USAA Rewards American Express review

Who is the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card for?

The USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card is ideal for military families looking to earn cash back on common expenses and enjoy a card with no annual fees. With 2x points on gas and dining out, cardholders can enjoy greater rewards on everyday purchases. Also, this card comes with 1x points on everything else, ensuring that cardholders are being rewarded on every purchase they make.

This card also comes with no foreign transaction fee, making it easy for cardholders to travel abroad if needed. So, families planning for their next vacation getaway don’t have to worry about spending money abroad and incurring annoying fees as a result. In addition, this card comes with several travel protections to ensure that cardholders are properly cared for when traveling abroad.

The USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card offers a simple rewards program without the annoying fees accompanied by other credit cards. Travel protections also make it easier for families to travel with less stress. It also has a low Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) interest rate for active military members. With all of this in mind, the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card is a good card for military families to keep in mind.

Sign-up Bonus

As a sign-up bonus to new members, USAA offers 2,500 bonus points after your first purchase. This offer is estimated to have a value of $25, which is not that much when compared to other signup bonuses. While this signup bonus may seem like a lot, it does offer greater flexibility to cardholders because they don’t need to spend a certain amount to activate the signup bonus. Instead, cardholders only need to make one purchase to enjoy the 2,500 bonus points offered by USAA. As a result, USAA cardholders can enjoy a decent signup bonus without the pressure of a minimum purchase amount.

Rewards

The USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card offers an average rewards program by offering 2% cash back on gas and dining and 1% cash back on everything else. We all know how expensive it can be to pay for gas and dine out, but this card makes it easier for customers to enjoy rewards on these purchases. Lastly, with 1% cash back on everything else, USAA cardholders can enjoy the fact that they’re being rewarded for every purchase. 

To track the rewards earned by cardholders, USAA utilizes a point system much like other credit cards. USAA rewards points can be redeemed in a variety of manners:

• Credit for airfare
• Merchandise and gift cards
• Cash reward
• Donation to a participating charity
• Credit for cruise trips

Given the wide flexibility of methods to redeem points, cardholders may find it difficult to choose one. Yet, cardmembers should keep in mind that certain rewards offer greater value than other rewards. Generally, airfare is a recommended redemption method for points.

There isn’t a limit to the amount in rewards that cardholders can earn, so no worries about running out of rewards points! This feature will be particularly useful for big shoppers who want to continue earning rewards on their purchases. However, the redemption of points may be prevented if the card account is suspected of fraud or default.

No Fees

An attractive feature about the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card is that it doesn’t come with any annual fees or foreign transaction fees. As a result, cardholders don’t have to worry about incurring large fees whenever they use this card. The lack of a foreign transaction fee also helps cardholders travel abroad without the headache of large fees.

APR

Although the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card has no annual or foreign transaction fees, it also has no 0% introductory APR, making it less than ideal for balance transfers. It has a variable APR of 9.90% to 25.90%, along with 3% balance transfer and cash advance fees.

It is also important to note that the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card offers a special 4% SCRA rate, which means when you have a balance on your account at the time you enter active military duty, you get 4% APR on your existing balance for the remainder of your period of active duty, making this card especially beneficial for military families.

USAA vs. Traditional Banks

The USAA is obviously a credit union that you can become a member only when you are a member of a military family, whereas a traditional bank has a wider base. As you might expect, a credit union like USAA can give you more attention, as well as the benefit of the doubt, meaning lower interest rates, down payments and fees than you might get with a traditional bank. However, this may come at the cost of innovation and flexibility. Many traditional banks have a more robust online presence for easy information, as well as larger support staffs. Thus, USAA comes with better terms and conditions, but you should really only value these if you do not anticipate many issues requiring customer service support or unnatural flexibility in your credit usage.

Services and Protections

As an owner of a USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card, you receive many services and protections to complement your cash back rewards. One such protection is the travel cancellation and interruption feature which reimburses customers for up to $1,500 for non-refundable prepaid tickets. To use this feature, however, the tickets must be purchased using the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card.

Similarly, a support hotline will be available 24/7 to help customers anywhere in the world if they need travel or emergency assistance. Whether exploring the Amazon jungle or attempting to summit Mount Everest, cardholders can access USAA’s support hotline at any time in case of injury or accidents.

When flying, USAA cardholders also enjoy a baggage insurance policy that awards customers up to $100 a day for delays in their baggage arrival. This benefit lasts up to 3 days but is a beneficial feature to help traveling customers.

When shopping with this card, you can also get up to an additional year of warranty coverage on select purchases. This protection ensures that cardholders are protected if their new purchase gets damaged or stolen.

Above all, USAA offers identity protection that will protect the critical information of customers. If a cardholder believes they are a victim to identity fraud, USAA will offer a range of resolution services to protect the cardholder. From notifying your credit card bureau and preventing any damage to your credit score to replacing your card, USAA will protect you from identity theft. They will even reimburse customers for up to $1,000 for any damages caused by identity theft.

USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card vs. USAA Rewards American Express Card

The Rewards Visa card offers less rewards and cash back than the American Express card. The American Express card offers 3x points on each purchase spent at restaurants, while the Visa card only has 2x points. Furthermore, the American Express card also gives 2x points on purchases at gas stations, but it also offers these 2x points at grocery stores, which the Visa card obviously ignores.

Besides the differences in rewards, both of these cards are very similar. They each offer no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, no penalty APR and lower APR on balances. They also have the attractive sign-up bonus of 2,500 extra points. Thus, the American Express card is obviously a better card for your account, but you are more likely to be granted the Visa card if you have a lower credit score and a smaller credit history, given the high bar and high expectations needed for American Express cards.

Cautions

When using this credit card, it is important to note that some benefits are only restricted to military families and certain relatives. As a result, if you are not in a military family, this credit card may not be as beneficial to you.

Adding on, the protections offered by USAA may not always apply to you. For example, if you purchase an airline ticket using another credit card and lose your baggage, you are not eligible to use the baggage insurance policy. Therefore, if you are worried that an accident may come up during your travel abroad, it is important to pay with your USAA Visa Signature Card to ensure that you are protected under USAA’s travel protections.

Credit Score Requirements

The USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card requires good to excellent credit, or a credit score of 670 to 850, for approval. Before applying for this card, you should always try raising your credit score as much as possible to get the best APR and highest credit limit possible.

Conclusion

The USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card is a good card for military families looking to earn cash back on common purchases and enjoy many travel benefits and services. Along with various travel benefits, the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card also has a special 4% SCRA Rate for active military members. This card comes with a nice 2x points feature on dining and gas stations, making it easy for cardholders to earn rewards on everyday purchases. This card is good for a variety of uses, such as travel and shopping, but isn’t specialized in any one category. If you are looking for one card to carry in your wallet, it is worth considering the USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card.