The
TD First Class Visa Signature® Credit Card is a good credit card to consider if you have
excellent credit (
750+ credit score), you like to travel, and you plan on using your account for years. It’s worth paying the
$89 annual fee for TD First Class (waived the first year) because the card offers excellent ongoing travel rewards. It has a good initial bonus, too, but that part of the offer doesn’t stack up quite as well against elite competition.
This TD Bank credit card has a 0% APR promotion for balance transfers, and its regular APR is slightly better than the average for a credit card offer targeted to people with
excellent credit, but it’s still not a great option for financing. First Class is best when you pay the bill in full monthly.
What I Like About TD First Class
3 miles / $1 Spent on Travel
The TD First Class Visa offers
3 miles per $1 spent on travel and dining purchases, and 1 mile per $1 spent on any other purchases. The minimum rewards rate is nothing special, but the maximum is stupendous. Some of the best travel rewards cards give just 2 points/miles per $1 spent on travel.
Initial Bonus Worth $250
TD First Class offers
25,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first 6 billing cycles. Those points are redeemable for a $250 statement credit. Bonuses worth several times as much are available from other cards right now. In fact, this bonus isn’t too far above average. But it’s still a good deal if you’re going to spend enough to qualify anyway, especially if the ongoing rewards suit your spending habits very well.
0% APR Balance Transfer Promotion
You can get an intro APR of
0% for 12 months with this card. That could help you reduce the cost of high-interest debt on your current credit card, if you really want TD First Class for its rewards on purchases but have some lingering debt you want to get rid of. But if you’re serious about saving on a balance transfer, and that’s a higher priority than earning travel rewards, the
best balance transfer cards are interest-free for around twice as long.
No Annual Fee the First Year
The standard annual fee is waived the first year your account is open, so you can try out TD First Class before making an investment in the card.
What I Don’t Like About TD First Class
Annual Fee Starting Year Two
The TD First Class Visa Signature Card’s
$89 annual fee kicks in the second year your account is open. This fee makes TD First Class over 3.5 times more expensive than the average credit card offer, according to
our research.
Balance Transfer Fee
Even if you get a 0% introductory APR, TD First Class balance transfers still aren’t free. At a minimum, you have to pay a fee equal to
3% (min $5) of the balance you transfer. That’s a standard transfer fee, but the offer would be much more attractive without it.
Lower-Than-Average APR
This could have gone in the section above because I like the fact that the TD First Class Visa’s interest rate is lower than the market average for cards intended for people with
excellent credit. It could be much lower, though, and a 0% intro APR for purchases would be a nice addition.
Requires Excellent Credit
It would be better if more people could benefit from the card’s excellent travel rewards. As things are now, you need a credit score of
750 or higher to have good odds of getting approved for the TD First Class Visa. You can
check your credit score for free right here on WalletHub.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
