rewrite this title 5 Things to Know About the T-Mobile Credit Card – NerdWallet

The T-Mobile Visa Card is the wireless company’s first co-branded credit card. Issued by Capital One, the $0-annual-fee card is ideal for those already in the T-Mobile ecosystem. That’s because, like most branded cards, the T-Mobile Visa’s rewards and benefits are most useful for brand users — in this case, T-Mobile network users.

The card’s most notable feature is that it earns an impressive 2% back in rewards on most purchases. Those rewards can be redeemed toward your T-Mobile bill which, along with the card’s $5-per-line autopay discount, can result in some serious savings for families.

However, as with co-branded credit cards from other wireless companies, this one lacks a key benefit that’s becoming standard on many other cards these days: cell phone insurance.

Here are five things to know about the T-Mobile Visa Card.

With the T-Mobile Visa, holders earn 5% back in T-Mobile rewards on all phone, device or accessory purchases made at T-Mobile, plus 2% back on all other purchases.

The 5% rate is nice, but obviously there are only so many phone, device or accessory purchases you can make per month to maximize it. The card’s unlimited 2x back on everything else, on the other hand, puts it on par with some of the best flat-rate cards on the market.

Just keep in mind that you’re earning rewards, not direct cash back.

The card earns T-Mobile rewards in the form of credits that can be redeemed at a 1:1 ratio toward your monthly T-Mobile bill. You can also redeem rewards toward phones, devices and accessories purchased through the phone company. T-Mobile rewards don’t expire.

As noted, you can’t redeem your rewards for direct cash back, which is somewhat limiting. But then again, your cell phone bill is an expense you know you’ll have, each and every month — meaning the rewards you earn will definitely be usable … and useful.

When you use your T-Mobile Visa for T-Mobile autopay — that is, when you set up automatic monthly phone bill payments with your card — you get a $5 discount per eligible line, for up to eight lines, every month. This benefit is particularly useful for families on the same plan.

For example, if you pay for a family with eight eligible lines, you’ll be able to knock $40 off your phone bill every month.

Cell phone insurance has increasingly become a standard benefit on credit cards, even those that don’t earn phone-related rewards. However, the T-Mobile Visa doesn’t come with this valuable benefit.

To that end, deciding whether this card is right for you might require doing some math: Will you save more with the autopay discount that the T-Mobile Visa offers, or with the free phone insurance that another card might offer you?

Because you can’t have both.

If having cell phone insurance is an important benefit to you — and you’re willing to forgo the T-Mobile-specific bill discount — consider a general rewards card like the $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. It earns an unlimited 2% back on all eligible purchases and comes with phone coverage: up to $600 in the event of damage or theft when you use the card to pay your monthly bill. Note that there’s a $25 deductible and a limit of two claims per 12 months.

Although you won’t get cell phone insurance, the T-Mobile credit card offers some other benefits that may be useful, depending on your spending habits. Cardholders can get: