Credit Union Rewards

[Cory88]

I got an offer for Service FCU Elite Credit Card and they rewards company can't tell me how many points to get x cash back. The company for Service Rewards is UChoice is more like Ugarbage they are rude and very unhelpful even the credit union is useless to help me out. Is it just me or most credit union rewards credit card have horrible rewards set? And the company that admin it to are horrible.

[unsungivy]

I can't speak for MOST credit unions, but the biggest darlings of these forums are usually credit union reward cards. Such as AOD, Affinity, and Redstone.

I'm guessing you need to research more before you settle on ones if you're having bad experiences. 

[ptatohed]

Umm.... tear the offer into 16ths and toss the scraps into the garbage?

Even if we assume their points are 1cpp, it's a...................... 1.5% CB card.  Were you expecting a 2cpp card????    

https://servicecu.org/borrow/credit-cards/

[Anonymous]

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@Cory88 wrote:

I got an offer for Service FCU Elite Credit Card and they rewards company can't tell me how many points to get x cash back. The company for Service Rewards is UChoice is more like Ugarbage they are rude and very unhelpful even the credit union is useless to help me out. Is it just me or most credit union rewards credit card have horrible rewards set? And the company that admin it to are horrible.

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Yes, the UChoose scheme is Ugarbage

[Cory88]

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@ptatohed wrote:

Umm.... tear the offer into 16ths and toss the scraps into the garbage?

Even if we assume their points are 1cpp, it's a...................... 1.5% CB card.  Were you expecting a 2cpp card????    

https://servicecu.org/borrow/credit-cards/

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Service FCU told me it's basicly 1.5% cash back and that 1.5 pts are better then 1.5% cash back. I got on the rewards site and got them to "model out" a redemption and it's about $1900 spend to get $25 back.

[Curious_George2]

@ptatohed nailed it.

I too have searched for CUs with worthwhile rewards cards. Here's a rule of thumb I've developed that has never steered me wrong: if an issuer uses a points system for rewards, and the value of those points is not crystal clear, assume it's bad. This is not baseless cynicism. If the points were actually valuable, like Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards, the issuer and members of the public would make the case for that loud and clear, with math. Conversely, if the issuer only says vague, non-quantitative things like "Fabulous gifts! Amazing travel! So much more!" that's because they are trying to hide the fact that the math is bad. 

I have never found an exception to this rule. If anyone has one, please share it. 

[AndySoCal]

@Cory88  With CU Rewards you have several options gift cards, cash back, charitable donation. With Redstone when I tap on Rewards the app tells me the total points and the cash value of the points.  On the rewards side you pick which option you want.  I select cash back and the Redstone acct number to deposit the cash back into.  The transfer takes a few days which is fine .  You do not have to deal with the rewards people for the most part for me that was once. 

[bs1234]

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@Curious_George2 wrote:

@ptatohed nailed it.

I too have searched for CUs with worthwhile rewards cards. Here's a rule of thumb I've developed that has never steered me wrong: if an issuer uses a points system for rewards, and the value of those points is not crystal clear, assume it's bad. This is not baseless cynicism. If the points were actually valuable, like Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards, the issuer and members of the public would make the case for that loud and clear, with math. Conversely, if the issuer only says vague, non-quantitative things like "Fabulous gifts! Amazing travel! So much more!" that's because they are trying to hide the fact that the math is bad. 

I have never found an exception to this rule. If anyone has one, please share it. 

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Not an exception but Chase Freedom Flex for example *doesn't* show the true (potential) value of the URs, just talks about 5% cashback.   So almost an exception in the other direction!

[Anonymous]

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@Curious_George2 wrote:

@ptatohed nailed it.

I too have searched for CUs with worthwhile rewards cards.

Here's a rule of thumb I've developed that has never steered me wrong:

If an issuer uses a points system for rewards, and the value of those points is not crystal clear, assume it's bad.

This is not baseless cynicism. If the points were actually valuable, like Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards, the issuer and members of the public would make the case for that loud and clear, with math. Conversely, if the issuer only says vague, non-quantitative things like "Fabulous gifts! Amazing travel! So much more!" that's because they are trying to hide the fact that the math is bad. 

I have never found an exception to this rule. If anyone has one, please share it. 

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@ptatohed nailed it.

@Curious_George2 nailed it.

Your rule of thumb should be stickied in a FAQ

This covers the "Uchoose" scheme perfectly. Case in point is @Cory88's finding of $1900 for $25 = .9% per point

[Komma]

It's a 1.5% card that you can redeem monthly. There's of course other various things you can redeem your points on, which most I've seen are 1cpp and a few gift cards can be slightly higher. Only interesting perk of the card is the ability to transfer any amount of your available balance to your checking/share savings for a 1% fee.

Service CU is great overall, but their credit card offerings are nothing special.