I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like the Flagship Rewards is lackluster. I honestly believe that as it is it shouldn't have any AF at all either. If they increased the value of it then sure but for me personally I'd never apply for it in its current state. I do think the Platinum card is pretty good for what it is. It's not a "goal card" by any means but that rate is really nice and as you outlined above NFCU has pretty good card benefits overall which makes it a solid choice if you need that kind of card.
8/22/24
3/09/25
@Lou-natic wrote:I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like the Flagship Rewards is lackluster. I honestly believe that as it is it shouldn't have any AF at all either. If they increased the value of it then sure but for me personally I'd never apply for it in its current state. I do think the Platinum card is pretty good for what it is. It's not a "goal card" by any means but that rate is really nice and as you outlined above NFCU has pretty good card benefits overall which makes it a solid choice if you need that kind of card.
The Flagship Rewards could be such a great card if they refreshed it and made it a true "Flagship" card for NFCU. I think the problem is that, like many cards, it has just slowly became somewhat dated as the market changed. It's still not a bad card, so I wouldn't go so far as to call it "lackluster." It just doesn't truly excel in its' market niche right now. In the past few years, no AF 2% cards have become too commonplace.
I did some digging in the My FICO archives and on the webz. I wasn't sure when FSR came out or when it was last refreshed. Per links on MF, there has been discussion about it since 2010 or before. It's been around a long time in various formats. I don't think the $49 AF has changed in over 12 years. Back then, it was a 1.5% card when 1.5% was unusual. A few years later, they updated it to 2% flat. It appears the last refresh was in 2018 when they added the 3% for travel on top of the 2% everything else. Still, that isn't exceptional for an AF card when comparing by rewards. If someone's budget was 15% travel-related and 85% everything else, that works out to 2.15% overall rewards. That would be great if no AF; it would slightly beat the PenFed PCRs and similar 2% cards.
I'll note also that FSRs includes >some nice perks< for a very low AF card is someone doesn't choose to have a more expensive premium card that would cover these areas:
- Purchase Protection for up to 90 days (damage, theft; limited to $500 per item.)
- Secondary Rental Car CDW
- Travel Accident Insurance (benefits up to $250K)
- Lost Luggage Insurance (up to $3K per covered trip.)
- Reimbursement for TSA Global Entry ($100 every 4 years) which could lower the effective AF to $24.
So overall, I do think FSRs still has a lot to offer, depending on what other cards a member carries. The low fees and APRs, favorable terms like low cost balance transfer and cash advance opportunities, high credit limits, respectable rewards structure, good customer service, and the above perks I listed. For that reason, I think lackluster is too strong of a word, but I do agree that Navy could stand to update the card. 
@Aim_High wrote:
@Lou-natic wrote:I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like the Flagship Rewards is lackluster. I honestly believe that as it is it shouldn't have any AF at all either. If they increased the value of it then sure but for me personally I'd never apply for it in its current state. I do think the Platinum card is pretty good for what it is. It's not a "goal card" by any means but that rate is really nice and as you outlined above NFCU has pretty good card benefits overall which makes it a solid choice if you need that kind of card.
The Flagship Rewards could be such a great card if they refreshed it and made it a true "Flagship" card for NFCU. I think the problem is that, like many cards, it has just slowly became somewhat dated as the market changed. It's still not a bad card, so I wouldn't go so far as to call it "lackluster." It just doesn't truly excel in its' market niche right now. In the past few years, no AF 2% cards have become too commonplace.
I did some digging in the My FICO archives and on the webz. I wasn't sure when FSR came out or when it was last refreshed. Per links on MF, there has been discussion about it since 2010 or before. It's been around a long time in various formats. I don't think the $49 AF has changed in over 12 years. Back then, it was a 1.5% card when 1.5% was unusual. A few years later, they updated it to 2% flat. It appears the last refresh was in 2018 when they added the 3% for travel on top of the 2% everything else. Still, that isn't exceptional for an AF card when comparing by rewards. If someone's budget was 15% travel-related and 85% everything else, that works out to 2.15% overall rewards. That would be great if no AF; it would slightly beat the PenFed PCRs and similar 2% cards.
I'll note also that FSRs includes >some nice perks< for a very low AF card is someone doesn't choose to have a more expensive premium card that would cover these areas:
- Purchase Protection for up to 90 days (damage, theft; limited to $500 per item.)
- Secondary Rental Car CDW
- Travel Accident Insurance (benefits up to $250K)
- Lost Luggage Insurance (up to $3K per covered trip.)
- Reimbursement for TSA Global Entry ($100 every 4 years) which could lower the effective AF to $24.
So overall, I do think FSRs still has a lot to offer, depending on what other cards a member carries. The low fees and APRs, favorable terms like low cost balance transfer and cash advance opportunities, high credit limits, respectable rewards structure, good customer service, and the above perks I listed. For that reason, I think lackluster is too strong of a word, but I do agree that Navy could stand to update the card.
Reimbursement for TSA Pre or GE also extends to every authorized user on the account, and there is no additional charge for AUs. I will continue to use it for some things, not for others but I will always keep it.