USAA Credit Card APR!! Questions?!

[user5387]

One of the key issues with USAA cards is that of disclosure.

The USAA web site says that the best APR is 8.9.  However, what is not said is that this APR is apparently not available to a lot of people with good credit, and if you're a limited member (non-military), you may end up with a very high APR.

I am a limited member, and applied for the MasterCard a while back.  I logged into my account first, and the system would know that I was a limited member.  I was given a range of APRs around 11.9 to 23.9, and assumed I would get a rate like 12-13, because of high scores.  I ended up with 18.9.  Since the APR is high, and the card has no rewards, and I haven't gotten any BT offers, the card is mostly unused.  This is a tragedy, given that I was hoping to make USAA my "hub" account, and getting a good card was part of the plan.

Some people have suggested that it's possible to avoid this problem by applying without logging in first.  Over on CreditBoards there is a current thread about USAA.  One person mentioned that she applied for the Amex as a limited member, with a 760 score.  She was declined because of the limited membership, and instead given a MasterCard with a 23.99 APR.

If I had to do it again, I don't think I would.  I would instead invest my energies in building relationships with some good credit unions.

One that might be worth looking at is the brand-new First Tech Fed, the result of the merger of Addison Avenue and First Tech CU.  The Visa card has rates from 7.25 to 16.00, and a 12-month 3.99 BT offer.

[Gray]

So I suppose my wife and I should treasure our $30,000 CL USAA MasterCard and Visa.

Regular APR (Annual Percentage Rate) on new transactions  6% (Prime + 2.75%)

I opened my card in 8/93 and my wife opened hers in 4/93.  I was still in college and used pay stubs from a summer internship with the Federal Government to demonstrate income in support of my application.  My wife had started her first job the year before.

 I looked at USAA's advice on their web site just now:

"Use any non-merchant cards, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express to make one purchase each month and then pay the balances off in full. This will keep the cards active and good payment histories accumulating on your credit report. Payment history accounts for a whopping 35% of your credit score."

"Stop saying yes to store credit cards for promotional discounts. They undermine the percentage of your score that is attributed to the length of time you have had accounts. Plus, new inquiries also negatively impact your score. Finally, most merchant cards have high interest rates. If you don't pay the balances off in full those promotional discounts cost you in the long run."

I've been doing these things for several years now.  

I run my bills through my three credit cards and those credit cards in turn debit my checking account for either the full balance or last statement balance.

We use debit cards for almost all our purchases.  Debt via credit cards is too convenient a trap...

[JRomulus]

There's no doubt that USAA gives special treatment to military and veterans, and sounds like that might extend to cc rates, although I don't think they say that anywhere on their site.  I think their insurance program is limited to military explicitly.

It's nice that someone target markets the military in a beneficial way, they deserve it, don't they?

The credit advice is pretty good.  I used to use debit cards a lot more, but after some debit card fraud, got worried about someone getting a hold of a debit card # tied to a bank account with any serious amount of money.  I just use the Amex charge for everythingand PIF every month.

I do like the USAA debit/ATM card a LOT, no ATM fees, nice.

[Anonymous]

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@JRomulus wrote:

There's no doubt that USAA gives special treatment to military and veterans, and sounds like that might extend to cc rates, although I don't think they say that anywhere on their site.  I think their insurance program is limited to military explicitly.

It's nice that someone target markets the military in a beneficial way, they deserve it, don't they?

The credit advice is pretty good.  I used to use debit cards a lot more, but after some debit card fraud, got worried about someone getting a hold of a debit card # tied to a bank account with any serious amount of money.  I just use the Amex charge for everythingand PIF every month.

I do like the USAA debit/ATM card a LOT, no ATM fees, nice.

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+1

I think you are absolutely right about USAA's preference for members of the military family.  All things being equal, I'm sure they also place an emphasis on length of membership and breadth of membership.

[Gray]

I would second the length and breadth suggestion. My father joined USAA back in the 70s I believe. I was not in the military.

That said, I've been a customer for 20+ years with auto, life, property, credit, and banking services. When I have a financial requirement, I consider them first, but I will not choose them unless it makes financial sence. Hence Ally for CDs, etc.

[MojaveMoon]

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@JRomulus wrote:

I do like the USAA debit/ATM card a LOT, no ATM fees, nice.

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Isn't there still a maximum limit of $ 15 in ATM fees that USAA refunds to the customer ?

Also, I think there's a fee of $ 2 per ATM withdrawal that takes effect either when the customer surpasses ten withdrawals per month or when the customer surpasses the $ 15 limit in ATM fee refunds.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they still reimburse up to $15.00 in ATM Fees. I just got $5.00 back!

Ray

[MojaveMoon]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yes, they still reimburse up to $15.00 in ATM Fees. I just got $5.00 back!

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There's a discussion on another website where two people were sharing that when they've made a withdrawal with their USAA ATM/debit card from an ATM with an Allpoint sticker that there was NOT a surcharge fee applied. They were also saying that Cardtronics owns Allpoint, however not every Cardtronics ATM is in the Allpoint network. With no surcharge fee, your only limit for monthly ATM withdrawals would be USAA's imposed limit of ten withdrawals after which USAA would apply its own fee.

http://www.allpointnetwork.com/