Paceline releases a credit card that rewards you for working out | ZDNet

Paceline announced Tuesday that its Paceline Visa Signature card is now available. The card will reward cardholders for healthy activity, earning an increased 5% and 3% cashback when users reach a weekly fitness goal.

The card normally earns 2.5% cashback for: 

• Health and wellness purchases, including fitness apparel, equipment, and gym memberships
• Groceries at Trader Joes and Whole Foods
• Drug store and pharmacy purchases

The card earns 1.5% cashback for all other purchases. To double the rewards, users will need to log 150 minutes of elevated heart rate each week on a smartwatch to reach the Paceline Streak. The Paceline Visa Signature card has an annual fee of $60.

The card earns unlimited rewards, which will automatically be redeemed as statement credits on the cardholder’s account, lowering the monthly balance. Keep in mind this will not cover the required monthly payment when revolving a balance.

App users will need an Apple Watch, Garmin, or Fitbit in order to log their activity. However, for added incentive, Priceline will help you pay for an

. Keep your account in good standing and reach your Paceline Streak each week to qualify for up to $429 back in weekly statement credits over 12 consecutive months. The base model Apple Watch Series 7 is currently priced at $399.

To reach the Paceline Streak, users will need to log an elevated heart rate on their device. The app doesn’t support manually logging minutes, and users can earn 50 minutes per day toward the weekly goal of 150. It doesn’t matter what activity users do; so long as they reach a sustained elevated heart rate, it’ll count toward the weekly goal.

Paceline began the fusion of health and financial wellness by offering rewards like discounts and gift cards in the app with fitness and health brands including Daily Harvest, Hyperice, and Alala. Even if users choose not to apply for the credit card, they can still earn rewards for healthy habits.

“Your health is your most valuable asset, and you should be rewarded for pursuing it,” said Joel Lieginger, founder and CEO of Paceline, in the press release.

For people who are regularly active and shop at Trader Joes or Whole Foods, the rewards will cover the annual fee — as long as they’re consistently earning 5% and 3% cash back. Even more so if they take advantage of the Apple Watch Series 7 reimbursement.

For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the average American spent $4,942 on groceries in 2020. At 5% cashback, that would be a return of $247.10, far and above the Paceline Visa Signature card’s fee. However, that assumes cardholders are only shopping at either Whole Foods or Trader Joes. 

Other grocery stores earn 3% back for purchases at the heightened rate, which would equal a return of $148.26. And that doesn’t account for the card’s other rewards.

While there are credit cards that offer rewards for gym or fitness club memberships, there hasn’t been one that rewards users more based on a continued healthy lifestyle. The Paceline Visa Signature card’s rewards are among the highest offered by a rewards card. 

“The science shows that we can improve health outcomes by improving health behaviors, and incentives can double your likelihood of exercising,” said Dr. Heather Royer, professor of economics at the University of California at Santa Barbara, in the release.

Since the launch of the Paceline app, more than 500,000 users have logged over 2 billion minutes of activity and redeemed $4 million in rewards value.