The Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU) Visa Signature credit card appears at first glance to be a relatively straightforward card for everyday spending. However, the value of the points it earns will vary widely, and there are different types of non-credit accounts that you can have. The value of this credit card can change a lot depending on your personal preferences.
Hudson Valley Credit Union is a small credit union based in New York’s Hudson Valley region, founded in Dutchess County in 1963. You must live in or around southeastern New York to open an account with the bank, with a presence in at least one of the 12 counties they serve (listed below).
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fee
- 2x points on everything
SIGN UP BONUS
There are 3 tiers for a sign-up bonus (SUB) as of October 2023:
- Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 25,000 points
- Spend $25,000 to 49,999 in 12 months to get an additional 25,000 points
- Spend $50,000 or more in 12 months to get an additional 25,000 points
You can earn up to 75,000 points total in your first year of having the card. Most people however will only be eligible for up to 25,000 points maximum. The value of your bonus will likely range from $200 to $600 depending on how points are redeemed and how many points you get.
The bank also has SUBs for opening a checking account, which is a more attractive offer. The current offer is $400 for spending at least $1,500 with your new debit card or making direct deposits of $1,500+ within 90 days. Offer expires 12/31/23. (Debit cards earn 1 point for each $5 spent, and can be combined with credit card points.)
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE HVCU CARD
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- Visa Signature benefits, including:
- Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Reimbursement ($2k/person)
- Lost Luggage Insurance ($3k)
- Baggage Delay Insurance ($300)
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Price Protection (60 days, $250/year maximum)
- Purchase Security (90 days, $10k/year maximum)
- Extended Warranty Protection
- Return Protection ($250/claim maximum)
- Cell Phone Protection ($200/claim maximum, $50 deductible)
- Visa Roadside Dispatch
- Visa Signature Travel and Emergency Assistance plus 24/7 Concierge
- Visa Signature benefits, including:
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 670+
As with all Visa Signature cards, you’ll need to be eligible for a credit line of at least $5,000.
To join this credit union, you have to first open a savings account with a balance of at least $0.01. The credit union has 21 branch locations and their website states: “We serve Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Ulster, and Westchester Counties in New York State. If you live, work, worship, volunteer, or attend school in any of these counties, you are eligible to join Hudson Valley Credit Union.”
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE HVCU CARD
If you have a Premier Checking account, you get a 25% monthly bonus on credit card rewards. The account requires $1,000/month direct deposit and $15,000 in assets across HVCU accounts to avoid the $15 monthly fee. Most people will be better off with the no-fee Classic checking account, which doesn’t have a minimum balance or direct deposit requirement.
Unfortunately, interest rates are as low as major banks. As of October 2023, HVCU starts at 0.02% APY for Checking/Savings accounts and goes up to 0.50% on Money Market accounts. Standard High Yield Savings Accounts (HYSAs) currently offer 4.25% APY or higher, for example at Ally Bank and Discover Bank. Or you can buy treasuries directly from the government for high rates. The only way to get a decent rate at HVCU is with Certificate Accounts & IRA Certificate Accounts, or have a high balance ($100,000 or more) with a Premier Savings account. Keeping significant sums of money at HVCU is unlikely to be worthwhile for most people, and the 25% bonus on credit card rewards isn’t attractive enough to make up for it. But even if it was?
This brings us to the main issue with HVCU’s Visa Signature: that point values are relatively low. Most major banks allow people to redeem points at $0.01 each (1 Cent Per Point, 1 cpp).
- As cash back, rewards are worth $100 per 15,000 points (0.67 cpp)
- For gift cards, it’s $25 per 3,000 points (0.83 cpp)
- For stock gift cards (via stockpile.com, which costs $5/month for membership), it’s $25 per 2,000 points (1.25 cpp)
- At the gas pump, 2,000 points gives a $0.50 discount per gallon up to 10 gallons (max $5 benefit, 0.25 cpp)
We don’t know the current value of points when redeeming for travel, events, merchandise, or other options. According to a blog post from 2017, redeeming points for travel can go up to 1.25 cpp not including a “reservation fee.” If this is still true, then travel reservations may be sufficiently valuable to be worth considering at higher price points.
The sign-up bonus is worth $207.50 / $415 / $622.50 when redeemed for gift cards at 0.83 cpp, or less if you redeem for cash.
The “2x points on everything” is equivalent to 1.34-1.66% cash back for most people, which is below-average in today’s environment. With the Premier account’s 25% bonus, it’s a little better, working out to 1.675-2.075% cash back (depending on whether you redeem points for cash or gift cards). If you spend $2,000 per month, you’d get 5,000 points each month including the 25% bonus, which is worth $41.50 toward gift cards at 0.83 cpp (almost 2.1% cash back).
In any case, this convoluted rewards scheme is inferior to the card’s many competitors.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE HVCU VISA SIGNATURE
There are now dozens of general-use cards which earn at least 2% cash back on all purchases. The best no-fee option is usually the credit card from Signature Federal Credit Union, which gets 2-6% cash back on everything and has an impressive array of Visa perks.
Travelers may prefer Visa Infinite cards like the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve, which can both earn more than 2% back on purchases, among many other perks.
CONCLUSION
The Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU) Visa Signature card is a somewhat reasonable card for everyday spending. It may be worth looking into for anyone residing within its small regional footprint. This card does have good perks, including Purchase Protection and Price Protection, which are rare these days. Unfortunately the bank’s cash back rates are low, and so are its checking/savings APYs in most situations.
If you’re somehow able to redeem points at or above $0.01 each, then the card becomes much better. You need to have a Premier account with the bank to really make the most out of things. The math doesn’t add up for most people though.
Overall, do we recommend this bank? It depends on your personal situation. The case isn’t cut-and-dry like alternatives.
We rate the HVCU card 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐
Note: This review was last updated in October 2023. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!