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3. USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card review: Flexibility and bonus categories

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33 reviews from Intuit Credit Karma members

4.5

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Great for earning rewards if you’re a USAA member

Annual Fee: $0

This content is curated by Intuit Credit Karma’s Editorial team using data from members who were approved for this card or similar cards, or who self-matched this card or similar cards. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse this content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Here’s the average credit limit of members who matched their USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card or similar cards.

% of members by credit limit range

The average credit limit for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is $8,138, with $1,000 being the most common.

Here’s the average credit score of members who matched their USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card or similar cards.

% of members by credit score range

The average credit score for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is 678, with 744 being the most common. Note this is just one of the deciding factors when it comes to getting approved.

Member stats

Updated daily

37.8%

Average credit utilization (or what percent of the card’s credit limit is being used) of members who matched with this card or similar cards.

44 years

Average age of members who matched this card or similar cards.

$98,502

Average annual income of members who matched this card or similar cards. Note: Income may be estimated for some members by Credit Karma and may differ from members’ actual incomes.

Pros and cons

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No spending limit on bonus categories

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Flexible redemption options

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No annual fee

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No travel partners

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Welcome bonus is nice but not huge

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Only available to USAA members

USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card: What you need to know

Earn bonus points on dining out, gas and groceries

With the USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card, you’ll earn three points for every $1 spent on eligible dining purchases and two points per $1 on eligible gas and grocery purchases. All other purchases earn one point per $1 spent.

The bonus categories have no spending limits either, so you can earn unlimited points in each category. And the points don’t expire until 90 days after you close your account.

The USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card also comes with a 2,500-point welcome bonus that’s awarded after your first purchase. That’s not a huge bonus, but it’s not bad given the low requirement and the card’s $0 annual fee.

Flexibility when redeeming points

After you’ve accumulated points with your USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card, you’ll have several redemption options. Those options include redeeming your points for cash, merchandise, gift cards, travel or a charitable donation.

USAA doesn’t publicize its exact rewards values, so we can’t say exactly how much those points are worth when you redeem.

You must be a member

The USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card isn’t available to everyone. To qualify for this card, you’ll need to be a USAA member. You can apply to join USAA if you’re an active-duty service member, eligible veteran, a cadet or midshipman, or an eligible family member. Visit USAA.com to learn more about eligibility rules.

Low fees

The USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card comes with no annual fee and no penalty APR. There’s also no foreign transaction fee, which could mean a lot to military members who may serve abroad.

Military benefits

All USAA credit cards come with a few extra benefits geared specifically toward members of our armed forces.

When eligible military members get called to active duty while having a balance on their account, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps the interest they can be charged on credit card debt built up before entering active-duty military service to 6%.

USAA goes even further, dropping the interest rate on the existing balance of its active-duty cardholders to a 4% APR. And the lower interest rate on that balance will stay in effect until the end of the qualifying period. You can learn more about USAA’s active-duty member benefits on its website.

And USAA cardholders can pick their own military affiliate design for their credit cards. So every time you use your USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card, you can show your pride for the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy or other military affiliate.

Using your USAA rewards points

Because USAA doesn’t broadcast its rewards values, it’s hard to know if you’d be better off redeeming your points for cash or travel. We couldn’t find a clear-cut point-to-dollar conversion scale for any of this card’s rewards options.

Values tend to vary depending on how you redeem, but a good value is typically determined to be anything above 1 cent per point. When you check your options with USAA, try to keep that in mind.

It’s also important to note that unlike some travel card issuers, USAA doesn’t have any travel partners. If you want to use your points to book travel, you’ll need to redeem through the USAA Rewards Service Center.

Who this card is good for

The USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card is likely to appeal to someone who wants rewards flexibility. If you like the idea of being able to convert your points for anything from cash to airfare to gift cards, then this card may offer exactly what you’re looking for.

But if you prefer to redeem your points for just one kind of benefit, like travel or cash back, then you’re probably better off with another card. If you like the idea of a military-oriented credit card issuer but don’t think this card is for you, there are other USAA options to choose from.

Finally, if you aren’t eligible for a USAA membership, this isn’t going to be the card for you. Compare offers for travel credit cards or cash back credit cards on Credit Karma to start your search.

Not sure this is the card for you? Consider these alternatives.

• USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card:
  If you’re looking for simple cash back on all purchases, this card could be a good fit.
• Chase Freedom Flex℠:
  This card comes with bonus categories that can provide a lot of value, though you’ll need to put in some additional work get the best use out of it.