Navy Federal cashRewards Card: $300 Cash Bonus, $98 Walmart+ Credit, No Annual Fee

The Navy Federal cashRewards Card has been “enhanced” with increased cash back when you set up direct deposit into a NavyFed deposit account and also comes with a limited-time offer. Offer expires in October 2024 but may be extended. The highlights:

• $300 cash back for new cardholders after $3,000 or more in net purchases within 90 days of account opening.
• $98 Walmart+ credit. For a limited time, get a one-time $98 statement credit when you pay $49 or more for an annual Walmart+ membership using your cashRewards credit card. (Normally, annual Walmart+ memberships are $98.)
• 1.75% cash back on all purchases if you have direct deposit with Navy Federal Credit Union (no minimum amount).
• Without direct deposit, you still get the standard 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
• No foreign transaction fee.
• No annual fee.

In terms of the overall card features, 1.75% is better than 1.5% but I’m disappointed that NavyFed couldn’t boost it all the way to 2% cash back with direct deposit. That would make this a very solid and simple card, as there are multiple competitors already at the 2% cash back level. Here are the details on the cash back percentage.

There is no cap on cash back earned. Cash back does not expire as long as the account is open.

Annual Walmart+ membership must be purchased within one year from Navy Federal cashRewards Credit Card account opening date to receive the one-time statement credit. Also nice that you get the full $98 even if you only pay $49 for the annual Walmart+ membership (the current discounted price from Walmart).

A few readers have commented that they don’t like dealing with miles or points, and prefer simply cash back. This is one of the better cash bonuses on a card with no annual fee. The first year value is nearly $400.

The catch here is that in order to apply, you must first become a NavyFed credit union member. Membership eligibility for NavyFed now goes beyond current and retired members of the armed forces to include their families and household members of veterans, Department of Defense personnel, and more. The effort can be worth it as NavyFed also offers other useful financial products like mortgages, car loans, certificates of deposit, etc.