New Fasten Credit Card to Earn Rewards on Car Payments

Like the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card for rent and the Mesa Homeowners Card for mortgage payments, the Fasten Rewards Visa Card is aiming to make another major expense more rewarding: your car.

According to AAA’s 2024 Your Driving Cost study, owning and operating a new car costs $1,024.71 per month. The Fasten Rewards Visa promises a way to earn back some of that hefty car-related spending, but the highest rewards rate (and most optimal redemption option) is reserved for services at certain dealerships.

The card won't be available until later in 2025 (more on that below), but here's what you can expect:

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How to earn rewards

Created by financial technology company Highnote and issued by Celtic Bank, the $0-annual-fee Fasten Rewards Visa Card earns:

• 3 points per $1 on services at in-network dealerships, gas, tolls, parking (including garages and parking meters), electric vehicle charging and car washes. You can only earn the 3x rate on up to $2,500 in combined spending in these categories per quarter.

• 2 points per $1 on car loan, lease or insurance payments from a linked account (on up to $1,000 in spending per month, and you must spend $500 or more per month on these categories to earn 2x rewards), and on auto insurance payments (on up to $2,500 in spending per quarter). 

• 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.

Note that “in-network dealerships” means the dealership group through which you signed up for the card, according to the terms of the rewards program. So in order to earn the high rewards rate on getting your car serviced, it must be done at specific dealerships.

Also, to earn 2x rewards on car loan, lease or insurance payments, you must link your bank account to the Fasten app. From there, as you make monthly payments, you’ll earn rewards for that spending.

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How to redeem rewards

There are three options for redeeming your points, but only one offers a redemption rate of 1 cent per point:

• Apply them toward services at in-network dealerships at a value of 1 cent per point.

• Trade them in for an Amazon gift card at a value of 0.75 cent per point.

• Request cash back in the form of a statement credit at a value of 0.5 cent per point. For this option, you can only redeem points earned from transactions that occurred in the previous year.

The latter two options, while more flexible, have disappointing per-point values. While other cash-back cards typically earn 1-2% cash back, you can redeem points at a value of 1 cent each for statement credits.

How to get the card

As of this writing, the Fasten Rewards Visa Card isn’t open to applications. You can join the waitlist to be notified when the card becomes available sometime in 2025.