Redstone Federal Credit Union (RFCU) is based out of Northern Alabama. Their Visa Signature card offers high cash back rates for restaurant and gas spending, plus a decent amount of cash back in other categories. This obscure no-fee credit card offers a lot to consider. The main downside is that it’s no longer possible to join the credit union if you don’t live within their area of service (AL/TN).
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- No balance transfer or cash advance fees
- 5% cash back for restaurants ($7,000 annual spending limit)
- 5% cash back for gas ($7,000 annual spending limit)
- 3% cash back for groceries, discount stores, wholesale clubs, utilities, phone and streaming services ($7,000 annual spending limit each)
- 1.5% cash back on everything else
SIGN UP BONUS
You can earn $150 (as 30,000 MyChoice Rewards bonus points) after spending $3,000 in your first 90 days of card membership. The credit union also offers 0% APR for 6 months on balance transfers made within the first 30 days. Balance transfers aren’t usually a good idea, due to fees, but RFCU doesn’t have any balance transfer fees.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE REDSTONE VISA SIGNATURE CARD
- Visa Signature benefits, including:
- Price Protection
- Extended Warranty Protection
- 24/7 Visa Signature Concierge
- Various discounts (mostly applicable to Northern Alabama)
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 670+
To join the credit union, you’ll need to be part of “more than 1,800 organizations, clubs, churches, and businesses that offer Redstone membership.” If not, Redstone has some alternative pathways, such as being a member of the military or a government contractor based in Madison County, Alabama. (The credit union’s branches are all around Huntsville, Alabama.) Visit their website for more details. You must be a resident of Alabama or Tennessee to apply for membership.
Redstone has one national partner organization: AUSA (The Association of the United States Army) which is free to join at the basic tier of membership. AUSA also offers a number of discounts and other benefits that may be of interest. It used to be possible for some non-Alabama residents to join Redstone through AUSA membership, but this loophole ended in July 2024.
Once you join the credit union, you need a savings account with them, minimum $5 balance at all times, and you may need a checking account too. The savings account doesn’t seem to have any fees. Checking accounts have monthly maintenance fees (for members over the age of 24) unless you have direct deposit or make 4+ debit card transactions per month. $25 minimum to open a checking account.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE REDSTONE VISA SIGNATURE CARD
Points are worth $0.005 (0.5 cpp) when redeemed for cash back, but since points are earned at double the cash back rate, this isn’t as important a fact as it seems. The card earns anywhere from 3 to 10 points per $1 spent, depending on the spending category. What’s more important is the spending caps: for each category, you’re limited to $7,000 per year in spending. After that, you then get 1.5% cash back (3x points) on everything, until the following year when the limit resets.
Restaurants and Gas = 10x points = 5% cash back (limited to 70,000 points annually, or $350 cash back, which is a spending limit of $7,000 per year)
Utilities, Grocery stores, Discount stores, Wholesale clubs = 6x points = 3% cash back (limited to 42,000 points annually, or $210 cash back, which is a spending limit of $7,000 per year)
Note: These spending limits are per category and not combined. So if you wanted to fully max out the card, you’d have to spend $42,000 (7000*6)
Points expire after 3 years of not being used. There’s a $5 minimum to redeem, and you can set up your account so all points (if worth $5 or more) are automatically redeemed monthly, quarterly, or annually. This is a good set-it-and-forget-it credit card.
Points can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, or other things, but we don’t know of the value of points at this time for non-cash back redemptions.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE REDSTONE VISA SIGNATURE
There aren’t any cards that earn 5% cash back for both restaurants and gas stations. Most credit cards don’t offer more than 3-4% back in any particular category. As such, the Redstone Visa Signature is especially interesting. It’s strictly better than cards like the Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi.
Other high-earning gas cards include:
- Abound Visa Platinum
- USAA Cashback Rewards Plus
- Citi Custom Cash
- Penfed Platinum Rewards
Good no-fee restaurant cards include:
3% cash back is fine to have for groceries, discount stores, wholesale clubs, utilities, phone and streaming services. It’s convenient to have so many categories on one no-fee card. We generally recommend the Citi Custom Cash for grocery spending though, to gain 5% back.
For a general-use card, any of the best everyday cards will work. You’ll want to earn at least 2% cash back on all purchases.
CONCLUSION
The Redstone Federal Credit Union Visa Signature is a solid all-in-one card that can work for most wallets. It’s rare for a card to earn 5% cash back in more than one category, especially when it also has five 3% categories. It’s a lot of potential value in a small package.
Unfortunately, you must be in Alabama or Tennessee to join Redstone. Another downside is the annual spending caps. These are fairly high limits though, and most people won’t be affected by them. Spending $7,000 per year is $583 per month. And if you do run into these limits, you can always switch to a different card for the rest of the year. Annual spending caps are more consumer-friendly than monthly or quarterly spending caps.
We rate the Redstone FCU Visa Signature card 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Note: This review was last updated in July 2024. 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!