USAA rewards credit cards now available to all members

[TangMeister]

Just want to give a heads up to non-military applicants:

I've been a USAA member for over 9 months.  The CSRs are usually quite good and USAA is a great organization, but some CSRs are not up to speed right now, and you'll get conflicting information on what's available to you, depending on who you speak to.

-One CSR someone on another forum spoke to today wasn't aware non-military can get ANY credit card...in spite of it being in effect since at least February or earlier

 -My CSR wasn't aware non-military could now get the Amex or any rewards card. When I informed her it was now possible and asked if I could convert to an Amex, she seemed a bit flustered and then said I could not convert to an Amex from my MC; I'd have to apply for the Amex, and could then move credit limits around if approved (don't really want another new account).  I did not ask if I could convert to the World MasterCard (or upgrade), so that may be possible.

Just keep in mind when you speak to a USAA CSR that you are now eligible for rewards Amex and MC World credit cards, in spite of what they may say.  My advice:  Join over the phone, but apply for a credit card online after you join.  They only pull a soft inq to join, so it won't be a second hard pull for the credit card.

[Anonymous]

Slightly off topic…..

I keep hearing about full membership vs limited membership and just want clarification.

My wife became a USAA member through her father who was an officer in the Army. I in-turn became a member through my wife about 8 years ago. In terms of full vs limited membership I do all of the communicating with USAA, I've always been the one to call and setup our home owners insurance, umbrella insurance (which is just for me), auto insurance, three auto loans that are only in my name, USAA Mastercard and Amex which are in my name with my wife as an AU. They've never asked for anything from wife.

What would be my membership classification? If I'm a limited member then I don't see the downside to limited membership. I think the only difference I notice between my father-in-law and myself is even though I have more products from USAA his dividend check is larger since his insurance is handled through the "Insurance Exchange" part of USAA.  

Message Edited by idmd on 11-28-2009 10:36 AM

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:

I now have the option to apply for a card online too. Too bad I cannot afford to app for another card right now.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=banking_credit_cards_main

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What is the attraction of these USAA cards? With effectively less than 1% back, and even that only once a year in January, I suspect there must be something else than rewards drawing you in. Is it the reputation for being hard to get, the great looks, or what? Just curious... 

[DI]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@DI wrote:

I now have the option to apply for a card online too. Too bad I cannot afford to app for another card right now.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=banking_credit_cards_main

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What is the attraction of these USAA cards? With effectively less than 1% back, and even that only once a year in January, I suspect there must be something else than rewards drawing you in. Is it the reputation for being hard to get, the great looks, or what? Just curious... 

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No attractions.  I prefer to have the card because it's with CU.  I want to start banking more with CU's instead of big banks.

Message Edited by DI on 11-28-2009 12:12 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

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pNa wrote:

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@DI wrote:

I now have the option to apply for a card online too. Too bad I cannot afford to app for another card right now.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=banking_credit_cards_main

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What is the attraction of these USAA cards? With effectively less than 1% back, and even that only once a year in January, I suspect there must be something else than rewards drawing you in. Is it the reputation for being hard to get, the great looks, or what? Just curious... 

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The possibility of very high CL's, and unmatched CS.

I'm hoping they'll start goosing their rewards a tiny bit. They're nervous about PenFed, according to a USAA CSR I spoke to a while back.

Although their debit cards give 1/2 point back! That's pretty unusual.

[Anonymous]

DI, hauling, thanks. I was sort of hoping for precisely these types of answers, as shows in what I posted in the thread on RJ rejections. I am considering a complete switch of all low-reward (1%) spending away from the big guys to a CU, thinking that might be the one thing that does not make us cancel each other's moves among the big guys.  

[Red1Blue]

I applied twice in two years and they declined my app both times. I am not going to loose my sleep over their cards. I have much better cards in my pocket than what usaa has to offer. I do like their online site and mixture of products they offer. I have setup savings / investment / 529 / prepaid mastercard accounts for my kids. I also setup an investment account for me.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Slightly off topic…..

I keep hearing about full membership vs limited membership and just want clarification.

My wife became a USAA member through her father who was an officer in the Army. I in-turn became a member through my wife about 8 years ago. In terms of full vs limited membership I do all of the communicating with USAA, I've always been the one to call and setup our home owners insurance, umbrella insurance (which is just for me), auto insurance, three auto loans that are only in my name, USAA Mastercard and Amex which are in my name with my wife as an AU. They've never asked for anything from wife.

What would be my membership classification? If I'm a limited member then I don't see the downside to limited membership. I think the only difference I notice between my father-in-law and myself is even though I have more products from USAA his dividend check is larger since his insurance is handled through the "Insurance Exchange" part of USAA.  

Message Edited by idmd on 11-28-2009 10:36 AM

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Your wife is a ful member as the child of a full member.

You are a full member as the spouse of a full member.

Full membership comes through military service or being the spouse or child of someone who is a full member.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
DI, hauling, thanks. I was sort of hoping for precisely these types of answers, as shows in what I posted in the thread on RJ rejections. I am considering a complete switch of all low-reward (1%) spending away from the big guys to a CU, thinking that might be the one thing that does not make us cancel each other's moves among the big guys.  

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With everything that's happening in the news (especially with CC companies) I decided I needed to start supporting good honest companies and stop supporting shady companies. 

The attraction of USAA and PenFed for me has been stability and customer service. I've been a member of USAA for years and use many of their products and I've never had any problems. All questions are answered promptly, no weird changes of terms, no RJs, no problems. I heard very good things about PenFed. No companies are perfect but these two are more trustworthy than most others. 

This is not to say that PenFed and USAA are my best friends. Business is business but I feel these companies are less likely to mess with me than the large banks. These are companies who don't take big risks and as a result they don't need to stick it to their customers because of the risky choices they've made. I will gladly use a credit product from a good stable well-run company with good customer service over one from a company that is knowingly doing risky things and then sticks me with the bill in the form of a 30% RJ - even if the credit product from USAA/PenFed is not as good as the one from the large banks from a rewards point-of-view. 

 

 

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:

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No attractions.  I prefer to have the card because it's with CU.  I want to start banking more with CU's instead of big banks.

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Correct me if I am wrong but USAA ss not a CU. They are a bank..