Update 3/2/22: They’ve now added 5% quarterly rotating categories.
Update: Fort Knox Federal Credit Union is now Abound Credit Union.
Original Post:
This is another post in our weekly series, “Weird Wednesday” where we look at a slightly unusual or weird credit card every week, more posts in the series can be view here. We haven’t run this series the last couple of weeks due to time restrictions (and lack of ideas), so make sure you help us out by suggesting cards to have a look at.
Today’s card is the Visa Platinum card that is issued by Fort Knox Federal Credit Union and earns 5% cash back on all gas purchases.
Contents
Application Information
It’s possible to apply for this card without becoming a member of Fort Knox Credit Union, by using the non members link during the application process. Note if you do decide to join they will usually do a hard pull for membership and approval is not automatic.
They’ll also sometimes request additional information to approve you, for example last two tax returns, social security card, drivers license. I also believe that somebody actually looks over each application manually (especially if not already a member).
What Credit Score Is Required
| Credit Boards | Credit Karma | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest approved score | 640 | N/A |
| Average approved score | 693 | N/A |
Common Reasons For Denial:
- Too many recent inquiries
- Not employed for long enough
- Too much existing debt
Fort Knox are incredibly inquiry sensitive, it seems that if you have more than three inquiries in the past six months you’re almost guaranteed a denial. Even if you’re under this number then approval is by no means a sure thing.
What Credit Bureau Does Fort Knox Pull For The Visa Platinum?
Fort Knox will usually pull your TransUnion credit report, in some cases they’ll pull that in addition to your Equifax credit report. They’ll usually do this double pull when you have a number of new inquiries on your TransUnion report.
What Credit Limit Will I Receive?
You should be able to specify your preferred credit limit during the application process.
| Minimum Credit Limit | Highest Reported Credit Limit | Average Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|
| $500.00 | $24,999.00 | $10,333.00 |
Rewards Program
This is a cash back card. Interestingly in the past you were able to pay off this credit card with another credit card, without any cash advance fees, they then made it so cash advance fees were charged before closing the loophole entirely.
Earning Rewards
The rewards program on this card is really quite simple, you earn at the following rates:
- 5% cash back on all gas purchases
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
In the past this card earned 1.25% cash back on all other purchases, but given that you can earn 2%+ cash back on all purchases this isn’t exactly an issue (this change happened in early 2013). They have offered 5% cash back on gas purchases since at least early 2010, so it doesn’t look like this deal is going away any time soon.
Sign Up Bonus
This card has never offered a sign up bonus that I am aware of. I’m also not aware of any targeted bonuses on this card, there is also no way to see if you have been pre-approved or not for this card.
Redeeming Your Rewards
There is no limit on the amount of cash back that you can earn. Cash back will not be shown at the time of purchase, but will appear on your monthly billing statement.
Our Verdict
It doesn’t really make sense to look at this card in isolation, especially when there are other cards that also earn 5% cash back on gas purchases:
- Sam’s Club Mastercard earns 5% cash back on gas but has an annual limit of $6,000 in spending. Also has 3% cash back on travel and dining and you’re limited to total cash back of $5,000 per year. There is no annual fee, but it requires a Sam’s Club Membership.
- Full list here
If your gas spending is under $250 a month, I think the Sallie Mae card is your best option, if it’s under $6,000 annually then Sam’s Club might be your best option (if you already have a membership) because both of those cards are easier to get approved for and also have other cash back categories higher than 2% (which is the baseline you should be getting).
If you do have a lot of gas spend, this card might be worth getting. The problem is you’re probably going to need to not apply for cards for awhile so that you can actually get approved. There are also two other cards worth a mention, the Discover it & Chase Freedom, both of these cards earn 5% cash back in rotating categories (up to $1,500 per quarter) and usually have gas as a category at least once annually. A full list of the best credit cards for gas purchases can be found here.
We Recommend This Card For:
- People with large gas expenses
We Don’t Recommend This Card For:
- People with gas spend under $250 monthly or $6,000 annually
- People with multiple new inquiries on their credit report
F.A.Q’s & Tips
Got a question or a tip? Let us know in the comments below.
Need to ask as others have a few years back…Anyone have datapoints or able to confirm the cash back is for a gas station or ‘purchase at the pump?’ Exclusions or sensitivities?
I’m a trucker, spending around 10k per month on the fuel. Are they going to give 5% cash back??
I spend about $15k/month on gas for my business. Is there a way to use this for business spend?
Just use it. The credit card companies don’t really care what you pay for with their card as long as the bills including fees are paid (fees as in cash like trans , etc – not expecting that in your case). But if you have a personal cc and use it for business the banks don’t care. Many people do that. At first most people don’t usually have a business card and usually use a personal card they may (to avoid co-mingling and keep tracking simple) or may not designate for business.
CU is pretty anal. They did an immediate hard credit pull. Cost of entry is $15 – $5 in savings + $10 “membership fee”.
They would not let me speak with the underwriter (this may be widespread to keep impartiality intact). I bill $75-$90K annually but sock away $35K annually in my individual 401k and minimize both my W2 and my profit so I show an artificially low income. PLUS I am out of state and not a member. So they set card limit at $2K. But final straw is they will not waive the requirement to provide a relative/friend as a contact “just in case” <- read: for bill collection purposes. I am the last adult surviving member of my family and do not feel like coughing up friends' contact info for such purposes. Other CUs have been flexible on this point; they were not. Despite already being dinged with a hard pull, I will not join or get the card.
this card gives 5% cash back on all purchases that are labelled “Automotive” Car repair payments also give 5% cash back.
How is the cash back redeemed? Deposit? Statement credit? What is the increment? Is it automatic or do I need to manually redeem the cash back?
Statement credit
Is there a business version of this card or another business CC which gets unlimited 5% on gas? I don’t see one in https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-gas-credit-cards/
This post should be updated to remove the Sallie Mae card recommendation. It doesn’t appear to be available any longer.
After doing some digging around, it seems like this card is not actually 1% back on everything else, but only on “general retail” purchases – an extremely vague term that includes some codes but not all.
They tell you if you are pre approved over the phone after submitting an application online. It sounds like they don’t actually pull credit until after you become a member.