Full USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum Card Review

The benefits explained

• Very low APR if you have strong credit: This credit card offers a unique variable APR on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances which can be very low with rates as low as 8.40% for those with excellent credit, which is good below standard, even for these customers. Of course, not everyone will qualify for the best rates and rates can potentially reach 25.40%. Still, that rate is still competitive, if not better, for those with less-than-stellar credit histories.
• Relatively few costs to monitor: This credit card does not charge an annual fee, foreign transaction fee, minimum interest fee or APR penalty. Other fees with this card are either in line or slightly more favorable than industry standards. For example, USAA waives the cash advance fee if the cash advance is electronically transferred to a USAA deposit account.
• Decent travel and shopping perks for a no-fee card: Some benefits offered with the USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum are far from universal for no-annual-fee cards, especially when considered as a whole. These benefits include collision damage waiver for rental vehicles, baggage delay reimbursement, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation and interruption coverage, and travel accident insurance.
• USAA customer service is outstanding: Although it is rare to contact customer service for a credit card, you are often in distress when you do, having lost a card or having it stolen. This makes exceptional responsiveness and competence all the more important in a credit card issuer. Because its offerings are limited to a certain population, USAA is not included in JD Power’s 2021 US Credit Card Satisfaction Study rankings. If it did, however, it would top the list with a score of 860 out of a possible 1,000, even higher than Discover and American Express.

Disadvantages Explained

• No unique rewards or offers: This card does not offer any credit card rewards or cash back. This is not uncommon for credit cards focused on offering low APRs, but it is still a downside. The USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum does not offer bonuses of any kind. Most rewards credit cards offer a bonus of at least $100 or more to entice people to apply for the card.
• Must belong to a military family to apply: You can apply for this card only if you are a USAA member. To be eligible for membership, you must be an active duty officer, trainee, officer candidate, veteran or enlisted in the Armed Forces or National Guard and Reserve, or be a former spouse or adult child from a member of the USAA. If you don’t meet any of these criteria, you’ll need to find another credit card.

As the name suggests, the USAA Rate Advantage Visa Signature Card is designed for military families looking for a credit card that, above all else, has great rates and fees. It is particularly suitable for very creditworthy customers, for whom the card offers exceptionally low APRs. But even those with poor credit scores are likely to get just as good a rate with the USAA Rate Advantage Visa Signature card as with any other card. The card is also ideal for those who don’t have other credit cards with convenient shopping and travel features. . The USAA Rate Advantage Visa signature provides extended warranty coverage on the items you purchase, as well as accident insurance, rental car insurance, and emergency assistance when you travel, all at no annual fee.

The card could also be a gateway to other financial products and services offered by USAA, including insurance, banking, investing, and lending. The company’s customer service record is strong for all of these products and services, and it also tends to rank high when it comes to the price and features of these offerings.

Outstanding Benefits of the USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum Card

• Delayed baggage reimbursement: Get reimbursed for up to $100 per day for up to three days to get the essentials you need if your checked bags are delayed four hours or more when you pay your passenger fare with your card.
• Trip cancellation and interruption cover: Get up to $1,500 per covered person for a non-refundable prepaid passenger fare if your trip is interrupted or canceled when you purchase your ticket with your card.

Standard Benefits

• Collision Damage Waiver for Rental Vehicles
• Concierge services for concert tickets, reservations and travel
• Extended warranty
• Travel accident insurance
• Travel and emergency assistance

Cardholder Experience

USAA has an excellent reputation for customer service. The company received a score of 860 in JD Power’s 2021 US Credit Card Satisfaction Study. This was the highest score of any national issuer and significantly exceeded the average score of 809. USAA was not eligible to be ranked because it did not meet the study’s award criteria.

You can contact USAA by calling 800-531-8722. Once logged into your account, you may be able to communicate through chat messages as well as by sending secure messages through your account. USAA also offers mobile apps for iOS and Android that you can use to manage your accounts.

Security functions

USAA claims to have industry-leading security measures including secure and fast login options such as Biometrics, Quick Login, CyberCode Text, and Computer Recognition.

USAA also offers industry standard capabilities to help you get back to normal if you are a victim of identity theft. These include identity theft resolution services that help put fraud alerts on your credit reports with the three major credit bureaus, dispute inaccurate information due to fraud, and replace your credit cards. and flow. They also offer personal identity theft reimbursement of up to $1,000 for covered expenses you pay to help restore your identity after a qualifying identity theft event.

Fairly standard fees

While some of the fees charged by the USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum card are fairly standard, others are noticeably absent. The card has no annual fee, foreign transaction fee, minimum interest fee, account maintenance fee or APR penalty.

Other fees are below standard. Balance transfer and cash advance fees are 3% regardless of the transaction amount, where many cards have minimums for these, such as $5 or $10. Additionally, cash advance fees are waived if money is transferred electronically to a USAA deposit account.

Our opinion

The USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum card is specially designed to minimize fees and charges. The card forgoes niceties like rewards and a one-time offer to limit the cost of maintaining a balance, getting cash advances, and other transactions. In part, it achieves this goal by having a single — and, for many customers, particularly low — APR for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances. There are, however, better cards for military families who pay their bills monthly and don’t anticipate needing cash advances, etc. If that describes you, a card that offers rewards might be a better fit. For example, the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature, another card with no annual fee, has slightly higher fees and rates than this card but offers the same benefits and adds 1.5% cash back on all purchases.