Reader Edward M asked if I would review the State Farm Rewards Visa card so here we go.
Card Basics
- Card earns at the following rates:
- Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on insurance premium payments, up to $4,000 annually. Based on a calendar year
- Earn 1 State Farm Loyalty Rewards point for every $1 spent on eligible purchases
- No annual fee
- No sign up bonus
- 0% Introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for first 12 months ($10 or 3% balance transfer fee, whichever is more)Â [cards with no balance transfer fees & 0% introductory APRs]
How Much Are Points Worth?
Whenever a card earns points the first thing I want to know is how much points are worth. According to this calculator (thanks Chris) points are worth 1¢ each. UYou can redeem points for the following: gift cards, e-certificates, catalog merchandise, travel, and eligible State Farm products. You can also get a premium redemption when redeeming points for  qualifying State Farm Bank Checking/Interest Checking accounts and State Farm® Visa® Gift Cards. The redemption premium is as follows:
- 0-24,999 points — No Premium
- 25,000 – 49,999 — 25% Premium
- 50,000 – 99,999 — 35% Premium
- 100,000 – greater — 50% Premium
I think it’s safe to assume points are worth 1¢ or less.
Our Verdict
The only really interesting thing about this card is the 3x on the insurance premiums. It doesn’t look like that it is just restricted to state farm insurance products, but I could very well be wrong on that. Assuming you spent the full $4,000 on insurance products every year you’d earn 12,000 points. Not enough for any of the redemption bonus and probably worth a maximum of $120. Given that some cards earn up to 3% cash back on all purchases and everybody should have a card that earns at least 2% cash back I wouldn’t recommend this card to anybody.
Feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments below.
