Very interesting. You inspired me to do a deep dive analysis on their category selection. Below are historical screenshots of the categories.
So the categories remained unchanged from my earliest available data, Q1 2016 thru Q3 2020. Q4 2020 Hotels and Airfare was replaced with retail stores & online retail. Q3 2021 hotels/airfare was added back in. I can postulate that replacing the hotels and airfare with retail was a pandemic related decision, since they probably didn't want to encourage travel in 2020. Then in 2021 they left the additional Q4 categories and added hotels/airfare back in to Q3, hopefully as a permanent upgrade for the card.
Worth noting that they didn't feel the need make good on the Q4 categories they had advertised previously in 2020. Meh. They get a pandemic mulligan in my book.
Fun fact: April 2020 they reversed "Restaurants" and "Movies". We could have an extended discussion about all the considerations and possibilities that went into that 
Sometimes the minutia we discuss on this forum, it's kinda like circumcising a mosquito.
@GatorCowboyLion wrote:Very interesting. You inspired me to do a deep dive analysis on their category selection. Below are historical screenshots of the categories.
So the categories remained unchanged from my earliest available data, Q1 2016 thru Q3 2020. Q4 2020 Hotels and Airfare was replaced with retail stores & online retail. Q3 2021 hotels/airfare was added back in. I can postulate that replacing the hotels and airfare with retail was a pandemic related decision, since they probably didn't want to encourage travel in 2020. Then in 2021 they left the additional Q4 categories and added hotels/airfare back in to Q3, hopefully as a permanent upgrade for the card.
Worth noting that they didn't feel the need make good on the Q4 categories they had advertised previously in 2020. Meh. They get a pandemic mulligan in my book.
Fun fact: April 2020 they reversed "Restaurants" and "Movies". We could have an extended discussion about all the considerations and possibilities that went into that
I don't know who does their graphics, but they are inconsistent. I'm assuming they just have a blank template for the year (each quarter) and they update quarterly. I know for a fact that 2021 is wrong because instead of movies Nusenda advertised cashback on streaming services that particular quarter (However, I used the card at a cinema out of curiosity and still got 5% cashback).
It's a interesting card, one that I like quite a bit and will continue to be in my rotation.
Wow. From what I've seen Nusenda has rarely ever changed their category range. Looks like they wanted to compete with Discover and Chase, to draw those members back to the CU card for QTR 4. They probably realized they were losing a lot of swipes against those 2 cards and wanted to remain competitive.
I would imagine the Retail Stores include Walmart/Target for that purpose. And Online Retailers is competitve against the PayPal category Discover and Chase have been offering the past couple of years, all online shopping without having to use a PP Key. That's solid.
I decided not to try for the Nusenda card because of all the hoops you have to jump through, and the pure headache of the application process that has been well documented. But dang, they're still pushing my buttons....
On Deck: Possibly Aven 3% Visa
@5PercentIsTheFloor wrote:
@Taurus22 wrote:Wow. From what I've seen Nusenda has rarely ever changed their category range. Looks like they wanted to compete with Discover and Chase, to draw those members back to the CU card for QTR 4. They probably realized they were losing a lot of swipes against those 2 cards and wanted to remain competitive.
I would imagine the Retail Stores include Walmart/Target for that purpose. And Online Retailers is competitve against the PayPal category Discover and Chase have been offering the past couple of years, all online shopping without having to use a PP Key. That's solid.
I decided not to try for the Nusenda card because of all the hoops you have to jump through, and the pure headache of the application process that has been well documented. But dang, they're still pushing my buttons....
FWIW, my application process was super easy.
I paid a small amount to be a member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, and that was basically it. All I had to was forward proof of my membership to the banker via e-mail.
What part of the country do you live in?
@5PercentIsTheFloor very interesting DP. So streaming services is another upgrade and movies weren't lost, even with inconsistent advertising.
@BearsCubsOtters I think Nusenda sounds like a coffee sweetener for sure 
@Taurus22 I'll try for this card when I make a spree out of the garden probably on the last day of this month. I calculate whether a card is worth applying for based on estimated increased cashback over my current lineup. For now my threshold is $100/year. For 5% categories that means 5k spend considering our AOD 3% baseline. For a 6% card like this (5% plus 1% baseline) that drops my minimum needed projected spend down to 3.4k, and hypothetically I should hit higher than that, but also this card would give additional benefit for overlapping categories when a 5% card already had spend covered. I'll let you know how it all goes.
@JNA1 wrote:
@5PercentIsTheFloor wrote:
@Taurus22 wrote:Wow. From what I've seen Nusenda has rarely ever changed their category range. Looks like they wanted to compete with Discover and Chase, to draw those members back to the CU card for QTR 4. They probably realized they were losing a lot of swipes against those 2 cards and wanted to remain competitive.
I would imagine the Retail Stores include Walmart/Target for that purpose. And Online Retailers is competitve against the PayPal category Discover and Chase have been offering the past couple of years, all online shopping without having to use a PP Key. That's solid.
I decided not to try for the Nusenda card because of all the hoops you have to jump through, and the pure headache of the application process that has been well documented. But dang, they're still pushing my buttons....
FWIW, my application process was super easy.
I paid a small amount to be a member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, and that was basically it. All I had to was forward proof of my membership to the banker via e-mail.
What part of the country do you live in?
I second this question.... If you are within the geofence, I'm sure it's an easy process. But outside the geofence, it has been documented to be rather tough to get into. Unless of course, they've loosened their criteria lately? I've had this roadblock with both Nusenda and Vantage West, although success has been reported to be "possible" with Nusenda. Vantage West, not so much.