of your account activity will be reported to the credit bureaus until you start making purchases on your card or using it to transfer loans to your bank account. When this happens, the activity on your card (e.g., late or on-time payments) won’t affect your credit in quite the same way that it would with a traditional credit card.
The reason for this difference is that Upgrade cards report your debts as installment credit, not as revolving credit. These two different types of credit impact your credit score in different ways.
With the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card, as with other types of loans, late payments will damage your credit. If you want to build credit, it’s important to pay your bills in a timely manner.
Credit Building
Although Upgrade states that it reports to credit bureaus, it doesn’t specify which ones (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion). However, your credit score could suffer if you miss monthly payments, so it’s important not to do this. A good credit score will make you eligible for even better credit cards and loans in the future.
To guide you during the credit-building process, Upgrade provides an online service called “Credit Health.” This boasts various information on and tools for credit building, including a summary of your credit reports and one of your credit scores (TransUnion VantageScore 3.0).
Credit Score Requirements
According to the Upgrade website, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card is suitable for holders of average-to-excellent credit scores.
You can apply online to see if Upgrade makes you an offer, which won’t involve a hard inquiry (a type of credit check, also known as a hard pull or hard credit check, that other lenders can see when they view your credit report and that hurts your credit score). Your initial application will tell you what APR and credit line you’ll get with the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card.
Application and Approval
It’s easy to apply for an Upgrade Card online. When you do so, you’ll be asked for some basic information, and Upgrade will do a check to see if you prequalify. This will include a soft credit check (also known as a soft inquiry, which is a type of credit check that lenders cannot see when they view your credit report and that doesn’t affect your credit score).
If this soft check leads to an offer from Upgrade, provided you accept, you’ll then have to give them your bank account information. Only if they approve your Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card application, open your account, and give you your loan money will they perform a hard inquiry (upon which you may lose a few points on your credit score).
Customer Service
If you need help with your Upgrade Card, you can send an email to customer service at [email protected], or talk to someone from the customer service team by calling (844) 319-3909.
You can also send mail correspondence (but not check payments) to:
Upgrade Inc.
Suite 2300
275 Battery Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
Should You Get the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Card?
FinanceJar Verdict
In some instances, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Card will be a good alternative to either a traditional credit card or an installment loan. For example, it may be a good option if:
- You have debts you wish to consolidate, but your credit is too low for cards with 0% APR intro offers.
- You have a large purchase or expense that you need extra money for and that you think will need more than a few months to pay off (e.g., wedding expenses).
- You have ongoing expenses to pay for (e.g., home renovations or materials and equipment for your academic studies), but you don’t want to repeatedly apply for more and more loans or deal with a rapidly ballooning credit card balance.
The cashback rewards that come with the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card are also pretty eye-catching in their own right. If you have average credit, you’re less likely to have access to credit cards with cashback rewards—especially not rates as high as 3%. So if you can qualify for the Upgrade rewards card, it’ll be a very nice addition to your wallet.
Who Is This Card For?
- Borrowers who spend a lot in the home, auto, and health categories: Because the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card offers such a high cashback rate in some interesting categories, it may be good for shoppers who don’t want to keep an arsenal of store cards in their wallet.
- Borrowers who don’t have any installment loans: Upgrade credit cards provide you with installment credit rather than revolving credit, and they will be listed on your credit report as such. If you don’t have any installment loans, adding them to your credit profile could help to improve your credit mix and, in turn, your credit score.
- Borrowers who struggle to budget for credit card debts: When you make a purchase with the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card, there’s a predetermined payoff date and a fixed payment amount, unlike with normal credit cards. Many borrowers will find that this makes it easier to pay off debts faster than if they stuck to only minimum monthly payments—as it can be tempting to do with a standard credit card. Also, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card has no fees, so you won’t have late payment penalties slowing you down while you’re trying to chip away at your balance.
Comparable Cards
To get a better idea of whether the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card is a viable choice for you, let’s see if it can hold its own against other credit cards in the same tier.
