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What are the top USAA cards to consider?

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NP27
Established Contributor

What are the top USAA cards to consider?

Looking to apply for a USAA card and there are so many to choose from.  I was wondering if some current customers can give some input on their cards/benefits?

 

Thanks!

Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?

The only card they offer that I want is the Rate Advantage, but I'm waiting until I can get the lowest APR of 6.9. Right now I have an offer at 12.9. Their other cards don't seem all that attractive. The rewards are weak, and they only post them once a year.

Message 2 of 13
NP27
Established Contributor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?

They did have a nice offer for a new/used car for 36 months at 0.75%
Message 3 of 13
bada_bing
Frequent Contributor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?


@NP27 wrote:
They did have a nice offer for a new/used car for 36 months at 0.75%

USAA is a good company to have a long term relationship with, but their card spending rewards are

weak. If you want to justify a USAA card, the solid, no BS management is one thing I count for them.

USAA was rock solid, business as usual, during the whole 2008 financial melt down. Most of the

majors, like Citi, Chase and BoA were AA'ing accounts like crazy during that time for their own reasons,

not because of customer profile changes. I put a great deal of faith in my USAA to be available no

matter what. The majors are a joke in that regard.

 

My USAA card is an old "standard Visa", which I maintain because I like USAA and it is my oldest account.

I don't put more than a couple swipes a year on it. It does have a 6.00%v APR currently, which is nice but

doesn't have any utility for me.

 

USAA car insurance, home owners insurance, auto loans and buying service are where they are industry

leading. It is worth building a history with them because they definitely value it even if you do little credit card

business with them.

+ 850 FICO8 since 2015, Thanks MyFICO - 5+ years since last HP
Message 4 of 13
CreditUnionFan
Valued Contributor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?


@NP27 wrote:

Looking to apply for a USAA card and there are so many to choose from.  I was wondering if some current customers can give some input on their cards/benefits?

 

Thanks!


USAA offers a World MC with 1.5% rewards. That matches the NFCU Cash Rewards, but with NFCU offering balance transfer offers, that might be useful.

 

USAA customer service is top-notch. 

I was going to garden... Honest!
Message 5 of 13
NP27
Established Contributor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?

Yes the customer service is stellar
Message 6 of 13
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?

I have the plain 'ol Visa Platinum, and I've been very happy with it.  I got a 'pre-qualified' offer for it last fall, and was a bit suprised they were interested in me because I have 2 baddies that won't drop off my report until next Spring, and I've always heard they were conservative.  In addition, I only showed a *very* modest income, and they still approved me for a $7K SL at 16.9%, with 0% for one year on all purchases, balance transfers, and access checks (but not cash advances; also 3% fee for using access check). The card came as a regular 'Visa Platinum', not a signature, which I don't think they offer, if that makes a difference to you.

 

The rewards aren't the most "flashy", but the customer service folks are great to deal with and for me that makes it worth it.  I will note that my specific account type is the "Rewards Visa" that allows you to accumulate points that can be redeemed for various things using a web portal, however I have found that using the phone app you can redeem them for a flat 1% cash.  For some reason it doesn't work that way on the website - if you use the portal for a cash statement credit it's at a lower rate w/ more restrictions -  but using the app you get to see a running total of the value of your points, updated when your statement is generated - in cash.  Unlike the 1.5% rewards Mastercard, on the "Rewards Visa" you can redeem anytime--again, only using the app if you want 1% cash.)

 

Don't be 'spooked' by my interest rate... my brother is with them as well and his rate is quite a bit lower than mine, but he was in the National Guard which earns a better rate.  (I "inherited" my membership; he is a member on his own).  Also remember those two baddies I mentioned above... without those I likely would have received a better rate as well.

 

One more thing to mention is if your checking account is with them, you can link the accounts for overdraft protection, and you can also take cash advances directly into your checking account (up to $2500 daily) with no cash advance fee.  Also, the cash advance interest rate is same as your purchase rate (interest still acrues daily from dispersal date).  I've never taken a cash advance, but it's nice to know I could do so without being "reamed" with inflated interest charges and fees.  I did use an access check months ago, and just as promised there has been no interest (I'll have it PIF next month).  During the promo paying the 3% one-time fee for using the no-interest access check is cheaper than paying the interest for the "no-fee" cash advance, but once the promotion is over it is cheaper to get a no-fee cash advance transferred directly into my checking if the need should come up again.  This is the only little bit of fine-print there is on the promo, but on the USAA boards some folks (who can't/don't read) sometimes get crossed-up on it. 

 

Sorry if TL;DR, basically if you are eligible to apply I would say definitely go for it.  You can beat the rewards elsewhere, but I don't think you'll beat the customer service, and the rewards aren't exactly 'horrible' for a general-purpose, catch-all card.  I still use my QuickSilver first, but I show my USAA card love a few times a month to keep it active.  If they offer another promotion in the future (I've read they do occasionally for existing customers) I will jump on it.

 


 

 

Edit:  Rewards balance is only updated when the monthly statement is generated, not daily.

