First National Bank Complete Rewards Credit Card Review

First National Complete Rewards

The First National Bank of Omaha Complete Rewards Visa card is a great value for anyone who currently has a savings, checking, mortgage or college savings account open with the bank and who wants to use this card to boost value from their reward points. It's easy to earn up to $360 in rewards value if you use the card right.

In addition to the rewards program, the Complete Rewards card also offers a great zero percent APR introductory offer that saves you money on interest payments and provides some other useful perks. And it does all this without charging you an annual fee. We break it all down for you below.

The Complete Rewards Sign-Up Bonus

The First National Complete Rewards card offers an easy-to-score sign-up bonus. If you make a purchase during the first three billing cycles — effectively the first three months — you'll earn enough points to redeem for a $25 cash value. You can use that for gift cards, travel, merchandise or just straight cash back.

This sign-up bonus is even more valuable if you have a First National Bank of Omaha checking, savings, mortgage or college savings account. Redeem those points into one of your accounts and their value doubles to 2 cents per point, a cash value of $50.

That's $50 for simply making any eligible purchase over a three-month time period. It doesn't get any easier than that.

Earning and Spending Reward Points

After the sign-up bonus, you can keep on earning with a fairly easy rewards structure. You earn one Membership Rewards point for every dollar you spend on eligible purchases. That means if you spent $1,500 in a month, you earn 1,500 points. Each point is worth 1 cent in cash value, making a $15 value for the month.

How can you spend $1,500 a month? We recommend using your First National Complete Rewards Visa to make purchases you'd already make anyway. You might spend:

• $200 a week in groceries (that's $800 a month)
• $160 on your cell phone bill
• $300 eating out throughout the month
• $240 in gas

Do that every month for the year and you've got 18,000 points. That's $180 cash back, and if you redeem them into a First National Bank of Omaha Account, it's $360 in value. That's enough to fund a fancy day trip, a high-end dinner for the entire family or an upgrade to your wardrobe!

You can also redeem points for airfare at a rate of of 1.3 cents cash value for each point. Those 18,000 points from the example above become a $234 value when you spend them with an eligible airline. Book at off-peak times and you could even score a round trip.

0 Percent APR Introductory Offer

The Complete Rewards card comes with a very attractive offer of zero percent APR for your first 15 months as a cardholder.

That 15-month window is a great time to make any large purchases, such as televisions or computers, which you can pay down before interest starts to acrrue. Plus, you get the added benefit of cash back on that purchase.

Let's look at a hypothetical to understand the premise. You might need to purchase a new computer for your home office, and while you're at it, a new desk. The total purchase might run you $1,800, which you can put on this card and pay off without interest over 15 months. That's only $120 a month, and you save potentially hundreds in interest by not financing your purchase with a store credit plan.

Other Perks and Benefits

The Complete Rewards card comes with a few other nice perks:

• You gain free online access to your FICO credit score, so you can track how your spending and bill payment habits are affecting your overall outlook.
• It comes with a Zero Liability guarantee that ensures you can't be held responsible for any fraudulent charges made on your account.
• It provides auto rental and travel accident insurance.

• Any purchases you make with the card come with purchase protection, and extended warranties are provided on select products.

The card also comes with Smart Chip technology that combines with your signature to provided an added layer of security when you pay at terminals around the world.

Fees Associated With the Card

There's no annual fee associated with the Complete Rewards card, which makes keeping it among your credit options a pretty painless decision.

It does come with a foreign transaction fee of 3 percent for each purchase. You could find that other cards are preferable for doing business in international currency or making purchases overseas, so that's something to think about as you use the card.

Overall, this is a great cash-back-style rewards card, especially for anyone who banks with First National Bank of Omaha and can double up on redemption values.