Mar 28, 2023, 9:32 PM

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Rocket Mortgage customers can get a huge value from the new Rocket Visa Signature Card. David Sacks/Getty Images

• The new Rocket Visa Signature® Card is hands-down the best credit card for those looking to close on a house.
• You'll earn 5 points per dollar on all purchases — but the value you get from them depends on how you use them.
• You'll get 1 cent per point when using your rewards toward closing costs and down payment on a mortgage via Rocket.
• Read Insider's guide to the best rewards credit cards.

Have you ever heard of a credit card that earns 5% back on all purchases?

That type of return is mythical — many of the best 5% back credit cards offer this earning rate for a select few purchases — and with little exception, there is a firm cap on the bonus rewards you can earn.

The new Rocket Visa Signature® Card is the closest we've ever seen to a "5% everywhere" credit card. You'll earn 5 Rocket Rewards points for literally everything — and depending on how you use them, you can receive a value of up to 1 cent per point.

The card comes with an annual fee of $95 (waived for Rocket Mortgage serviced clients). You'll also earn a $200 statement credit when you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days from account opening.

If you're looking to buy a home — or are already paying a mortgage — this card is worth a look.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

The new Rocket Card is an excellent deal for prospective home buyers

The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® revolutionized the lives of renters, allowing cardholders to pay rent with a credit card without enormous service fees. It's great, but it's primarily designed for renters, not homeowners. 

Now, there's a "best credit card" for those looking to close on a house: the Rocket Visa Signature® Card.

As you may have guessed, the Rocket Visa Signature® Card was created to thrive within the Rocket Mortgage ecosystem. If you're already a Rocket Mortgage customer, the card's annual fee is waived. If you're not interested in procuring a mortgage with Rocket, this isn't the card for you. Here's why.

Rocket credit card rewards

The card earns 5 Rocket points per dollar for all purchases. You can redeem them for:

• Your retail Rocket mortgage loan closing costs, including down payment, at a rate of 1 cent each — effectively giving you 5% back
• Your Rocket Mortgage principal at a rate of 0.4 cents each — effectively giving you 2% back
• A statement credit to your card at a rate of 0.25 cents each — effectively giving you 1.25% back

As you can see, the card is underwhelming if you foresee yourself redeeming points for either a statement credit or against your Rocket Mortgage principal. There are plenty of no-annual-fee credit cards that earn a flat 2% cash back on all purchases — and you can use those rewards for whatever you want.

For example, the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 1 point per dollar (1% back) when you make a purchase and 1 point per dollar (1% back) when you pay off your purchase. If your aim is pure cash back, this card is a better option than the Rocket Visa Signature® Card.

However, if you foresee yourself buying a house with a mortgage through Rocket, this card is a no-brainer.

If we're being technical, this card does have a cap as to how many points you can redeem at a rate of 1 cent each. You can redeem up to $8,000 worth of points toward a new Rocket Mortgage transaction, applied as a credit to your closing statement. But that would take $160,000 in credit card spending to achieve.

Rocket card benefits

Because this card is a Visa Signature card, you'll get Visa Signature-associated benefits such as:

• Extended warranty protection — Double your qualifying warranty, up to one year
• Porch piracy protection — Up to $10,000 in coverage for stolen items
• Cell phone protection —  Up to $750 in coverage when you use the card to pay your phone bill each month ($50 deductible required)

This card is heavily integrated into the Rocket Money app, which helps you to keep track of financial goals, a real-time budget, your credit score, and even a concierge that works to identify any of your bills that could potentially be lower. The concierge will try to negotiate better rates for you.

What you need to know about the Rocket Visa Signature Card

The Rocket Visa Signature® Card is valuable for one demographic: those who are planning to buy a house — and open a mortgage through Rocket.

That's quite specific, but the value that can come from this card is amazing. You'll earn effectively 5% back on all purchases on up to $160,000 in spending when redeeming your rewards for Rocket mortgage loan closing costs, including the down payment. No other card on the market can keep up with a return like that.

The other redemption options (credit card statement credit, current mortgage principal payments) are inferior. If you think you'll be using your rewards this way, open a cash-back credit card, such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, instead.