topic What’s your favorite card from NFCU? in Credit Cards

What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:35:36 GMT

I am just curious what your favorite NFCU card is and why.

For me, I signed up for the cashRewards and as I got approved for the lowest interest rate (11.4% in September, it’s 11.65% now) and I make use of the Member Mall whenever I can, I am hoping that it grows substantially as their other cards are not as useful for me - I am homebound so travel, dining, entertainment, these things wouldn’t matter much to me.

The Member Mall means just about everything I buy online I get 2.5% or more cash back (1.5% base plus minimum 1% from Member Mall) other than Amazon but I don’t do much with Amazon until Black Friday and Discover has that locked down.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Pikaboo-icu — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:41:41 GMT

ALL of them...

I have the Cash Rewards & the AMEX they both rock IMO.

NFCU has been an all-around fantabulous institution. As credit unions go- they are #1 in my book!

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:51:45 GMT

@Pikaboo-icu wrote:
ALL of them...

I have the Cash Rewards & the AMEX they both rock IMO.
NFCU has been an all-around fantabulous institution. As credit unions go- they are #1 in my book!

What makes the Amex so good though? I was looking at the terms and it says a statement credit starts at $50 which would be $1667 at 3X (3%), $2500 at 2X (2%) and $5000 at 1X (1%)?

I like the cashRewards because I can redeem any amount at any time. It seems Amex and Go Rewards have minimum redemptions (Go is $25, I have a buddy who just closed his and had it merged with his cashRewards because of this)?

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:51:09 GMT

Thank you for your post, Saeren. This is very needed.

I'm 1-2 years new at cc usage and learning so much here.

Meanwhile, I joined NFCU by learning through this site, and I have to say, I LOVE THEM. I've only just started with them by achieving their platinum card, and felt very accomplished by being accepted by them. I have CAP1 & Chase for rewards, only 1.5, and I do a lot of Amazon shopping and was recently approved for their card.

I'm going to look further into NFCU for better rewards. Although I'm in the process of receiving my new Amex cards soon, NFCU has done good to me and I'd like to further my business with them!

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:56:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for your post, Saeren. This is very needed.

I'm 1-2 years new at cc usage and learning so much here.

Meanwhile, I joined NFCU by learning through this site, and I have to say, I LOVE THEM. I've only just started with them by achieving their platinum card, and felt very accomplished by being accepted by them. I have CAP1 & Chase for rewards, only 1.5, and I do a lot of Amazon shopping and was recently approved for their card.

I'm going to look further into NFCU for better rewards. Although I'm in the process of receiving my new Amex cards soon, NFCU has done good to me and I'd like to further my business with them!

Well it was your idea, I just took it and made it a reality

I have been very happy with NFCU as well. Had I known I was eligible (also thanks to MF forums!), I would have gone for the card in March instead of making it my 4th card in a single year by apping in September but the fact they approved me with $3k despite the sudden burst of credit seeking (I had only had one new CC in the past 2 years and I only had 3 total before my app spree that started in March) says a lot — hopefully my CLI request on Monday is fruitful but even if it isn’t, the card will be my spend card anyway for most things.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Pikaboo-icu — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:58:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Pikaboo-icu wrote:
ALL of them...

I have the Cash Rewards & the AMEX they both rock IMO.
NFCU has been an all-around fantabulous institution. As credit unions go- they are #1 in my book!
What makes the Amex so good though? I was looking at the terms and it says a statement credit starts at $50 which would be $1667 at 3X (3%), $2500 at 2X (2%) and $5000 at 1X (1%)?

I like the cashRewards because I can redeem any amount at any time. It seems Amex and Go Rewards have minimum redemptions (Go is $25, I have a buddy who just closed his and had it merged with his cashRewards because of this)?

Well I added my DH as the AU and he uses this as his "work" card. I believe I've had it less than 5 months and he's put about 16000. on it. Yikes that hurts..

When I used the rewards last time, I believe it was $135. and it just "paid" for line by line charges. I have a very good interest rate, even tho I don't carry balances, you never know.

He puts a ton of spend through it so the rewards seem to work out.

I did just get the PenFed Power Cash Rewards so as soon as I bite the bullet & spend a HP to open a checking acct, I may be moving a lot of the spending to that card.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

UpperNwGuy — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:00:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Pikaboo-icu wrote:
ALL of them...

