BBVA Compass credit cards — February 2019

This regional bank’s tiered rewards cards are standout products.

BBVA Compass may not be a well-known card provider, but the bank offers a selection of impressive products. It’s an especially good choice for a range of reward cards that offer account credit.

What do you want to know?

• 
  Best BBVA Compass credit cards
• 
  Rewards program
• 
  Features and benefits
• 
  Is it secure?

Best BBVA Compass credit cards

BBVA Compass currently offers four credit cards that range from the simple to powerful. One is a flat-rate rewards card. Two are tiered rewards cards, which can be helpful if you spend more heavily in a few categories. Finally, you’ll find a secured card that can be useful if you have fair to no credit.

Jump to …

• BBVA Compass Rewards Card: Best for flat-rate rewards
• BBVA Compass Select℠ Credit Card: Best for flexible reward categories
• BBVA Compass ClearPoints Credit Card: Best for flexible reward categories with no annual fee
• Optimizer Credit Card: Best for fair or no credit

Best for flat-rate rewards: BBVA Compass Rewards Card

BBVA Compass Rewards Card

Earn unlimited 2% rewards on all purchases with a monthly deposit to a BBVA Compass savings account.

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The BBVA Compass Rewards Card stands out among the competition if you qualify for the rewards rate. It’s a good choice if don’t want to keep track of tiered rewards.

Earn unlimited 2% rewards on all purchases with a monthly deposit to a BBVA Compass savings account.

• The perks

  • Annual fee: None.

    Use your card and earn rewards over the long term with no initial fee.

  • Intro APR: 0% for 13 months on balance transfers made within the first 60 days your account is open.

    After that, your APR reverts to a variable 13.49% to 31.49%. This is a solid balance transfer intro APR.

  • Rewards: Flat rewards on every purchase.

    After qualifying direct deposits into your BBVA Compass deposit account, you’ll earn 2% rewards on all purchases. Without the qualifying deposits, you’ll earn 1.5% rewards on all purchases.

• What to watch out for

  • Potentially high APR.

    With shakier credit, you could receive a purchase and balance transfer APR that’s as high as 31.49% variable. This is higher than most APRs, including penalties.

  • No intro APR on purchases.

    A purchase intro APR would be a nice addition to the special rate on balance transfers.

Best for flexible reward categories: BBVA Compass Select℠ Credit Card

BBVA Compass Select℠ Credit Card

A premium card with custom rewards to fit your lifestyle. Good for controlling how much you earn and multiplying your rewards

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Of all BBVA Compass rewards cards, this one’s a powerhouse. Its best benefit is Build Your Own Rewards, which lets you choose the categories in which you’ll earn accelerated points. If you spend heavily in these categories, you could easily offset the card’s annual fee.

• The perks

  • Annual fee: Waived for the first year, then $125.

    Earn rewards toward the signup bonus without paying an annual fee for the first year, afterwards, the annual fee is $125.

  • BBVA Compass Build Your Own Rewards.

    Choose one category to earn 3x points on your spending. Choose two categories to earn 2x points. On everything else, you’ll earn 1x points. You can change these categories every 90 days.

    If you don’t select your bonus categories, they will default to 3x points on groceries and 2x points on gas and travel.

  • Points boost.

    Each month you use your card to make $5,000 or more in qualifying purchases, you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points.

  • $100 account credit.

    To earn it, spend $2,000 in qualifying purchases within the first 90 days your account is open.

  • Narrow APR range.

    Your purchase and balance transfer APRs will fall within a variable range of 15.49% to 19.49%. That’s right around the average credit card APR.

• What to watch out for

  • Annual fee: $125 starting the second year.

    The ongoing annual fee is higher than average. Mid-tier cards tend to charge around $90 a year.

Best for flexible reward categories with no annual fee: BBVA Compass ClearPoints Credit Card

BBVA Compass ClearPoints Credit Card

Take advantage of an intro APR on purchases and balance transfers with no annual fee and flexible rewards.

