This is a credit card with perks from USAA. Continue reading to find out if you should get the USAA Rewards Card. This review will give you all the information you need to make a good choice. The USAA Rewards card has no annual fee and is a beautiful offer for consumers who spend a lot in the areas where it pays the greatest rewards. It gives you three points for every dollar you spend on food, two points for every dollar you spend on gas or groceries, and one point for everything else. There are no fees for foreign transactions, so you can keep making money while you're away. In its review of the USAA Rewards card, MoneyGeek talks about its pros, cons, and other features to help you decide if it's right.
Pros
- Minimal Costs
There aren't many fees associated with the USAA RewardsTM card. There are no penalties, APRs, international transactions, or yearly fees. Additionally, when moving money electronically to a USAA bank account, USAA waives the cash advance cost. Additionally, the costs levied are relatively low. A benefit if you're advancing or transferring smaller sums is that, unlike with many cards, the cash advance and balance-transfer costs have no minimums and merely charge a flat 3% of the transaction total, regardless of the amount.
- Well-Respected USAA Customer Service
USAA has a solid history of providing excellent customer service. USAA isn't listed in the ranks of the 2021 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power since its services are only available to a specific demographic. If it were, however, it would come in the first place, earning a J.D. Power score of 860 out of 1,000, surpassing both Discover and American Express.
- Receive The One-Time Offer With A Single Purchase
The bonus with this card is simple to achieve even though its value is undefined. The USAA Rewards card's 2,500-point bonus can be earned with only one transaction, unlike other cards that may have you to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on qualifying for a one-time promotion.
- Numerous Rewards Redeeming Options
Your options for redemption with cash-back cards are frequently limited to a check, bill credit, or direct deposit. Other redemption options available with this card include airline and cruise tickets, shopping, gift cards, cash back, and more.
Cons
- At Best, the Rewards Value Is Uncertain
The greatest rewards earning rate on this card is 3 points per dollar spent, which is just for purchases made at restaurants. USAA doesn't say how much its points are worth. Other sources, though, say it's low—no more than a cent per point, and sometimes even less. If that's the situation, this card doesn't compare to the many others that bid 2% cash back on all buying and occasionally bigger rates in specific categories like gas or dining.
- Small One-Time Offer, Including a No-Annual-Fee Card
The value of the one-time offer of 2,500 points that comes with this card is not clear. But there are reasons to think it might not be worth more than $25. That's a lot less than the bonuses on many other cards, even with no annual fee and bonuses worth $100 or more.
Who Should Use This Card?
- Average Annual Fee
- Relationships Strategist
Military families who desire a card with a wide range of redemption possibilities for point rewards will benefit most from the USAA RewardsTM card. Additionally, it may be a good fit for these families looking for respectable, if not extraordinary, rewards on dining out through a card with no yearly fee and no cap on the number of points you can accumulate at that rate.
USAA RewardsTM Card Bonus
After you use this card for the first time to make a purchase, you will receive a one-time offer of 2,500 points. This bonus is far less valuable than those provided by certain other rewards cards with no annual charge, according to some estimation, and is worth no more than roughly $25. Needing That said it's advantageous to be able to get the bonus with your very first purchase as opposed to having to spend a large sum of money as many cards demand.
Details of Rewards Earning
With the USAA RewardsTM card, you can accrue 3 points for dining expenses and 2 points for purchases of gas and groceries. On all other purchases, you will receive one point for every dollar spent. Dining expenditures are those made at establishments that sell food to customers primarily, such as fast food and restaurant outlets; alternative eating choices, such as deli counters at supermarkets or convenience stores, might not succeed. The term "groceries" refers to purchases made at establishments specializing in selling food instead of a discount, wholesale, and warehouse clubs like Sam's Club, Costco, and Walmart.
Our Verdict
The USAA RewardsTM card has no annual fees, penalty APRs, minimum interest charges, or foreign transaction fees, so it could be a very cheap card to carry. Some other credit cards have one or more of these fees. Even though it's hard to figure out how much each point is worth, buying food seems to give good rewards. It can be gotten back in many ways. But other than that, this card is, at best dull. Most people who might be interested in this card would be better off getting one with no annual fee and good cash back on all purchases.
