SoFi Credit Card Review: Earn Unlimited 2% Cashback 

But sifting through the many flavors of credit card rewards can get confusing.

If you want something simpler in the form of cashback, the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card can be a great option, especially if you’re already a SoFi customer.

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Overview of the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card 

As the name suggests, with the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card, you can earn unlimited 2% cashback on just about all purchases — plus an even better rate of 3% when booking through SoFi Travel with your credit card.

If you already have other products with SoFi, like a checking and savings or investment account, the SoFi credit card could be a great option, since the products are somewhat interconnected. For example, you can use your credit card rewards to pay down SoFi student loans.

The SoFi Bank credit card also has many benefits, such as no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, fraud liability, up to $1,000 in cellphone insurance, and other Mastercard World Elite benefits, such as a $5 monthly Lyft credit. 

The SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card is the only credit card currently offered by SoFi.

Earning Rewards 

One of the best benefits of the SoFi Bank credit card is that earning rewards is easy. You can earn 2% cashback on essentially all purchases, without rewards limits or caps. 

Plus, apart from earning 3% on SoFi Travel purchases, you don’t have to deal with confusing categories that have different point values or rotate over time.

However, note that certain exclusions apply. For example, you won’t earn points from making interest payments on your card or from buying prepaid cards.

Redeeming Rewards 

You can use the points you’ve earned with the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card to:

• Get cashback sent to your SoFi Checking and Savings Account
• Buy fractional shares within SoFi Invest
• Make a payment to your SoFi personal loan or SoFi student loan refinance
• Get a statement credit that reduces your credit card bill

In the past, the points redemption wasn’t always equal, which meant you needed other SoFi products to get the most value from the credit card. Now, however, you can get 2% cashback applied to your card statement, rather than, say, transferring that cash to your SoFi bank account. 

SoFi Credit Card Benefits

In addition to cashback, the SoFi credit card offers several benefits, in part by including Mastercard World Elite benefits. 

Some of the top benefits of the SoFi credit card include:

• Full fraud liability
• ID theft protection
• Up to $1,000 per year in cellphone insurance
• No annual fee
• No foreign transaction fees

READ MORE: Credit Card Purchase Protection: What You Need to Know

What We Like About the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card

We appreciate that the SoFi credit card has a straightforward rewards system — the 2% cashback on all purchases (and 3% on SoFi Travel) is easy to understand. You don’t have to navigate different cashback categories or figure out complicated points conversions. And there are no rewards earning caps.

We also like that it has an easy redemption system, especially if you have other SoFi products, like a bank account or loan. For example, you can buy fractional shares within a SoFi Invest account with your credit card rewards. 

Even if you don’t have other SoFi accounts, you can still redeem your rewards for a statement credit.

We also like that it has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Some credit cards rope you in with big welcome offers and a variety of perks, but the annual fees can be hefty. Similarly, some competitor cashback cards charge transaction fees when you use them abroad.

What We Dislike About the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card

The SoFi credit card does not let you earn points redeemable for travel the way that many other credit cards do. Even though you can earn 3% cashback when booking through SoFi Travel, you can’t at this time use points to book trips.

Another downside is that your rewards redemptions need to stay within SoFi. The company recently updated its rewards structure to enable a 2% cashback redemption rate when applied as statement credits, so you don’t necessarily need other SoFi products to enjoy the rewards — but you also can’t, say, transfer the cashback directly into an external bank account.

Who Should Get the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card? 

If you’re looking for a cashback credit card with relatively straightforward rewards, no annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees, the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card is a great option.

Being able to earn 2% on essentially all purchases gives you a great baseline to work with. 

In comparison, many cards that have higher rewards also have complicated categories that can be hard to keep track of — for example, 3% for restaurants, 5% for travel, and 1% for all other purchases. 

When you add it all up, you might come out ahead by just earning 2% across the board. Plus, it can be easier to manage.

If you’re an existing SoFi customer, the card is particularly useful. That’s because you can easily redeem the cashback within many other SoFi products, such as buying fractional shares within a SoFi Invest account. 

Who Shouldn’t Get the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card? 

The SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card isn’t the right fit for everyone. 

For one, you need good to excellent credit, so it’s probably not a great fit if you’re trying to rebuild your credit. There’s also no introductory APR offer, so if you need to carry a credit card balance for whatever reason, there are likely less expensive ways to do so.

Also, if you’re trying to maximize your credit card rewards, you might gain more points with other cards that give back higher percentages for certain categories or have more generous redemption options. 

For example, some travel cards give you rewards that translate into a higher redemption value when booking a flight, compared with what you could get by using cashback from the SoFi credit card to then buy a ticket.

COMPARE: Best Travel Credit Cards

Alternatives to the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card 

There are other cashback credit cards on the market that may better suit your needs. Here’s how the SoFi credit card compares to its competitors.

SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card vs. Citi Double Cash®

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Both cards offer a 2% cashback baseline with no annual fee, though the Citi Double Cash®  card structures rewards as 1% back after purchasing and 1% back after paying your credit card bill. 

Another notable difference is that the Citi Double Cash® card has a 3% foreign transaction fee, while the SoFi credit card has none. 

Citi Double Cash® rewards can be redeemed as cash, gift cards, travel, and Amazon purchases, unlike the SoFi credit card, which is restricted to the SoFi ecosystem.

SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card vs. Chase Freedom Flex®

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Both of these cards have no annual fees, but the SoFi card generally has a flat 2% cashback rate, while the Chase Freedom Flex® has different rates for different categories. 

You can also redeem Chase Freedom Flex rewards as cash via direct deposit to an external bank account, whereas SoFi cashback can only be redeemed within SoFi.

LEARN MORE: Chase Freedom Flex®

SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card vs. Apple Card

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Both the SoFi credit card and the Apple Card have no annual fees and enable you to earn 2% cashback on many purchases — although the Apple Card isn’t as straightforward. 

With the Apple Card, you can earn 2% cashback when paying with the card via Apple Pay. You can also earn 3% cashback at Apple and certain other retailers when paying with the Apple Card via Apple Pay. Otherwise, you earn only 1% when paying with the physical card. 

Both cards also require you to redeem cashback rewards within their own systems (with the Apple Card, it’s deposited into your Wallet app or Apple savings account).

FAQs

What credit score do you need for a SoFi credit card?

SoFi recommends that you have excellent credit to qualify for a SoFi credit card. In general, an excellent credit score is 800 or higher, and a good credit score starts at 670. So, if you’re trying to get your credit score to that level, this might not be the right card for you.

Where is the SoFi credit card accepted?

As the SoFi credit card is a Mastercard, it is accepted everywhere that Mastercard is accepted.

The Bottom Line

If you’re already a SoFi customer, the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card could be a good way to pair rewards with your other SoFi accounts — like using rewards to pay down a SoFi student loan or buy fractional shares with SoFi Invest.

Plus, since there’s no annual fee, there’s no financial risk to adding it to your SoFi account — as long as you pay it off every month.

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.