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Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

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Phrostbyte
Member

Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

I love my PenFed card.. but I noticed you guys always talk about other credit union cards. For example JFCU, NFCU, USAA, etc. Do these have better cash back than the PenFed? If not, what's the point in the getting them?
Message 1 of 15
14 REPLIES 14
MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

As far as the credit unions with cash back credit cards that everyone can join, the list is a short one:

Addison Avenue Federal CU -- 1% cash back (link)

Agriculture Federal CU -- (link)
0.50% -- $ 0 to $ 1,500
1.00% -- $1,501 +
Gas purchases get an additional 1.25%
(this card used to offer a straight 1.25% for everyday purchases)

California CU -- 1% annual cash rebate on all purchases (link)

Lake Michigan CU -- 3% gas, 2% grocery, 1% everything else (link)

NASA Federal CU -- (link)
1.00% -- $ 0 to $ 1,000
1.25% -- $ 1,001 to $ 2,000
2.00% -- $ 2,001 +

Patelco CU -- 1% cash back (link)

Pentagon Federal CU -- 5% gas, 2% grocery, 1.25% everything else (link)

US New Mexico Federal CU (Visa Gold) -- (link)
0.25% -- $ 0 to $ 1,000
0.50% -- $ 1,000 to $ 2,000
0.75% -- $ 2,000 to $ 3,000
1.00% -- $ 3,001 +


Eligibility:

Addison Avenue Federal CU:
https://addisonavenue.com/about/aboutus/eligible.htm
Join through Financial Fitness Association (Same req as Spectrum FCU), $5
http://www.financialfitnessassociation.org/

Agriculture Federal CU:
http://www.agriculturefcu.org/about/join.html
Join through CityDance Ensemble, $25
Choose to join CityDance Ensemble during the regular Application process, no outside website.

California CU:
https://www.californiacu.org/membership/eligibility.html
Parent Teacher Association or Parent Teacher Student Association member

Lake Michigan CU:
https://www.lmcu.org/Membership/Field.aspx
Join through ALS West Michigan Chapter donation, Minumum $$ unknown
http://webmi.alsa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MI_Donation_Page

NASA Federal CU:
https://www.nasafcu.com/l2.aspx?ci=1137
Join through American Consumer Council, Free
Choose to join American Consumer Council during Application process, no outside website. (Same req for Coastal FCU, NuVision FCU)

Patelco CU:
Community Association for Engaging Youth -- When you apply for Membership, please enter in CAFE-Y and we will send out their application. Here is a link to our Invitation to Join Patelco: (link) Please fill this out and mail it back to us, or you can apply online any time day or night.

Pentagon Federal CU:
https://www.penfed.org/howToJoin/overview.asp
Join through National Military Family Association, $20
http://www.nmfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=join_renew

US New Mexico Federal CU
https://www.usnmfcu.org/creditunion/eligibility.php
https://www.usnmfcu.org/creditunion/membership.php
Join through Surfrider Foundation, $25
https://www.surfrider.org/surfrider_membership/join/membership3.cfm


Edited to add eligibility information
Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 02-09-2009 09:03 PM
Message 2 of 15
Phrostbyte
Member

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

Thanks for the reply.. Seems like PenFed is the best if you can get it?

Why can't everyone get one? Bad credit histories? 

Message 3 of 15
MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

For any Kentucky residents on this forum, there is a credit union with a cash back credit card that comes the closest to matching Pentagon Federal credit union's cash back credit card:

Fort Knox Federal CU -- 5% gas, 1.25% everything else (link)

Eligibility: (link)
Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 12-03-2008 07:30 AM
Message 4 of 15
MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?


@Phrostbyte wrote:

Thanks for the reply.. Seems like PenFed is the best if you can get it?

Why can't everyone get one? Bad credit histories?




Based on some of the discussions about applying for the PenFed cash back card, to me sometimes it sounds like it's literally harder to be approved for this card than for any American Express card -- PenFed are very strict about too many inquiries and about anything that would appear to them to be too many accounts applied and approved for during the previous year. I've seen some people say they applied four or more times before finally being approved. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe I've read that, even if they will approve you, PenFed is also very cautious about the size of the credit limit they'll offer if they think you presently have enough credit already extended to by your other creditors. And even after passing those two hurdles and being approved, some people apparently start out with low credit limits. And on top of all that, I believe I've read that people who are self-employed seem to tend to run into more difficulties in trying to get approved for this card

For people who tend to spend over $ 2,000 per month the NASA cash back card might be a good one; 2% on all purchases whereas that PenFed card is 1.25% for everything besides gas and grocery.
Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 12-03-2008 09:33 AM
Message 5 of 15
MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

I just remembered this, and I thought it would be worthwhile to mention this in this thread.

