5 Things to Know About the Navy Federal Go Rewards Card

The Navy Federal Go Rewards Credit Card offers up to 3 points per $1 back on your spending, plus an introductory low-interest promotion for new purchases for several months.

The card features two helpful benefits to applicants. First, you can pre-qualify to see which of Navy Federal’s credit cards you're eligible for with no impact to your credit scores. Second, if your application is approved, you can get instant access to a digital version of your card while you wait for the physical card to arrive.

However, this $0-annual-fee card is available only to Navy Federal Credit Union members. Here are five things to know about the Navy Federal Go Rewards Credit Card.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best credit cards from credit unions

1. It earns rewards

While there’s no sign-up bonus for new cardholders, you’ll earn rewards on your spending:

• 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants.

• 2 points per $1 spent on gas.

• 1 point per $1 on everything else.

Redeem rewards for cash back, travel, merchandise or gift cards. There’s no limit to the amount of rewards you can earn, and they don’t expire.

Those are decent rates, but with good credit (a FICO score of 690 or higher), you may be able to snag even higher rewards with a product like the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card. It earns 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, travel, transit, gas stations, electric vehicle charging stations, popular streaming services and select phone plans.

2. It’s free of many fees

The Navy Federal Go Rewards Credit Card charges no annual fee, balance transfer fee or foreign transaction fee. You would be subject to a fee if you were to make a late payment, though. Also note that while there’s no balance transfer fee, there’s also no 0% APR promotion for balance transfers. Any transferred balances would be subject to the card’s standard interest rate.

Better balance transfer options exist to help you pay off debt. The Citi Double Cash® Card, for instance, has an introductory offer: Get a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR. You'll have to determine whether the balance transfer fee is worth paying by weighing the cost of the fee against the interest charges you’re expected to pay over time with your current credit card. Once you've paid down the balance, you can use the Citi Double Cash® Card to earn 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% back for every dollar spent and 1% back when you pay it off. (Avoid chasing rewards and charging new purchases to the card while paying down debt. You'll make more progress that way.)

3. There’s a low promotional APR for new purchases

While there’s no balance transfer offer, the Navy Federal Go Rewards Credit Card has this promotion for new purchases (as of this writing): 0.99% introductory APR for 6 months, then a variable APR applies.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best 0% APR and low-interest credit cards

4. You can qualify with average credit

There isn’t an abundance of rewards credit cards available for consumers with average credit, but you can qualify for the Navy Federal Go Rewards Credit Card with average to excellent credit (typically, that corresponds to FICO scores of 630 or higher).

» MORE: What to do if a fair credit score cuts your credit card options

5. You must be a Navy Federal member

To be eligible for this card, you must become a member of Navy Federal Credit Union. Membership is open to those who:

• Are serving or have served in the military.

• Are related to someone who is serving or has served in the military.

• Are related to, or are living with, current Navy Federal Credit Union members.

• Are Department of Defense employees or contractors, or are U.S. government employees assigned to Department of Defense installations.

• Are eligible through select employee groups.

Eligibility terms apply. You can find out more with this online questionnaire.