NAB’s Velocity Gold is a really valuable credit card to have when it comes to rewards and benefits.

Like NAB’s standard Velocity credit card it allows customers to earn Velocity points towards international and domestic flights, on Virgin Blue as well as a whole range of other rewards available in the online Velocity rewards store.

But here’s where it gets good…

As a Gold card the annual fee is at the higher end of the scale but add in one of the best airline rewards programs available on a credit card and you’re getting a whole lot more bang for your buck.

Interest for the Velocity Gold card, and includes added insurance benefits (including 90 days purchase protection, Gold overseas travel insurance and extended warranty insurance) so is a LOT more reasonable than the standard Velocity credit card.

Interest free days stand at up to 44, which again is lower than most but still ok. Like the standard card it comes with both an American Express and a Visa credit card which ups the ante on your points-earning potential – two points for every $2 spent on the American Express and one point for every $2 on the Visa.

Even if you’re not looking to travel but still want a rewards program then this is one of a number of reasonably priced choices that may still suit your needs. With awesome rewards opportunities and all the included insurance benefits this is most definitely a card that is nipping at the heels of the top 3 cards in the rewards category, so would be great for all those travel bugs out there.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

Available as either a Visa or MasterCard the NAB Gold credit card has a lot to give its cardholders.

To start with there’s a great interest rate for both cash and purchases on a gold credit card. This is teamed up with up to 44 days interest free. As this is a lower number of days than is most common, it is important to stay on top of your monthly credit card bill so you don’t get charged any more than you need to be.

The annual fee which is reasonable for a gold card with both rewards and purchase and travel benefits. Not only will you get extended warranties on purchases, but you’ll also get purchase protection and international travel insurance as well.

In terms of rewards, the NAB Gold card is a little different to most other Gold cards. You can link your NAB Gold credit card to your FlyBuys account so you can earn FlyBuys points every time you use your credit card. You’ll get even more if you present both your FlyBuys card and your NAB Gold card at participating FlyBuys retailers.

As an added bonus you also get VIP Lost Card Cover. This is a registration service that keeps a confidential list of all the cards that you keep in your wallet that you would want to cancel and/or replace if you lost your wallet, or had it stolen for that matter. This is a very handy service as when your wallet is stolen, you never remember everything that was in there until you go to use it and you’re left high and dry.

Overall, other than the lower interest free period the only other downfall to this card is that there is no balance transfer option (so if a balance transfer is a feature you’re looking for then maybe try another card, such as the Bankwest Lite Gold MasterCard), but other than these it is generally a pretty well rated credit card.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

As expected, the Clear Options Gold credit card continues Suncorp’s trend of expensive and vaguely described credit cards. With the majority of the features that Suncorp offer there are footnotes that apply. The problem is that the footnotes don’t clarify a whole lot for potential Suncorp customers.

The complimentary rewards program is subject to terms and conditions that aren’t readily accessible, excess for purchase protection claims is unknown, and the details of the other insurance covers aren’t explained so you can’t even compare it to other cards to see if you’re getting a good deal or not.

Now for the stats.

Strangely, the Gold card has a slightly lower interest rate than the Clear Options Plus credit card, at p.a. on purchases and  p.a. on cash advances. This might seem like an advantage at first, however, the annual fee means you’d end up using what savings you did make to pay your annual fee anyway.

The balance transfer rate is the same as the rest of Suncorp’s credit cards at p.a. for 15 months. After the first 15 months it reverts to the cash advance rate p.a. so while this is good, if you have a lot of credit card debt that is going to take you longer than year to pay off then there are definitely other options that are going to be more worth-while for you.

Because it is a premium card you get extra benefits that are unavailable on other lower level cards such as international travel insurance, transit accident insurance, purchase protection, as well as the option of cash back or converting your reward points to Qantas frequent flyer points. This is at a cost (Qantas Frequent Flyers joining fee) which must be paid each year.

With high interest rates, a high annual fee and so much uncertainty about the terms and conditions of the credit card, the decision as to whether or not this card has its merits is hard to say. But when it comes to dealing with money, we would say that the initial confusion is enough to make us look elsewhere for a credit card.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category