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Go with the BBVA Compass ClearPoints Credit Card if you want the flexibility of choosing your accelerated-reward categories but don’t want to pay an annual fee.

• The perks

  • Annual fee: None.

    Because you won’t have to pay to activate the card, your rewards are all upside.

  • Intro APR: 0% for 13 months following your account opening on purchases and balance transfers.

    After the intro, your APR reverts to a variable 13.49% to 31.49%. This is a decent intro APR, especially as it applies to purchases and balance transfers. Only transfers you make within the first of card membership qualify for the special rate.

  • Rewards: BBVA Compass Build Your Own Rewards.

    Choose one category to earn 3x points in. Choose another category to earn 2x points in. On everything else or if you don’t activate your rewards each quarter, you’ll earn 1x points.

• What to watch out for

  • High potential purchase and balance transfer APR of 31.49% variable.

    This is an extremely high rate, and you’re more likely to receive an APR close to it with poor credit.

Best for fair or no credit: Optimizer Credit Card

Optimizer Credit Card

A secured card that earns you interest on your deposit while you build or rebuild your credit.

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You’ll pay a relatively high annual fee of $40. However, The Optimizer Credit Card offers a purchase and balance transfer APR that’s lower than most of its competitors. And your security deposit earns interest while you build toward stronger credit.

• The perks

  • Earn interest on your security deposit.

    This secured card requires an initial deposit into a savings account, which then acts as your credit line. But unlike other similar cards, your deposit generates interest.

  • Relatively low APR.

    Many secured cards come with purchase and balance transfer APRs around 24% variable, which is a high rate. The Optimizer Credit Card has a purchase and balance transfer APR of 20.49% variable. That’s still slightly higher than the average credit card APR, but it’s lower than what many competitors offer.

• What to watch out for

  • Annual fee: $40.

    This is a relatively high annual fee. You’ll find many secured cards with no annual fees.

BBVA Compass rewards program

BBVA Compass offers points for its reward cards that you can redeem for account credit. It may also offer account credit directly. You may not be able to boost your redemption, like with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. But your points are flexible, because they can help you cover a variety of expenses.

How do I redeem points?

To redeem rewards, log in to your credit card account on the BBVA Compass website. You can check your rewards balance and redeem points.

How much are points worth?

Points are worth 1% in account credit, which is a standard rate in the industry. If you have 10,000 points, they’re worth $100 in account credit.

Typical card features and benefits of a BBVA Compass card

• No or waived annual fees. It can be easy to start with a BBVA Compass card without an initial fee. Though the more comprehensive card in the suite requires an annual fee starting the second year.
• Flat or tiered rewards. Choose how you’d like to receive your rewards.
• Limited availability. You must live in an eligible state to apply for a BBVA Compass credit card.
• Online banking. Register for an online account to monitor your spending, pay your bills and redeem points.

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How to apply for a BBVA Compass card

1. Go to the BBVA Compass website and navigate to the appropriate card page.
2. When you’re ready to apply, request a call from BBVA Compass by entering your contact information. Or find a local BBVA Compass location to apply in person.
3. Gather the required application information, including your personal and financial details.
4. Wait for a BBVA Compass representative to call you or visit your local branch.

Bottom line

Hands down, BBVA Compass’s best products are its tiered reward cards. Relatively few cards let you choose how to accelerate your rewards, helping you to earn big if you spend heavily in select categories. There’s also no cap on rewards you can earn.

Frequently asked questions

• What is BBVA?

  Short for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, BBVA is a banking group based in Madrid, Spain. It acquired Compass Bank in 2007, renaming its new acquisition BBVA Compass.

• Do points expire?

  Yes. Your points expire 36 months — a long three years — from when you earned them.

• Where does BBVA Compass operate?

  Services are concentrated in Texas, though they extend to the West Coast and the South, with a few other states scattered between.

  To apply for a BBVA Compass Rewards Card or BBVA Compass ClearPoints Credit Card, you must live in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee or Texas.

  To apply for a BBVA Compass Select℠ Credit Card or Optimizer Credit Card, you must live in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico or Texas.