Credit Cards

[MountainHiker]

I'm looking for a second CU card and don't know much about USAA but I see several posters on this site have the card.My questions are:

Is it difficult to get approved in terms of credit scores?

Do you have to be in the military to join?

Do they give generous limits like DCU and NFCU?

Do you have to live in a certain state?

What kind of benefits do they offer?

Thanks for your help!

[bichonmom]

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MountainHiker wrote:

I'm looking for a second CU card and don't know much about USAA but I see several posters on this site have the card.My questions are:

Is it difficult to get approved in terms of credit scores?

Do you have to be in the military to join?

Do they give generous limits like DCU and NFCU?

Do you have to live in a certain state?

What kind of benefits do they offer?

Thanks for your help!

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You don't need to be in the military, but if you aren't, then you need to have a close relative who is a member, if you want to be a full member. Anyone can be a ltd member. But ltd members don't get the same benefits, no insurance, higher % and less rewards on CCs, can't do iPhone deposit, I thnk it is, etc. 

in general, USAA's cards don't have great rewards. They can give generous CLs, but they are pretty conservative. They aren't even comparable to navy, for example. they were on my list of CCs that I wanted, but after taking a closer look, I decided against it. 

[LilNYC]

In my exp., if you're a full member they're really generous. I joined as full member last month & was instantly approved for 2 cc's w/ $15K & $12K CLs w/ relatively low apr. My EQ score was in the mid 700's & my report was clean but I had high util. 

From other posts I've read on this forum, if you join as a limited member the apr is over 20%. Since their rewards sys is pretty lackluster it's kinda pointless to app for a CC w/ high apr. 

[MountainHiker]

Thank you for the info.I'm a little surprise that USAA gives lower rates based on member status.I was hoping to find a cu that doesn't focus so much on credit score yet still have decent benefits and good credit limits. Looks like NFCU and DCU might be a little better for the criteria I mentioned?

[cowboyguy]

Does anyone know what's the minimum credit score requirement for USAA?

Has anybody on this forum ever approved for their CC with a score in high 600's?

[wreith]

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MountainHiker wrote:

Thank you for the info.I'm a little surprise that USAA gives lower rates based on member status.I was hoping to find a cu that doesn't focus so much on credit score yet still have decent benefits and good credit limits. Looks like NFCU and DCU might be a little better for the criteria I mentioned?

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Are you or a close family member currently in the military or retired from military service?  If not then you most likely will not get into NFCU.  You can find out if you qualify here https://www.navyfederal.org/how-to-become-a-member.php  Also USAA is not a CU it is a bank that just happens to certain perks for full members.  I was approved for 2 USAA cards at $4K each with scores in the mid to high 600's with aprs at about 15%.  I wish you luck in your credit journey it's a long haul but well worth it in the end.

[rtw]

I'm a partial member and joined back in July. At that time I also applied for one of their cards with a FICO EQ of 692 and 0 inquiries. I was denied. Applied again in September with a 726 EQ FICO and the 1 inq from July and was approved for 12K. I also opened about 5 new accounts from July - September. Hope that helps!

[cowboyguy]

"At that time I also applied for one of their cards with a FICO EQ of 692 and 0 inquiries. I was denied."

The above, if true, sounds scary. I've opted out to applying any product from USAA now.

[Cdnewmanpac]

First, USAA is NOT a credit union. It is an inter-insurance exchange with banking and investment subsidiaries. It was set up to provide insurance to officers who could not obtain insurance through the commercially available insurance companies at the time. USAA has chosen to focus on providing financial services to active military personnel, veterans and retirees. The fact is that under Texas law, full members have different liability within the exchange than limited members. The bank is at least partially able to offer more generous rates, limits and underwriting criteria to full members because full members have shared liability derived from the held assets. Since limited members aren't eligible to draw on these assets, the underwriting/terms are different for limited members.

There is really no advantage to using USAA banking as a partial member and honestly, I think they would clear up a lot of confusion if they just stopped offering it. But if you are a full member, then yes, they have more liberal underwriting criteria, APRs and credit limits than a typical commercial bank. I got a 7k limit with a 685 eq score. When it crossed 700, they bumped me to 13k. This is still my highest individual card limit. Are they as liberal as NFCU? No. Are their rewards competitive with Chase/Amex/Citi/BofA/USBank? No. But they are competitive with most local CUs and do offer pretty low APR for a card with a rewards structure. They also offer a non-rewards product with very low interest rates. 

[jsickz32]

Can i cancel my membership and join again at a later time? I think i might be able to join as a full member