[NY only] Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union Visa Signature Review: 25K Point Sign Up Bonus, 2x Points On All Purchases & Points Can Be Worth More Than 1¢ Each

Reader @RobertDwyer let us know of a potentially interesting credit card from Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union (their Visa Signature card). Let’s take a look in this quick review.

Card Basics

• Card earns 2x points on all purchases
• Sign up bonus of 25,000 points after $5,000 in spend within the first three months of account opening
• No foreign transaction fees
• $49 annual fee, waived first year

Membership Requirements

You must live, work, worship, volunteer or attend school in Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, or Putnam County to become a member.

How Much Are Points Worth?

HVFCU let’s you look at their rewards catalog without having an account. Some redemption options include:

• Giftcards. Limited selection and a $50 gift card costs 6,000 points
• Visa & Mastercard gift cards. $100 & $200 denominations cost 12,000 and 24,000 points.

The real value is in redeeming for travel. You can redeem 8,000 points for a $100 off any scheduled major international or domestic airline. There is also a $31 reservation fee when booking online or via phone. If we forget about the reservation fee for a minute then the maximum value per point is 1.25¢ per point. That value drops significantly when you take into account the reservation fee. If your ticket was $100 you’d end up paying $131 for a 31% increase. Obviously as the ticket price increases the impact of that reservation fee drops. I also wonder if it’s possible to get that fee waive somehow as it often is with these types of programs.

Our Verdict

If there was no reservation fee then this card would earn up to 2.5% towards airfare on all purchases making it one of the best cards for every day purchases. It would also make the sign up bonus worth $312.50 towards airfare. Unfortunately that fee does exist so it makes the card much less attractive. If anybody signs up for this card please share your datapoints and thoughts in the comments.