Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Card Review
Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes
Why trust us? Investor.com has no financial relationship with any of the credit card providers whose products we analyze and review. Our opinions are based solely on data and our own extensive independent research — that means unbiased guidance for consumers. Rewards cards in our cashback credit card calculator are listed in descending order according to how much money they pay out annually based on the inputs.
A straight-up 2.5% rewards rate on everything? Yup, as long as you maintain an Alliant checking account, too. If so, this is such a no-brainer that it’s worth the slog through the credit union sign-up/maintenance process.
Stop fumbling at the register trying to figure out which card to use. If you qualify for Tier One rewards, the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Card pays a healthy 2.5% cashback on all purchases up to $10,000 a month. Amounts above that earn the Tier Two rewards rate of 1.5%. (We use the 2.5% rate in our calculator.) Downside: Qualifying for the 2.5% cashback rate means maintaining an Alliant checking account (and committing to at least one monthly deposit), which may be too much of a pain in the tush for some.
The basics: Tier One Rewards: 2.5% cashback on the first $10,000 of qualifying eligible purchases per billing cycle, unlimited 1.5% cashback on all other qualifying eligible purchases if you maintain an Alliant checking account. Tier Two Rewards (no checking account required): Unlimited 1.5% cashback on all qualifying eligible purchases.
Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card
Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card pros and cons
Pros
- Straight-up 2.5% cash back on all purchases up to $10K in spending a month (though caveats apply)
- 1.5% default rewards rate after you hit the ceiling (or if you fail to meet caveats outlined below)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Premium-level Visa Signature Card program coverage
Cons
- Requires maintaining an Alliant high-rate checking account, otherwise it's 1.5% for you
- No bonus categories = no extra earning potential
- Rewards expire (after four years of procrastination)
- No 0% intro APR on purchases or balance transfers
- No sign-up bonus
Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card cashback rewards spending categories
The following table shows the cashback rewards rate per $1 spent in the six most common spending categories. The “Bonus Rate” refers to the amount you can earn in excess of the card’s standard rewards rate.
Some cashback cards limit the spending amount eligible for the bonus rate (a.k.a. the “Spend Cap”). Once you hit that cap (e.g. $1,500 spending in a particular category during a defined time period), the rewards rate on future purchases in that category reverts to the lower “Default Rate.”
| Category | Default Rate | Bonus Rate | Bonus Spend Cap | Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
| Travel | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
| Dining | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
| Entertainment | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
| Pharmacy | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
| Groceries | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
| Other Purchases | 1.50% | 2.50% | $10,000 | 1 |
What we like
Straight-up 2.5% rewards first $10K of qualifying purchases 👏 per 👏 billing 👏 cycle. Math: That’s up to $250 a month ($3,000 per year) in potential payola.
Unlimited 1.5% default rewards rate applies on monthly amounts exceeding $10,000. Got that, moneybags?
No rotating categories to track. Buh-bye Excel spreadsheets!
No foreign transaction fees means when in Rome, the standard 3% surcharge on your Pope-in-a-snow-globe souvenirs doesn’t apply.
New cardholders automatically earn the Tier One rewards rate for the first 100 days after signup and approval.
Comes with Visa Signature Card premium-level extras like protections for your purchases and personage (e.g., travel accident and identity theft insurance). Go wild! (Actually, please don’t.)
Helps you earn your community-minded do-gooder badge by joining a credit union.
Want to deepen your banking relationship? Alliant pays a competitive interest rate on savings, too. (See our full Alliant High-Rate Savings Account review).
What we don't like
Requires maintaining a $1K average daily balance and completing one monthly deposit in an Alliant high-rate checking account to qualify for the Tier One (2.5%) rewards rate.
Miss the mark on Tier One requirements and you’ll be stuck with the Tier Two 1.5% rewards rate on your spending.
No bonus categories keeps things simple and sane, but may limit earning potential compared to some cards.
Limited redemption options. There's a $50 minimum redemption requirement that you can apply as an Alliant card statement credit or deposit into your Alliant checking or savings account.
Rewards expire after four years — a drawback if you suffer from acute absent-mindedness.
Not much wooing here: There’s no low intro APR offer for balance transfers or purchases, or even a sign-up bonus. Harrumph.
The bottom line
Is the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.
Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card fine print
Craving more info? See Alliant Cashback Visa Signature card rewards details and card terms and conditions.
Does the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card charge an annual fee?
No, there is no annual fee for the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card.
Trivia time!
Roughly 14% of the consumer cashback cards we track in our database charge an annual fee. The average annual fee is $72.60, while the median is $95.
Does the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card offer a welcome bonus?
No, the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card card does not currently offer a welcome bonus.
Fun fact
Of the more than 60 cashback credit cards in our database, 66% offer a welcome bonus. Currently, the average sign-up bonus on a new cashback card is $210.71, with the median being $200.
How much cashback can I earn with the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card?
The average American that spends $1000 per month will earn $300.00 in cash back per year using the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $191.26, and $180 is the median.
These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card depends entirely on your unique spending habits.
Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.
Read next
- Best Cashback Credit Cards
- Best Business Cashback Credit Cards
- What Is Credit? (And Why It Matters)
- Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
- Find a Financial Advisor
- Our Complete Coverage of Credit Cards
Methodology
The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.
To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:
- Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
- Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
- Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
- Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
- Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.
What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)
About the Editorial Team
Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.
Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.
Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.