Norwegian Air, the Oslo, Norway based low-cost airline with nearly 50 nonstop transatlantic routes and a robust network of European cities accessible from their European hubs, just announced their new No Annual Fee co-branded credit card in the United States.
I am a huge proponent of no annual fee cards that offer, as this one does, no foreign transaction fees. (Remember to choose the local currency when purchasing items abroad — typically you will yield better foreign exchange rates).
For loyal Norwegian Air flyers, this card may be a terrific solution as it offers multiple ways to earn rewards for flights, shopping, hotel stays, car rentals… that can be redeemed as cash aka CashPoints to offset flight and flight-related costs.
CashPoints are Norwegian’s proprietary online currency. As such, CashPoints cannot be used to book on other airlines. (For example, if you have a United Airlines credit card or an American Airlines credit card, points earned can potentially be used to book on United or American Airlines’ partners, e.g. Singapore or Qantas respectively.)
Norwegian Airlines members can earn CashPoints and then use them to pay for Norwegian flights (in part or fully) to any destination with no blackout dates and can also use the points to pay for extras such as seat reservations and checked bags.
Note, I have not, as of yet, flown on Norwegian Air. Anecdotal reports from friends suggest it’s one of the better low-cost international airlines with a respectable on-board and in-airport experience. I’m looking forward to exploring their rich network of destinations soon.
What are some of the features of the Norwegian Reward Card?
- Earn $50 in CashPoints with $500 in purchases within 90 days of approval
- 2% extra on Norwegian flight bookings, 2% on dining and grocery shopping and 1% on all other purchases
- Priority boarding (a nice perk)
- No initial annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
So, how do you earn incremental CashPoints? As noted above, you can earn bonus points for booking tickets on Norwegian Air’s website, plus a bump on dining and grocery shopping and 1% on everything else.
In the “everything else” bucket, you can shop at Norwegian’s Reward eShop and earn an extra 1% back when shopping at a wide array of over 550 national retailers that include big names that you likely already shop at — Apple, Target, Home Depot, Macy’s, Walmart… The eShop also has time-sensitive offers. As of this writing, for example, you can earn 3.5% back at Bloomingdales or 2% at American Eagle.
Two additional offers attached to their new credit card should definitely appeal to Norwegian Air flyers: new card members will receive double expiration period for CashPoints and/or $100 in CashPoints if they spend $20K annually.
Should you add the Norwegian Air Synchrony MasterCard to your wallet? If you are a “free agent” who flies on multiple airlines, you can earn a richer set of transferable points which you can engage on multiple airlines with other no-fee cards.
However, if you are a loyal Norwegian Air flyer who wants to accelerate his/her enjoyment of all that Norwegian Air has to offer including offsetting flight associated costs, with some solid multipliers on daily and dedicated Norwegian Air spend, the newly announced Norwegian Air credit card may be ideal for you.
