Ducks Unlimited Card Review: It’s Bye-Bye to Those Big Gas Rewards
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Our Take
3.8
The bottom line:
The card's ongoing rewards rate matches what you'll find on many good cash-back cards, but it lacks some of the upfront incentives that those other options offer.
Full Review
Ducks Unlimited Rewards Platinum Edition® Visa® Card
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
19.99% Variable
Intro APR
N/A
Recommended Credit Score
Quick FactsView rates and fees
Pros & Cons
Pros
No annual fee
No reward caps
Cons
No bonus offer
No 0% intro APR
Alternate Pick: 2% cash back on Everything
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer pays 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when you buy something and another 1% when you pay the bill. If your credit card spending covers a lot more ground than gas, this card makes it simple to earn elevated rewards on all purchases.
Compare to Other Cards
Annual fee$0 | Annual fee$0 | Annual fee$0 |
Regular APR13.99%-23.99% Variable APR | Regular APR14.99%-23.74% Variable APR | |
Intro APR0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months | Intro APR0% intro APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers | Intro APR0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers |
Recommended Credit Score |
Recommended Credit Score |
Recommended Credit Score |
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Full Review
The $0-annual-fee Ducks Unlimited Rewards Platinum Edition® Visa® Card was once a rare bird. Issued by First Bankcard, a division of First National Bank of Omaha, it offered an exceptional rewards rate — unlimited 5% cash back — on gas and at sporting goods stores.
Offered — past tense. In spring 2020, the card radically restructured its rewards. Out went the big, honking rate on gas that had originally made it NerdWallet's best gas card of 2020. In its place: a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases. That's not a terrible rate — it matches what's offered by plenty of good cards. But it's not unlimited 5% on gas.
Ducks Unlimited Rewards Platinum Edition® Visa® Card: Basics
Card type: Cash back.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: None.
Rewards:
1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 19.99% Variable.
Foreign transaction fee: 3%
Why the Ducks Unlimited Rewards Platinum Edition® Visa® Card might be right for you
You want to support Ducks Unlimited
In terms of features, there's really nothing about this card to recommend it over other 1.5% cards, especially those that offer cash sign-up bonuses or introductory 0% interest periods. However, if you're a hunter or conservationist who believes in Ducks Unlimited's mission, it might find a place in your wallet.
A portion of every purchase made with the Ducks Unlimited Rewards Platinum Edition® Visa® Card is donated to Ducks Unlimited’s efforts to preserve and maintain wetlands and other native habitats for ducks, geese and other wildlife. The organization says its conservation and management efforts have provided over 14 million acres of habitat for waterfowl, and that the number of ducks recorded in those areas has increased as a result. As its credit card motto says: “You buy, ducks fly.”
Potential alternatives
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
If you're seeking solid and consistent rewards every time you use your card, you'll find that with the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer. With this card, you'll earn a total of 2% cash back on every purchase — 1% when you make it and another 1% when you pay the bill.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 1.5% cash back on purchases, like the Ducks Unlimited Rewards Platinum Edition® Visa® Card. But it also gives you:
Bonus rewards: 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores.
New cardholder incentives: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
An introductory APR offer: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 14.99%-23.74% Variable APR.
Sam's Club® Mastercard®
To be sure, 5% back on gas isn’t unheard of. The Sam's Club® Mastercard®, for example, offers that rate on up to $6,000 spent on gas per year. After that, you’ll drop down to 1% back on gas. It also earns extra on other bonus categories. And while the card’s annual fee is technically $0, you must join Sam’s Club to get it. Membership there costs at least $45 a year. But, if your gas spending is in line with the average household and you tend to buy in bulk, the Sam's Club® Mastercard® might save you more money overall.
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
