NFCU upgrades some cashRewards to 2% cashback

Navy Federal sent an email to select cashRewards cardholders, informing them that their card now earns 2% cash back on every purchase. This is up from 1.5% or 1.75% for those with direct deposit.

It is unclear if Navy Federal is planning to refresh the cashRewards card at this time, but it is worth noting they sent out a survey a few months ago hinting at changes to their Flagship card.

Here’s what the email looked like:

The fine print at the bottom of the email stated:

This offer is non-transferable and is valid for the intended recipient only. This means that only members who receive this email directly from Navy Federal are eligible. Earn a total of 2% cash back on every $1 of eligible net purchases made with your cash Rewards credit card. The cash back will post when the purchase transaction posts to your account on or after 07/11/2024. You will receive a total cash-back amount through a combination of a base earn rate (1.5%) and a bonus earn rate (0.50%). Rewards are earned on eligible net purchases. “Net purchases” means the sum of your eligible purchase transactions minus returns and refunds. Eligible purchase transactions do not include, and rewards are not earned for, the following transactions: cash advances, convenience checks, balance transfers, gambling, or fees of any kind, including finance charges, late fees, returned check fees, and ATM cash advance fees. Cash-equivalent transactions, such as the purchase, loading, or reloading of gift and prepaid cards (e.g., money orders, GO Prepaid Cards, and other cash-equivalent gift cards), may not be eligible purchase transactions and may not earn rewards. The recipient is solely responsible for determining any personal tax liability, if applicable. Account must be open and not in default at the time the total cash back post to your rewards balance. You will be notified if there are any changes to how cash back is earned.

The email also pointed out that cardholders can earn even more cashback by using their Member Deals feature.

Who qualifies for 2% cash back?

Currently, this offer is invite-only, which means it is not offered publically, and you also cannot request to be upgraded.

According to scaierdread on Reddit, the following cardholders were offered the upgrade:

• Have a cashRewards card issued as a Visa Signature or World Mastercard
• Have a FICO score about a certain threshold
• Have a cashRewards card that already qualifies for 1.75% cashback (direct deposit users)
• Opened their cashRewards card before April 1st, 2024

Closing Thoughts

This is an exciting update from Navy Federal! I have the card and will start using it more myself. Hopefully, they will offer this upgrade to more users soon, as the only unfortunate part of this announcement is that it is currently invite-only. It will be interesting to see what other updates are in store, as it sounds like changes to the Flagship card are coming soon.

Was your card upgraded? Will you be using your card more? Leave a comment!