Contents
The Offer
- Join Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and get a $300 bonus when you open a credit card within 14 days of joining.
Only military families are eligible to join NFCU. Offer valid November 1 – December 31, 2024.
Our Verdict
The $300 bonus would be in addition to the regular signup bonus on the card. For example the Flagship card already has a signup bonus of 40,000 points and a year of Amazon Prime. The cashRewards 2% card already has a $200 signup bonus.
There’s also a separate bonus for new NFCU members who set up recurring transfers, details in this post.
Hat tip to Dealgamer
Lots of references to TU. That’s the one I have trouble signing back into after creating an account. Has that been resolved? Or do you have to create a new account again to unfreeze?
Delete
I signed up for the flagship card and reached out to customer service via chat and secure message to clarify the Amazon Prime benefit. Both representatives confirmed that I have 12 months from the date of signup to use the benefit, even though the website states it must be purchased by 1/1/25. Mine renews in February and I couldn’t pay for it now. Anyone else have experience with getting reimbursed for Amazon Prime?
Anyone apply and get denied?
This would be my 4th CC application this year, with my most recent opened on 12/17. Anyone have something for comparison so I can gauge my chances of approval? It shows that I am pre-approved, but I know that could be meaningless.
yeah the pre-qualification tool is meaningless
if your profile is good and you don’t want to wait 91 days or move money into the account first, go ahead, but no way to gauge odds
I jumped in and got approved.
Navy doesn’t allow pulls to accounts. I guess that’s one way of prevention.
Pulls out of external accounts are only available to pay NFCU loans or CC’s, IIRC.
You can pull from NFCU checking, but not the share savings.
J2🤓
Ya, I found that out. I am going to use a mobile check.
Gadget 🕵️♂️ Bank Bonus Geek 🔗
Thanks
Gadget 🕵️♂️ Bank Bonus Geek 🔗 for your helpful tip to use portal for prime. And I think jack for saying it expires dec. 31. I had a struggle because I had to cancel trial before I could actually pay for it by dec.31.
It seems that NFCU pulls Transunion no matter the state you are in. Any DPs to the contrary? Also, has anyone tried freezing their TU to force a pull of another bureau?
I just tested this on the pre approval link. With Transunion frozen was told they could not access my Transunion report to pre qualify me for any cards. So I would think the same would happen on an application too
A few data points. Pulls Transunion. ALL cards qualify for the $300…even the Secured card. You can see which card to apply for without a credit pull at the following link: https://www.navyfederal.org/loans-cards/credit-cards/credit-card-basics/prequalification.html
Are you sure it includes secured as well? The terms seem to say no but I’d love to be proven wrong!
I stand corrected. Excluded items are: Offer excludes Navy Federal Business, Home Equity Line Platinum, and nRewards® Secured credit cards. I originally saw it listed but did not realize it was an exclusion. Thanks!
$300 extra bonus posted already as a credit without spending a dime on the card yet. Pretty Cool. Will get another $200 after spending 2k organiclly
When did you sign up and how long did it take for the $300 to post?
Thank you!
Didn’t get instant approval — said to expect answer in 5 days via email. Do they pull a credit report for saving/basic checking (not CC)?
I may have a freeze on TransUnion. Does anyone have experience calling them to get an immediate approval?
I believe they pull EWS and also report to EWS (every single account). Some people have reported a hard pull on Transunion in the past, given certain circumstances.
I wouldn’t sweat it. Just give it a day or two. If they need anything, they will reach out to you.
Did you end up getting approved for membership?
I applied for membership on 12/7 with all 3 bureaus frozen and got same message. Just approved today (got “welcome” email) so they took full 5 biz days. I have legit family connections but was never asked for any proof. Planning to unfreeze TU and do the credit card app and then the digital investor app before they pull these offers.
Is there a deal for Digital Investor?
DP: Approved for membership without needing to upload documents to prove military relation (parents are veterans). They must have some automated system to check for valid names. Applied for Flagship card immediately after joining—instantly approved with $5k limit (minimum for Visa Signature cards) and 18% APR (NFCU’s max at this time). I expected a larger CL (credit score ~800, income $70k, 4/24) but it is what it is. Looks like NFCU pulled TransUnion. They say the new CC should arrive within 7-10 business days (not expedited).
Following up: $300 bonus posted as a statement credit to the Flagship card before I even received the card. Very quick turnaround.
Some factors which negatively affected my NFCU credit score, according to a letter they sent:
So it sounds like they give much better terms on the credit cards if you’re already a member—which makes sense.