With an annual fee of $89 and a rewards scheme weighted toward travel purchases, the SunTrust Travel Rewards Credit Card is a hybrid cash back and travel rewards credit card.

As with similar products from competitors like Chase Sapphire Preferred, this one incentivizes regular fliers with loyalty currency redeemable for things like cash back, free flights, and experiences.

The SunTrust Travel Rewards Credit Card offers a generous sign-up bonus of 5% cash back on all travel expenditures made within the first 12 months of account opening, up to a maximum of $6,000.

Crucial Features

Benefits of Signing Up

A $250 statement credit will be applied to your account as soon as you meet the spending requirement of $3,000 during the first three months of account opening.

Gaining Financial Benefits in Return

With the SunTrust Travel Rewards Credit Card, you can earn unlimited 3% cash back on all your travel purchases after your welcome bonus expires, or you spend $300 in total on travel-related purchases.

This includes airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises, public transportation, taxis, and ridesharing services. All additional purchases made by account holders from the account's opening day forward will receive an unlimited 1% cash back.

Spending Reward Dollars

With as little as $5 in cash back, you can get a credit on your account statement or a transfer into your preferred bank account. You may trade in your points for a variety of items, as well as gift cards, travel, and unique experiences.

The redemption value of cashback is always $0.01 per $1 spent, whereas the value of non-monetary things may be higher or lower. Cash refunds are the most hassle-free and straightforward redemption option.

SunTrust Deposit Account Cash Back Bonuses

SunTrust bank account holders may be eligible for an additional cash reward on every redemption. Direct deposit into money market account is required to get the bonus. The bonus structure is tiered, with the following tiers in place:

• A 10% cash back incentive is added to all redemptions for clients with any deposit account, including the most basic SunTrust accounts, increasing a $100 cash back bonus to $110.
• SunTrust Signature Advantage clients with deposits and investments under $100,000 receive 25% incentives.
• Clients with more than $100,000 in deposit and investment accounts with SunTrust Signature Advantage and who are also members of the SunTrust Premier program are eligible for incentives of 50%.
• Clients of SunTrust Private Wealth Management receive incentives of 75%

Fee Waiver For Global Entry and TSA PreCheck

Every 5 years, the SunTrust Travel Credit Card cardholders are eligible for a statement credit of up to $100 to go against the cost of applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. The application fee must be paid using a SunTrust Travel Reward Credit Card for the applicant to be considered. Even if your application is declined, the statement credit will be applied.

Advantages

1. Great SunTrust bonuses. If you have a bank account with SunTrust, you may redeem your cash back for as much as 75% more, converting $100 into $175.
2. Flexible, Easy Sign-up Bonus. Spend at least $3,000 on purchases with your new card during the first three months, and you'll get a $250 bill credit.
3. High Travel Cash Back. With this card, you may get 3% back on all your travel purchases forever. Compared to other credit cards offering similar perks, that's a significant improvement.

Disadvantages

1. Charged once a year. The SunTrust Travel Credit Card includes an $89 annual charge after the first year. While certain SunTrust account holders may be exempt from this tax, the vast majority of eligible accounts nevertheless incur fees, expenditures, or commissions.
2. A Low Initial Cash-Back Offer. This card's standard cashback rate is minimal, coming in at only 1% for everything but airfare and hotels. There are better cards to consider if you just travel seldom. Use a card like the Citi Double Cash Card or the Barclaycard CashForward World Mastercard.
3. Limited Travel Benefits. This card has few travel-oriented perks beyond the $100 statement credit for applying for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

Conclusion

You can usually find a SunTrust bank branch within a reasonable travel time from anywhere in the South. Statistically speaking, you probably know someone who uses SunTrust, and you've probably heard of the bank itself.

Good news for those who aren't from the South and have yet to learn who SunTrust is: applying for a SunTrust Travel Credit Card doesn't need you to have a bank account with SunTrust. Of course, you will only be eligible for the potentially lucrative cash-back benefits offered to loyal SunTrust customers if you have a SunTrust bank account.