This is an email (from last October) that someone received who is a member of Addison Avenue CU about a recently added additional benefit of the 1% cash back card --

"you can shop and earn up to 33% Cash Back at over 350 national online retailers like Apple iTunes, macys.com, Overstock.com, Target.com, BestBuy.com... and the hundreds more on our eMarketPlace!"

Edited to add: Here's what I did to locate further information about the RainbowRewards coupon codes and cash back for online purchases:
(1) start here link
(2) At the top of the screen under "Please choose your Marketplace", click on the pull-down menu, select "Other - eMarketPlace" and then click "Go"
(3a) For the complete list of online merchants and corresponding cash back amounts, head here link
(3b) For a list of coupon codes and free shipping, head here link




Supercharge your card with cash back!

Dear xxxxx,

We have partnered with Rainbow Rewards (link) to bring even more benefits to Addison Avenue Visa Credit and Check Card holders. By using your current card(s), you can automatically earn cash back from purchases made through participating national online retailers including iTunes, Gap.com and HomeDepot.com. To get set up, all you need to do is:

1. Visit www.rainbowrewards.com/addisonavenue
2. Create a username and password
3. Start shopping!

Free. This program is absolutely free!

Earn cash back when you shop online. Shop hundreds of national online retailers.

Your rewards are automatic. A check will be mailed to you when your reward balance first reaches $10. Then you will receive a quarterly payment each time your reward balance reaches $25.

To have your rewards directly deposited into your Addison Avenue checking or savings account, go to your My Accounts page at RainbowRewards.com and select your preferred redemption method.**

Your Addison Avenue Visa Credit Card and Check Card just got even better, so start shopping today!
Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 12-03-2008 04:43 PM
Message 6 of 15
Phrostbyte
Member

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

33% Holy crap... sounds too good to be true.

 

I checked the rainbowrewards site out... they advertise 70% off cash back and 33% cash back but I can't actually find any decent discounts on the site.

Message Edited by Phrostbyte on 12-03-2008 03:28 PM
Message 7 of 15
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

I have two USAA cards and a PenFed. I got the USAA cards first just from being with them for so long. (They pretty much just turned up on my homepage one day.) I got the PenFed specifically for the rewards.

The advantage of having multiple CU cards is that their CL's tend to be high, and especially in these days of CLD's by traditional banks, it's nice to have some padding to protect your util if you ever have to carry a balance. I currently have the USAA cards divided up with $27K on the MC and $10K on the AmEx, and PenFed CLI'd me out of nowhere to $20.2K.

Although I don't plan on buying a car with a CC, it's nice to have the credit available, even though I would be nuts to use it. Think uninsured medical emergencies, natural disasters requiring temporary housing, etc.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 8 of 15
MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?


@Phrostbyte wrote:

33% Holy crap... sounds too good to be true.

I checked the rainbowrewards site out... they advertise 70% off cash back and 33% cash back but I can't actually find any decent discounts on the site.

Message Edited by Phrostbyte on 12-03-2008 03:28 PM



When I was checking out the site this morning, I saw a feature of the website that initially I didn't see right away. Here is what appears to be a complete listing of the cash back rates for a long list of stores including, e.g., 3% cash back for online purchases Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads:
http://emarketplace.rainbowrewards.com/allmerchants.jsp

And then I found what appeared to me to be a separate second benefit of this RainbowRewards -- free shipping and other coupon codes:
http://emarketplace.rainbowrewards.com/hotdeals.jsp?MarketID=
Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 12-03-2008 12:52 PM
Message 9 of 15
spiritcraft1
Valued Contributor

Re: Do federal credit unions generally have good cards (w/ cash back rates)?

Cool...  It is similar to lifesprings (which anyone can join)...  they seem to have some great rewards... 

 

With Lifesprings, you earn rewards from the vendor AND from your CC...

 

So what is the deal with Addison?  They pull who?


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