Nusenda reward cards
No annual fee
None
5% Different Categories Each Quarter
1% Everything Else
1% Foreign Transaction Fee
If you like rotating category cards, like the Chase Freedom and Discover it cards, the Nusenda Cashback Card is yet another option. It earns 5% cash back on the first $1,500 of spending each quarter. It occasionally offers bonus rewards on less common and potentially useful categories, such as Education spending.
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Nusenda Reward Card Options
There are two different Nusenda reward cards.
- Platinum Cash Rewards version. This is the one that gives you 5% cash back in the quarterly categories.
- Platinum Rewards version. This version earns 4x "points" in the quarterly category. Each point is worth less than 1 cent each, so this card is generally inferior to the cash rewards version. It does, however, have a small signup bonus of 10,000 points ($500 minimum spend). But, that is probably not enough to get this version instead of, or in addition to, the Cash Rewards version. Official Webpage
Collecting the Signup Bonus
There is none. (On the Cash Rewards version)
Other Notable Benefits
None.
Quarterly Categories
While theoretically the quarterly categories can change every year, Nusenda has always used the same schedule of categories:
| Jan - Mar | Apr - Jun | Jul - Sep | Oct - Dec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries
Gas |
Movies
Restaurants Home Improvements |
Gas
Education Expenses |
Restaurants
Hotels and Airfare |
Like other rotating category cards, the quarterly categories often align with those available from other cards. For example, in the first quarter of the year, your only options are Groceries and Gas. If you are optimizing your rewards, and potentially interested in a card like this, chances are that you already have a card that earns good (or possibly better) rewards in these categories.
The second quarter "Home Improvement", and third quarter "Education" categories, are less likely to overlap with the bonus categories of your other cards.
Getting the Card
To get the card, you need to qualify for membership to the Nusenda Credit Union, and open a banking account. A savings account with a very small (such as $10) deposit should suffice.
The easiest way to qualify for membership is to be employed at a business (or go to a school) that has an association with Nusenda; or live within their region of New Mexico. According to Doctor of Credit, if you don't otherwise qualify, you can join the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (for $10), to become eligible. But some people are reporting that they are still being asked to show up in a branch (located in New Mexico).