USAA credit card products are relatively unknown with most consumers. You definitely don’t see advertisements for this card plastered all over commercials and billboards. If you’ve had any affiliations with the military , however, you may already know about the many products that USAA bank offers. This company was started way back in 1922 by military officers, and they’ve grown into a well established company offering a majority of products catered to consumers in the military and their families. Aside from credit cards, they offer everything from checking and savings accounts, auto loans, personal loans, and many other services.
Now, I wouldn’t say any of the USAA credit cards are suitable for the everyday consumer, and you may not find their features advantageous over competitors at all. I do think that if you’re in the military (or if you’re a family member of the military) you may find some of these options appealing, and get some pride in the support that they give you.
I’ll review all the features below.
USAA Cards Available In Visa, MasterCard, And American Express…
Let’s start with the basics. Here are the categories I would say these USAA cards cover: rewards, cash back, low interest, poor credit, and military affiliated (uniquely pretty cool). Plus, these cards are offered in Visa, MasterCard, and American Express versions for variety.
Before we get into specific cards, all of the USAA credit cards offer $0 liability protection from unauthorized charges, account alerts for important changes, account info via text message, and online account access.
Let’s Start With The USAA Rewards Cards…
I’ll be honest, some of the rewards features are very competitive while others are quite lackluster.
Airline Travel Rewards:
This will be the best way to redeem your rewards points, by far. Luckily, when you redeem, your tickets can be First Class, Business, or Coach, with no restrictions on dates, times, or seating. If you’ve ever tried redeeming your travel rewards with other credit cards, you may have found that you need enough points to cover for the entire ticket cost. This can be frustrating at times when you are just a few points under. The neat thing about the USAA rewards program is you can still use your rewards points toward a flight that’s valued more than your points are worth – you’ll have the option of paying the difference with your USAA credit card. Here’s why redeeming for travel is the best option:
From the chart above, you can see that every 100 points is worth $1 in travel redemption. This is pretty standard with all the popular travel rewards credit cards on the market.
Merchandise and Gift Certificate/Card Rewards
Okay, here’s where you’ll find your points won’t be worth as much if you decide to use them this way. Take a look at this chart:
So, when you redeem for merchandise or gift cards, every 100 points is then only worth roughly 71 cents! I’ve seen many other cards where redeeming for gift cards will actually give you MORE value for your points, rather than less. I wouldn’t use your points this way.
Cash Rewards
They decided to go fancy with these rewards:
Yep, you’re seeing it right. From 3K up to 20K, your points are only worth 83 cents per 100. So, it would only make sense to redeem this way when you’ve accrued 20,000 or more points, which would then give you the better $1 per 100 points offer.
Charity Rewards
Redeeming to give to charity kind of works in the same graduated way:
Kudos to those who exercise this option!
Cruise Travel Rewards
Surprisingly enough, here’s another way to make better use of your points:
After you surpass the 20,225 points, you’ll actually get more than $1 for every 100 points. Another nice way to get a vacation.
Here Are The 3 USAA Rewards Credit Cards Available:
USAA Rewards™ American Express® Card
Earn 2X points on gas and grocery purchases all the time.
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
Earn 2,500 Bonus Points after your first purchase.
No caps or limits on the amount you can earn.
Redeem your USAA Rewards points towards cash, gift cards, name brand merchandise and travel with no blackout date.
Redeem your points anytime on USAA’s website or from your mobile device – with no redemption fee.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
USAA Rewards™ World MasterCard®
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Earn 2,500 Bonus Points after your first purchase and one point for every dollar in purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
Redeem your USAA Rewards points towards cash, gift cards, name brand merchandise and travel with no blackout date.
Redeem your points anytime on USAA’s website or from your mobile device – with no redemption fee.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
USAA Rewards Visa® Card
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Earn 2,500 Bonus Points after your first purchase and one point for every dollar in purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
Redeem your USAA Rewards points towards cash, gift cards, name brand merchandise and travel with no blackout date.
Redeem your points anytime on USAA’s website or from your mobile device – with no redemption fee.
Free Travel and Retail Benefits: Get benefits like Visa® Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver Insurance, Worldwide Automatic Travel Accident Insurance, and Warranty Manager Service.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
Next Up, The Cash Rewards Cards From USAA…
Okay, here’s how the Cash Rewards program works for all of the USAA cash back credit cards. This may be a bit of a bummer for most people, but you won’t get your cash back earnings throughout the year like with most other cards on the market. Instead, your cash back for the entire previous year will be calculated every January on your billing date. So, you have to be sure to keep your account open and in good standing for the entire previous year in order to receive the cash rewards that you’ve earned. Once it’s calculated you’ll either get a check in the mail or you’ll receive it as a statement credit.
Here’s how your cash rewards are calculated on your billing date each January:
Well, this doesn’t seem all that attractive to me. I did some calculations for illustrative purposes:
For $5,000 in annual net purchases – you’ll get 0.45% back (of entire $5,000)
For $10,000 in annual net purchases – you’ll get 0.65% back (of entire $10,000)
For $17,000 in annual net purchases – you’ll get 0.79% back (of entire $17,000)
When you put into consideration that most of the basic cash back credit cards on the market will earn you at least 1% cash back, this program doesn’t seem all that appealing. You won’t get closer to the 1.25% cash back until well past $25,000 in annual net purchases. Then again, USAA credit cards are more popular with the military for other reasons.
