A few readers have let me know that they were sent a targeted offer by First National Bank of Omaha for a new credit card called ‘First AirMiles Rewards American Express Card’. This card isn’t available for publication applications yet (FNBO usually does this with new products), you need to have received an invitation. I thought since there isn’t much information about this card, it was time for a review!
Card Basics
- No annual fee
- 10,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases within the first three statement cycles
- Card earns 2x points on all purchases
- Free FICO Score
How Much Are Points Worth
Points can be redeemed for airfare, hotel rooms, gift cards, cash back & statement credit. FNBO doesn’t let us know the redemption rates until you log into the service center, which requires opening the card to see (this really should be illegal, it’s very frustrating). There are two versions of this card, one is an American Express (the offer we have listed above) and the other is a Visa card.
American Express Card
According to reader, Dave who has the card you can redeem points for 0.5¢ each towards cash back or gift cards and 1¢ each when redeeming for hotels or airfare. They also charge a fee of 1,500 – 3,000 points.
Visa Card
But I was able to find information regarding airfare redemption. Basically there are three levels and each level lets you book tickets up to a maximum price for travel within certain areas. Their full chart can be found here, but I’ve also copied it below in case they take it down:
- Level 1 — 25,000 First AirMiles miles for a ticket valued at not more than $360.00 (including taxes and destination charges) for travel within one of these flight zones:
- Zone 1 (Eastern U.S.): ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, SC, TN, GA, FL, DC.
- Zone 2 (Central U.S.): MI, WI, MN, IA, IL, IN, OH, KY, MO, AR, NE, KS, OK, TX, MS, AL, LA.
- Zone 3 (Western U.S.): WA, ID, MT, ND, SD, WY, OR, NV, UT, CO, NM, AZ, CA.
- Level 2 — 35,000 First AirMiles miles for a ticket valued at not more than $500.00 (including taxes and destination charges) for travel within the contiguous U.S. (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
- Level 3 — 55,000 First AirMiles miles for ticket valued at not more than $800.00 (including taxes and destination charges) for travel within the contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean.
This means points have a maximum value as follows:
- Level 1: 1.44¢ per point
- Level 2: 1.43¢ per point
- Level 3: 1.45¢ per point
Basically points are worth 1.4¢ per point when redeeming for airfare. FNBO usually gives you a 1¢ per point redemption rate when redeeming for cash back.
Our Verdict
The American Express card isn’t very attractive, as you can earn a flat 2% cash back on all purchases. The Visa card would be a bit more interesting if you can work out how to max out your redemption (similar to the FlexPerks program).
If anybody has any personal experience with this card, please share in the comments below.
