The World's Best Credit Card is HERE!

Pros: Low APR for both purchases and advances, no annual fee, loads of benefits.

Cons: You have to be eligible to join this credit union to get this card.

The Bottom Line: I've had credit cards for 34 years. This is the best by a wide margin. If you qualify, this is the best card you can hold.

frazzledspice's Full Review: First Resource Federal Credit Union (Visa)
If you’ve read as many Epinions credit card horror stories as I have, you really learn to appreciate the value of an excellent credit card. My favorite credit card is First Resource Federal Credit Union Platinum Visa, and I have been a credit card user for 34 years, beginning with Chase Manhattan Bank’s “UniCard”, the precursor of MasterCard.

Who Is Eligible for FRFCU’s Visa Cards?

FRFCU, like many other credit unions in my area, has recently expanded its eligibility lists. Currently, you can join FRFCU if you are an employee or retiree of Whirlpool Corporation or a lengthy list of other employers, a resident of certain areas of Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio, or Oklahoma, someone who lives, learns, works or worships in one of those areas, or an immediate family member of a resident.

To determine if you are eligible to join this credit union, visit www.frfcu.org

The Card

FRFCU’s Platinum Visa is amazing—there’s no other word for it. I would defy anyone to find a better credit card.

It boasts:



- NO annual fee;
- A low variable annual percentage rate, which, with interest rate changes, has recently gone up to 7.1% for both purchases and cash advances;
- NO cash advance fees;
- Warranty Manager, Auto Rental Insurance, and a $500,000 Travel Accident Insurance benefit;
- Credit limits up to $50,000;
- Availability of cash through the national ATM network;
- Free Travel and Emergency Assistance; and
- Card Perks.

Card Perks

I would choose Card Perks over your typical Airline Credit Card frequent flier tie-in any day. It offers more flexibility and a greater variety of rewards. The ‘rebate percentage’ of Card Perks varies with the reward selected. The last reward I selected, a $300 airline ticket for 18,000 miles, equaled a 1.66% rebate percentage.

The airline awards kick in at lower dollar rates, and you can apply the rebate to a slightly more expensive air ticket. I used the $300 rebate to purchase a $325 Northwest air ticket for my daughter. When you use a Card Perks reward to ‘buy’ an airline ticket with the airline of your choice, you get frequent flier miles on the flight. If you used a traditional frequent flier reward to ‘buy’ a ticket, you wouldn’t earn frequent flier miles on the ‘purchase.’

If selecting an airline reward, you get $300 at 18,000 points, $360 at 20,000 points, $500 at 25,000 points, $700 at 35,000 points, and so forth.

Rewards begin at 1,500 points, and include hotel stays at Marriott and Hyatt Hotels, Hertz gift certificates, and gift certificates to numerous merchants, including Lands End, Old Navy, Barnes and Noble, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s, Best Buy, Home Depot, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bennigan’s, and many, many others.

If you have a checking account with First Resource Federal Credit Union (and you must be a credit union member to qualify for the Visa card) you can also earn points on your Visa Debit Card when it is used as a Visa. Visa debit purchases receive points at a slightly lower rate, one point for every $2 spent. If you prefer using a Visa debit card for grocery shopping, gasoline purchases, and other everyday expenses, your points will still add up quickly as long as you use the debit card in “Visa” mode.

FRFCU Also Offers Gold Visa and Classic Visa Cards

Visa Gold has a credit limit of $5,000 to $20,000. Classic Visa has a credit limit of $500 to $5000. Both have no annual fee. The benefits are slightly different and can be reviewed at the www.frfcu.org website.

Online Banking

The www.frfcu.org website is easy to understand and navigate. You can opt for automatic payment of your Visa bill and see all your transactions listed. You can negotiate a payment to your Visa from your FRFCU checking or savings account, but not from an outside checking or savings account.

FRFCU’s online bill payment system is also free.

My Recommendation

If you qualify to join this credit union and apply for a credit card, this is THE credit card to have.

If you don’t qualify to join this credit union, I would investigate the possibility of obtaining a Visa through other credit unions in your area, and seeing if you could get similar packages.

In my years of holding credit cards, I have seen the Credit Card industry slowly become dominated by two behemoths—Bank One and MBNA—and neither of those banks offers anywhere near the credit card benefits that FRFCU Visa offers.

I’ve had this card four years, and have never had a problem with it. Payments are credited promptly, bills are accurate, customer service is friendly.

But, most of all, it offers the best value I’ve ever seen in a credit card.