National Bank of Arizona Elite Credit Card

National Bank of Arizona Elite Credit Card Review

The National Bank of Arizona Elite Credit Card is a premium rewards Visa card that earns triple points on travel and dining travel worldwide. The Elite also benefits from an introductory period on balance transfers. There’s also a bonus for meeting minimum spending requirements.

How to Earn Points

. The Elite Card earns 3X points on travel and dining purchases. This 3X points applies worldwide, which is always nice. Every other purchase earns 1.5X points. The addition of worldwide earning is a great perk. This benefit enjoys further enhancement thanks to no foreign transaction fees. The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, which features 3X miles similar categories, doesn’t feature 1.5X miles as its base earning rate. And, that card has an annual fee of $250 – $55 more than the NB | AZCard.

Introductory Points Bonus

The NB | AZ Elite Card comes with a special introductory point offer of 30,000 bonus points. The cost for this bonus? Five-thousand dollars in spending in the first 90 days. The $5,000 number works out as approximately $1,500 in spending for each of the first three months. This spending essentially earns an extra 6X. This is double the usual top-end rate is. Additionally, the 30,000 points have a cash value of $300. Either way, this bonus provides a nice boost towards that next dream vacation or business trip. The bonus points are in addition to the 15,000 points the $5,000 spend would earn should all purchases fir into the 3X categories.

How to Redeem Points

The NB | AZ Elite Credit Card earns points in the AmaZing Rewards Program. Points in the program have a value of a single cent per point ($0.01/pt.). This rate is on par with many other rewards programs. Points never expire if the account is active. The AmaZing Rewards Program offers a variety of redemption options, including travel (airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, etc.), merchandise, gift cards, and more. There are no blackout dates when booking award travel, which is a nice benefit missing from some other rewards programs. Elite Cardholders can also redeem points as cash back in the form of statement credits, deposits, or checks.

Annual Travel Credit

The National Bank of Arizona Elite Card comes with a yearly travel credit of $100. This credit is standard with most premium travel credit cards and helps offset additional fees at airports and elsewhere. The $100 credit applies to qualifying purchases in the following merchant categories:

• Airlines
• Airport Terminals
• Cruise Lines
• Hotels
• Inflight Wi-Fi
• Rental Cars
• TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry

TSA Precheck or Global Entry application fee credits offer the best value/ The fee for TSA Precheck is $100. This fee is a once-off every four years, so using the credit for purchasing a Priority Pass membership, in-flight Wi-Fi credits, or covering additional baggage fees is a nice perk in the subsequent three years.

Competitive APR

The Elite Card features a regular APR comparable to many other quality rewards cards. The actual rate varies significantly depending on creditworthiness, but those with excellent credit scores can anticipate a rate almost a full percentage point lower than the national average low for a similar card. The rate is also noticeably more economical than that of the Green Card from American Express. The Elite Card also enjoys 0% intro APR on balance transfers for the first six months. Six months of zero interest on balance transfers might not sound like a lot, but the Green Card offers no introductory APR period at all. This is an excellent perk for anyone applying that has a smaller balance on their current rewards card. Additionally, once this intro six-month period concludes, all existing Zions Bancorp balances transferred over incur interest at a special fixed rate of 7%, which provides exceptional value for current bank customers. Other banks in the Zions Bancorp family include:

• Amegy Bank
• California Bank & Trust
• Nevada State Bank
• Vectra Bank
• Zions Bank

This broad geographic spread makes the NB | AZ Elite Card’s offer of 7% APR on balance transfers enticing for those with existing accounts with one of these banks, and who reside, or are relocation, to Arizona.

Should You Apply for the National Bank of Arizona Elite Card?

The Arizona National Bank Elite Card is a quality travel card with a steep price tag. The card earns 3X points on travel and dining worldwide. Plus, it comes with a substantial introductory bonus and offers an exclusive APR when transferring existing balances from other Zions accounts. That’s in addition to 0% intro APR for the first six months. The card even benefits from the usual Visa® Signature perks and protections, plus the global acceptance of the Visa® payment network, which is more than can be said for the American Express Green Card, which also offers no foreign transaction fees, but suffers due to the limited acceptance of AMEX abroad. 

The Green Card from American Express, however, offers more – in terms of value at home. This is in thanks to the 3X points on local transit and rideshares it provides. The AMEX card also features a more significant sign-up bonus and the added benefit of the AMEX rewards program. That program, plus others, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, offers better redemption options than AmaZing Rewards. The Green Card also comes with a $100 statement credit towards CLEAR security membership, plus a $100 Loungebuddy statement credit each year. CLEAR is no TSA Pre-Check but four free Loungebuddy lounge visits on a card that also features an annual fee of almost $50 lower than the NB | AZElite is a better value for most. 

As mentioned, the National Bank of Arizona Elite Card is a reliable – and valuable – travel card. It even offers enhanced value for those that have existing Zions Bancorp accounts they want to pay down quickly. But for those that want to stretch their annual fee dollars further, there may be better options available elsewhere