I have the Cash Rewards & the AMEX they both rock IMO.
NFCU has been an all-around fantabulous institution. As credit unions go- they are #1 in my book!
What makes the Amex so good though? I was looking at the terms and it says a statement credit starts at $50 which would be $1667 at 3X (3%), $2500 at 2X (2%) and $5000 at 1X (1%)?

I like the cashRewards because I can redeem any amount at any time. It seems Amex and Go Rewards have minimum redemptions (Go is $25, I have a buddy who just closed his and had it merged with his cashRewards because of this)?

I am sad to say you are mistaken. Go Rewards has the same $50 minimum redemption as the More Rewards (also known as the NFCU Amex). I think it is disgraceful that a credit union owned by its members is so flagrantly trying to encourage "breakage" in its credit card rewards program. Breakage is contrary to the spirit of credit unions. I feel free to be indignant because I have been an NFCU member since 1974.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

wasCB14 — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:01:32 GMT

I can certainly see the value of NFCU in general...

-Good APRs, especially for for average credit/income

-Often good limits for the same

-Great customer service

It seems to me like the differences between non-rebuilder NFCU cards are pretty small, though. I just see slightly differing 3/2/1 categories, and a modest AF on Flagship. Am I missing something?

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:01:54 GMT

@Pikaboo-icu wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Pikaboo-icu wrote:
ALL of them...

I have the Cash Rewards & the AMEX they both rock IMO.
NFCU has been an all-around fantabulous institution. As credit unions go- they are #1 in my book!
What makes the Amex so good though? I was looking at the terms and it says a statement credit starts at $50 which would be $1667 at 3X (3%), $2500 at 2X (2%) and $5000 at 1X (1%)?

I like the cashRewards because I can redeem any amount at any time. It seems Amex and Go Rewards have minimum redemptions (Go is $25, I have a buddy who just closed his and had it merged with his cashRewards because of this)?
Well I added my DH as the AU and he uses this as his "work" card. I believe I've had it less than 5 months and he's put about 16000. on it. Yikes that hurts..
When I used the rewards last time, I believe it was $135. and it just "paid" for line by line charges. I have a very good interest rate, even tho I don't carry balances, you never know.
He puts a ton of spend through it so the rewards seem to work out.

I did just get the PenFed Power Cash Rewards so as soon as I bite the bullet & spend a HP to open a checking acct, I may be moving a lot of the spending to that card.

I guess that if I had that kind of spending I could justify that card too but 16,000 is close to what I get for the whole year 😅

PenFed was less than pleased with my new accounts this year so I got a no from them but they were nice enough to tell me I would have qualified for the Siggy based on my profile if my cards were all at least a year old so maybe I’ll try in 2020 when my BK falls off

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:04:03 GMT

@UpperNwGuy - ouch! Sorry, I’m totally mistaken. That is indeed quite bad. My SSFCU Power Cash Back card has a $25 minimum redemption and that was enough for it to get SD’d. I don’t really know why they choose to be so unfriendly.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

wasCB14 — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:06:49 GMT

@UpperNwGuy wrote:
I am sad to say you are mistaken. Go Rewards has the same $50 minimum redemption as the More Rewards (also known as the NFCU Amex). I think it is disgraceful that a credit union owned by its members is so flagrantly trying to encourage "breakage" in its credit card rewards program. Breakage is contrary to the spirit of credit unions. I feel free to be indignant because I have been an NFCU member since 1974.

I wonder if NFCU might reply that just using a card for a bonus category or for no FTF is also contrary to the spirit of the credit union. A regular card user isn't likely to take very long to hit the $50 minimum.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:16:46 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@UpperNwGuy wrote:
I am sad to say you are mistaken. Go Rewards has the same $50 minimum redemption as the More Rewards (also known as the NFCU Amex). I think it is disgraceful that a credit union owned by its members is so flagrantly trying to encourage "breakage" in its credit card rewards program. Breakage is contrary to the spirit of credit unions. I feel free to be indignant because I have been an NFCU member since 1974.
I wonder if NFCU might reply that just using a card for a bonus category or for no FTF is also contrary to the spirit of the credit union. A regular card user isn't likely to take very long to hit the $50 minimum.

$25 is far more reasonable but when you have tons of competing cards offering no minimum redemption and you also offer a product in cashRewards that has no minimum redemption, it’s a bit of a slap in the face to say “here, spend $3,334 and we will give you $50”

This is especially true when you factor in that credit unions are supposed to view all of their members as important and that includes low income members such as myself. It would take me a year with my regular expenses all being charged to my credit card (recurring plus grocery budget) to hit $3660 and thus get my bonus at $3334.