 

Message 7 of 13
takeshi74
Senior Contributor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?


@NP27 wrote:

Looking to apply for a USAA card and there are so many to choose from.  I was wondering if some current customers can give some input on their cards/benefits?


As with any matter of selecting a card "best" or "top" depends on the individual's specific needs/wants.  If there was one top USAA card then all USAA members would use it and no one would use the others.  I still have a couple of USAA cards but I wouldn't consider any of their lineup to be "top".  As stated above, their rewards just aren't competitive aside from the relatively new 1.5% card.  The only reason I have my 2 USAA cards is because they're old accounts with 5 digit limits.

 

What are you specifically looking for?  What are your priorities?  With any selection process (not just cards) use that info to narrow down the options versus just looking at all the options and trying to justify one or another by polling others.

 

If you look at their cards page they even break it down to cash back, rewards points, low rate, build/rebuild and miltary affiliate.

 


@bada_bing wrote:

USAA was rock solid, business as usual, during the whole 2008 financial melt down. Most of the

majors, like Citi, Chase and BoA were AA'ing accounts like crazy during that time for their own reasons,

not because of customer profile changes


I forgot about that but I experienced that as well.  Other cards were CLD's, had APR hikes, etc but my USAA cards did not change and I was rebuilding from a BK back then.

Message 8 of 13
NP27
Established Contributor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?


@UncleB wrote:

I have the plain 'ol Visa Platinum, and I've been very happy with it.  I got a 'pre-qualified' offer for it last fall, and was a bit suprised they were interested in me because I have 2 baddies that won't drop off my report until next Spring, and I've always heard they were conservative.  In addition, I only showed a *very* modest income, and they still approved me for a $7K SL at 16.9%, with 0% for one year on all purchases, balance transfers, and access checks (but not cash advances; also 3% fee for using access check). The card came as a regular 'Visa Platinum', not a signature, which I don't think they offer, if that makes a difference to you.

 

The rewards aren't the most "flashy", but the customer service folks are great to deal with and for me that makes it worth it.  I will note that my specific account type is the "Rewards Visa" that allows you to accumulate points that can be redeemed for various things using a web portal, however I have found that using the phone app you can redeem them for a flat 1% cash - this is not clear on the card description.  For some reason it doesn't work that way on the website - if you use the portal for a cash statement credit it's at a lower rate w/ more restrictions -  but using the app you get to see a running total of the value of your points, updated daily - in cash.  Unlike the 1.5% rewards Mastercard, on the "Rewards Visa" you can redeem anytime--again, only using the app if you want 1% cash.)

 

Don't be 'spooked' by my interest rate... my brother is with them as well and his rate is quite a bit lower than mine, but he was in the National Guard which earns a better rate.  (I "inherited" my membership; he is a member on his own).  Also remember those two baddies I mentioned above... without those I likely would have received a better rate as well.

 

One more thing to mention is if your checking account is with them, you can link the accounts for overdraft protection, and you can also take cash advances directly into your checking account (up to $2500 daily) with no cash advance fee.  Also, the cash advance interest rate is same as your purchase rate (interest still acrues daily from dispersal date).  I've never taken a cash advance, but it's nice to know I could do so without being "reamed" with inflated interest charges and fees.  I did use an access check months ago, and just as promised there has been no interest (I'll have it PIF next month).  During the promo paying the 3% one-time fee for using the no-interest access check is cheaper than paying the interest for the "no-fee" cash advance, but once the promotion is over it is cheaper to get a no-fee cash advance transferred directly into my checking if the need should come up again.  This is the only little bit of fine-print there is on the promo, but on the USAA boards some folks (who can't/don't read) sometimes get crossed-up on it. 

 

Sorry if TL;DR, basically if you are eligible to apply I would say definitely go for it.  You can beat the rewards elsewhere, but I don't think you'll beat the customer service, and the rewards aren't exactly 'horrible' for a general-purpose, catch-all card.  I still use my QuickSilver first, but I show my USAA card love a few times a month to keep it active.  If they offer another promotion in the future (I've read they do occasionally for existing customers) I will jump on it.

 


I am eligible.  I am a full member.  

 

Thanks for your detailed input!

Message 9 of 13
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: What are the top USAA cards to consider?

Update: I just checked the USAA website for the different card descriptions, and for the Rewards Visa the description information now reads "Redeem for cash on your mobile device", so above where I mentioned this wasn't clear I guess the folks over at USAA were reading my mind... LOL  Smiley Wink

 

Also, to clarify the display of points on the app, you can see them at all times when checking the app, but they don't actually update until the end of the month when your statement is generated.  I will edit my original post to correct/clarify this. 

 

Another note: you can now request a CLI using the app on Android; some users have indicated this feature isn't showing up on iOS yet, but it might be by now (I use Android so I have no way to verify).  I have not tried this feature personally but I've read it's automated and instant upon approval.

 

I've also updated my signature with a picture of the new design of the card... I actually think it looks kind of cool.

Message 10 of 13
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