ST PETERSBURG, Fla. - Credit union card rewards programs, once a relative rarity, have kept on growing. Now, PSCU Financial Services, the card processing cooperative for more than 500 credit unions which use First Data Corp's platform, has reached a rewards milestone. More than one million cardholders nationwide now use the cooperative's CURewards loyalty program. Credit union card programs with CURewards provide credit and debit cardholders the opportunity to earn points that can be redeemed for more than 500 items of brand name merchandise, as well as travel options that include cruises and weekend getaways as well as hotel and car rentals, the coop said. "The ability to reward cardholder loyalty is no longer an optional enhancement. Having a comprehensive and convenient rewards program is mandatory to maintaining a competitive position in the marketplace," said David J. Serlo, President of PSCU Cards with a rewards program post an average of an additional 23 transactions a year, adding about two more transactions per month over cards without a rewards program, Serlo said.