ETA: Also Go Rewards’ base 1% rate makes that $5000 for redemption. Meanwhile cashRewards would have gotten $50 at $3334 and that’s assuming you never use the Member Mall either where you can spend $2000 maximum there and earn $50 with a lot of offers being significantly higher return.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

UpperNwGuy — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:17:19 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@UpperNwGuy wrote:
I am sad to say you are mistaken. Go Rewards has the same $50 minimum redemption as the More Rewards (also known as the NFCU Amex). I think it is disgraceful that a credit union owned by its members is so flagrantly trying to encourage "breakage" in its credit card rewards program. Breakage is contrary to the spirit of credit unions. I feel free to be indignant because I have been an NFCU member since 1974.
I wonder if NFCU might reply that just using a card for a bonus category or for no FTF is also contrary to the spirit of the credit union. A regular card user isn't likely to take very long to hit the $50 minimum.

I have no idea. My Go Rewards card has been living in the sock drawer for the last few years. I keep it around only because the account dates back to the 1980s. I've spent one heckuva a lot of money through that card, just not in the last few years. On the other hand, I do use my cashReward card from time to time, despite its uncompetitive 1.5% cash back rate, because I think it is the best of NFCU's cards. I can redeem any amount any time.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:24:52 GMT

@UpperNwGuy Do you not use Member Mall? I ended up closing out my CR at 2.5% when all purchases were averaged last statement thanks to Member Mall.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

UpperNwGuy — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:32:47 GMT

I have looked at Member Mall from time to time, including a few minutes ago, but I don't do much online shopping, and when I do it is usually at specialty retailers who don't participate in shopping portals. The deals look good. The one vendor that I might try to use is Macy's.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 04:38:12 GMT

I was actually shocked because I thought for sure I would be waiting a long time but I made two purchases from the Microsoft Store and got my extra 2% cashback posted 2 days after posting for one and 3 days for the other and these were Black Friday sales.

It’s definitely a lot less hassle than using portals like ebates and such.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

AverageJoesCredit — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 12:01:31 GMT

Interesting on Member Mall. I would say enjoy my CR the most even if its only 1.5 %. Who cares, a rewards card and they recently lowered my apr 5 whole points to its lowest available after only a year. Plat is cool too. Goal now to get that to its lowest apr n3xt year

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

UncleB — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 13:43:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UpperNwGuy - ouch! Sorry, I’m totally mistaken. That is indeed quite bad. My SSFCU Power Cash Back card has a $25 minimum redemption and that was enough for it to get SD’d. I don’t really know why they choose to be so unfriendly.

Yeah, I had forgotten about the $50 minimum (and $50 increments as well) for statement credits (or savings deposits) when I did my redemption a couple of months ago on my GoRewards.

I thought I was going to have to leave ~$30 behind, then I realized that I could redeem for $25 e-gift cards; I went with one for Walmart. I still ended up leaving ~$5 behind, but that's acceptable considering there was a good sign up bonus.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

spiritcraft1 — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 15:17:28 GMT

My old favorite was the nRewards Secured... as of last month it is now the GoRewards Card. I had the nRewards for 26 months and did use the Member Mall often and racked up $400.00 in cash back that was deposited in my account when I made the switch to the GoRewards the day of graduation. I also received a $25.00 Olive Garden GC in order to clear the rest of the rewards. I left behind 430 points but I can make that up fast!

I may have a new favorite soon as I just broke 600... up from a low of 408 in terms of EQ FICO 08's anyway.

Re: What’s your favorite card from NFCU?

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 17:28:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I am just curious what your favorite NFCU card is and why.

For me, I signed up for the cashRewards and as I got approved for the lowest interest rate (11.4% in September, it’s 11.65% now) and I make use of the Member Mall whenever I can, I am hoping that it grows substantially as their other cards are not as useful for me - I am homebound so travel, dining, entertainment, these things wouldn’t matter much to me.

The Member Mall means just about everything I buy online I get 2.5% or more cash back (1.5% base plus minimum 1% from Member Mall) other than Amazon but I don’t do much with Amazon until Black Friday and Discover has that locked down.

My favourite NFCU card is actually Platinum-even though I do not have one. The reason of course is because of its low APR (if qualified-which I would be). I currently have the Cash Rewards; however, I have not really used it much since I got my USAA Limitless card last year. I am thinking about changing my Cash Rewards to Platinum to lock in that rate of 7.99%