*Keep in mind, if you choose the American Express version of this Cash Rewards card, you do get up to an extra 2.25% cash back on gas and groceries. See below.
Here Are The 3 USAA Cash Rewards Credit Cards Available:
USAA Cash Rewards® American Express® Card
Earn up to 2.25% cash back on gas and grocery purchases.
Earn up to 1.25% cash back for all other purchases.
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No caps or limits on the amount you can earn.
Your cash rebate is awarded every January for the purchases made the previous 12 months.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
USAA Cash Rewards® World MasterCard®
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Earn rebates up to 1.25% on your everyday purchases.
Your cash rebate is awarded every January for the purchases made the previous 12 months.
There’s no limit to the amount you can earn.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
USAA Cash Rewards® Visa® Card
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Earn rebates up to 1.25% on your everyday purchases.
Your cash rebate is awarded every January for the purchases made the previous 12 months.
There’s no limit to the amount you can earn.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
This USAA Low Interest Card May Catch Your Eye…
If you have excellent credit and are looking for a low interest card, then here’s one that may actually appeal to you. This is one card that actually fares well compared to the competition on the market. Keep in mind though, I’d really only recommend it if you really do have very good credit, because then you’ll more likely qualify for interest rates starting at 6.9%(variable) on purchases, balance transfers, AND cash advances.
The 6.9% is the lower end of your possible approved APR, so if your credit isn’t up to par you may get approved for variables rates well past 20%+. See the details below.
USAA’s Competitive Low Interest Credit Card:
USAA Rate Advantage MasterCard®
No annual fee: And avoid fine-print fees – we don’t charge over-the-limit fees or penalty rates, so you keep more money in your pocket.
Variable rates starting at 6.9% on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. It’s the same low rate for all transactions.
Free Travel and Retail Benefits: Get benefits like Rental Car Collision Damage Coverage and Extended Warranty coverage on your purchases.
Making your busy life simpler: Our online and mobile tools help you manage your account anytime, anywhere.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
The USAA Card For Active Military…
The USAA Active Military MasterCard comes in two variations: A Cash Rewards Card or A Rewards Card. The two programs work just like the cash rewards and rewards cards I talked about above. This card is special because it offers these special active-duty benefits :
Special rate during your deployment or PCS up to 12 months.
Foreign transaction fees reimbursed when deployed.
100% rebates on all finance charges accrued during a qualified military campaign.
Check out the features below.
USAA Cash Rewards And Rewards Cards For Active Military
USAA Active Military MasterCard®
Cash Rewards Version:
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Earn rebates up to 1.25% on your everyday purchases.
Your cash rebate is awarded every January for the purchases made the previous 12 months.
There’s no limit to the amount you can earn.
Rewards Version:
Enjoy variable rates as low as 9.9% APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
No annual fee and no minimum finance charge.
Earn 2,500 Bonus Points after your first purchase and one point for every dollar in purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
Redeem your USAA Rewards points towards cash, gift cards, name brand merchandise and travel with no blackout date.
Redeem your points anytime on usaa.com or from your mobile device — with no redemption fee.
Show Your Military Pride With These Awesome Cards…
I think these cards are a great idea. This is a very nice way to show how much pride you have for the military. The Military Affiliate cards are available in more than 35 variations representing all the branches of the military including the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, and even Veteran Groups. Very cool.
Here’s are just a few examples:
USAA Military Affiliate Cards – Show Your Pride!
USAA Military Affiliate Cards
Show your military pride while supporting the affiliate group of your choice (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Veteran Groups).
0% introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers and convenience checks made in the first three months.
Get variable rates as low as 10.9% APR on purchases and cash advances.
No penalty APR.
No annual fee or membership fee.
2,500 bonus points credited to your account with your first purchase.
Earn one point for every dollar in purchases — with no cap or expiration date on points.
Choose from air travel with no blackout dates, brand-name merchandise, gift cards, charitable donations or cash
Coverage for damage or theft of purchases.
Extended warranty and price protection coverage.
Emergency and roadside assistance.
Identity theft resolution services.
Lastly, The Secured Cards For Rebuilding Credit…
These cards are targeted for those in the military(or their family) who either need to rebuild credit or start the process of building credit.
I wrote up a full review here Full Review →
USAA Secured Credit Cards
It’s a real credit card – not a prepaid or debit card, that helps you build or improve your credit score.
When you apply – you’ll also be opening a USAA 2-year Certificate of Deposit (CD), an interest-earning deposit account that has a two-year term and a $250-minimum initial deposit.
Your CD is a security deposit – the money you put in upfront, from $250 to $5,000, is the card’s credit limit.
Earn interest on your CD – your deposit is guaranteed to grow. Plus the money is yours to keep as long as you don’t default on your payments.
Start building your credit – opening a CD lets you get a credit card even if you don’t have a credit history or have bad credit.
Before starting your application, USAA will ask you a few questions to establish your online access and eligibility with USAA.
If you are not eligible, USAA credit cards and other products may still be available.
APPLY HERE directly through USAA if you’re interested in any of the cards in this review.
*Have you decided none of the USAA credit cards are right for you? You may want to check out one of the more popular cash back credit cards with no annual fee in the Discover It card (Full Review). If you prefer a good travel credit card with a big bonus AND no annual fee, check out the new Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard (Full Review).