Finally in with USAA-- but question

[empiror22]

I find them to be a great bank/company, they have always been great to me.  I started with 2 secured cards 3k each, after 2 years i applied and approved for two cards at 4.5k each at interest of 13% (i could have probably done it earlier but i was in no rush to get the secured money back).  I also have received two cli over the last 1.5 years (or so) to about 12k each card (with HPs each time, therefore 2 HPs).  In general other bank do have better rewards, NFCU is one that i prefer or Amex, but USAA gave me my highest limits to start and over time (i don't chase CLIs, therefore they are all auto CLI from other banks). 

 to sum it up, USAA is good to you if you are good to them, BTW i always understate my income as i'm a grad student, so i only tell them about my RA salary 20k or so.  They don't care about my debt to income.  I always pay in full (they have received about $2 in interest over the past 4 years from me), i never go over 50% of CL with them or any of my other cards....... Basically be good to them they will be good to you.

[Mistykins777]

I applied for an auto loan and was approved but they would only finance 80% of my car's purchase price so they suggested I try applying for a CC since I was so close to getting where I needed to be on the auto loan. Immediately approved for 4K on the rewards Amex. I am now a loyal customer and have a bank account and car insurance with them...their customer service is superior!

[takeshi74]

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@TraumaMomm2 wrote:

My question is: now that I'm in with them (finally) with a loan (and once I let that age a bit)-- will they be more likely to approve me for one of their credit cards? 

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The installment will help your credit a bit but it's also possible that your credit improved over time given that they approved you for the auto loan.  You really just have to apply and see.  As with any other credit matter there are a number of factors at play and the overall effect of the auto loan could be positive or negative depending on the specifics of your siuation.

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@nutsaboutrewards wrote:

Out of curiousity, why do you want a USAA cc? 

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No idea what they're like now but USAA gave me my highest CL's and lowest APR's when I was rebuilding from a BK.  However, as has already been said the rewards aren't competitive.  Once my credit was sufficiently rebuilt to get cards from AmEx, Chase & PenFed my USAA cards were relegated to utilization padding.  My wife also picked up a USAA card to pad her utilization as USAA granted her a much higher initial CL than her other creditors.  

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@Anonymous wrote:

I looked into their auto insurance a while ago which came highly recommended, but it simply wasn’t competitive. When I called to ask for a quote about 2 years ago, I had to tell the CSR that Geico, All State and even State Farm all were offering rates $100 lower per 6 months or more then they were for the same coverage. The CSR seemed embarrassed.

I rent, but again, Liberty Mutual offered far better rates, by quite a large amount.

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Competitive isn't just pricing for me.  USAA's service has been unbeatable in my experience and that means more to me than saving a few bucks.

As always, most of these points are YMMV matters.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I looked into their auto insurance a while ago which came highly recommended, but it simply wasn’t competitive. When I called to ask for a quote about 2 years ago, I had to tell the CSR that Geico, All State and even State Farm all were offering rates $100 lower per 6 months or more then they were for the same coverage. The CSR seemed embarrassed.

I rent, but again, Liberty Mutual offered far better rates, by quite a large amount.

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Competitive isn't just pricing for me.  USAA's service has been unbeatable in my experience and that means more to me than saving a few bucks.

As always, most of these points are YMMV matters.

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I don't disagree with that statement at all. If Geico and Liberty Mutual weren't top notch in CS and products, I would pay the higher premium to save on the headaches. (to a degree)

Thankfully, we have an open insurance market which keeps most companies on their toes and listening to customers. Well, except for health insurance....but that’s another forum.