Tria Lite Adds $20 Annual Fee and Higher Cashback Allowance
Tria Card has renamed Virtual membership to Lite and ended the limited-time free offer. Lite now costs $20 per year. Its 1.5% cashback band covers the first $1,000 of eligible spending each month, up from $100; further eligible spending earns unlimited 0.5% cashback. The threshold limits spending at the higher rate, not all rewards.
At $1,000 of eligible spending every month, Lite returns $15 monthly, or $180 over 12 months. Subtracting the annual fee leaves $160 before other costs. At $100 monthly, the same calculation gives $18 of annual cashback and a $2 shortfall against the fee. Ineligible purchases do not enter the reward base, so actual cashback can be lower than these figures.
Timing changes the result even when annual spending is the same. A single $1,000 purchase earns $15, which does not cover the $20 annual fee by itself. Spreading $12,000 evenly over 12 months keeps all of it inside the higher-rate band; concentrating it in fewer months pushes part of the spending into the 0.5% band. Lite fits regular eligible spending better than occasional large purchases when rewards are the reason for paying the fee.
Signature is now Pro and Premium is now Max, with existing benefits unchanged. Pro retains 4.5% on the first $1,000 monthly and 1% thereafter; Max retains 6% on the first $2,000 monthly and 1% thereafter. Tria has not specified how the new fee applies to existing free Virtual memberships. Before paying for Lite, check the billing terms and purchase eligibility in the app's Card tab, then compare rewards after the fee using the monthly pattern of spending.
Sources: Tria membership changes, Tria membership thread.
