USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card Review 2023

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If you’re a military member or eligible family member who is already a member of USAA, you probably already know this financial institution comes very highly rated. This is true for all the firm’s financial products, including loans and more, but it’s especially true for credit cards. For example, USAA beat out all other major card issuers for the top spot in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study with 860 out of 1,000 possible points. 

While USAA offers quite a few credit cards, the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ is the best USAA credit card for individuals who want to earn flat-rate cash back. However, there are additional reasons to consider signing up, including its selection of travel protections and intro 0% APR offer.

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card Review: Is It the Best Card for You?

The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ is a standard cash-back credit card with no annual fee that offers an unlimited flat rate of 1.5% cash back for each dollar spent. This no-nonsense rewards structure is easy to understand and maximize with regular spending and bills, and you can skip having to keep track of credit card bonus categories and spending caps, too. However, it’s worth noting that this card doesn’t offer a welcome bonus of any kind.

Another important feature of this card is the 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases followed by a 17.15% – 31.15% Variable APR. This intro offer can be great for members who want to pay down large purchases over time, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t apply to balance transfers at all. This, coupled with the potential for a high variable APR, makes the 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases a poor option when it comes to debt consolidation.

Before you decide on the 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases, you’ll probably want to compare it to a few credit cards with similar perks and rewards that aren’t from USAA. When you do, you’ll find that some cards from other issuers offer a more robust rewards rate and considerably more benefits.

As just one example, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers new cardmembers a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months from account opening. Cardholders also earn a higher flat rate of 2% cash rewards on purchases with no annual fee required. Better yet, the card comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 15 months from account opening (then a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable).

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card Rewards

The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ offers a flat rate of 1.5% cash back as we already mentioned, and there is no welcome bonus offered on this card. While earning 1.5% back is good, it’s not great. This is mostly because there are cards that offer higher rewards rates or the same flat rate on regular purchases and a higher rate in bonus categories.

As an example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers 1.5% cash back on regular spending, as well as 5% back on travel booked through Chase, 5% back on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025) and 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases. New cardmembers can also earn 1.5% cash back in addition to regular earning on everything you buy up to $20,000 spent in the first year (worth up to $300 cash back).

That said, the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ does stand out due to the flexibility of its rewards program. For example, the card’s fine print says you can redeem cash back for statement credits, an electronic transfer to a USAA bank account, merchandise, gift cards, travel, or charitable contributions.

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card Benefits and Features

The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ doesn’t have a ton of perks, but it does have some. Here’s a rundown of the main features and benefits you get with this card. 

0% APR Offer

The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ comes with an intro APR offer that works well for big purchases but not for debt consolidation. Specifically, cardholders get 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases, followed by a 17.15% – 31.15% Variable APR.

Expert tip: If you want a USAA credit card that has a better offer for balance transfers, check out the USAA Rate Advantage Visa® Platinum Credit Card instead.

Security and Protection

This card also comes with a range of security features that aim to help you keep your account safe. These include $0 liability protection for fraud, secure log-ins, alerts that notify you of purchases and due dates, and the ability to report your card as lost or stolen online or in the USAA app.

Support and Service

USAA is known for offering excellent customer service, as evidenced by its superior ratings for customer satisfaction. This card also comes with 24/7 access to customer service online, extended warranty protection, and the ability to add your card to a mobile wallet for faster checkouts.

Travel Benefits

The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ also comes with some automatic travel insurance benefits that can help protect your trip. Keep in mind, however, that you have to pay for travel with a common carrier with your card for these coverages to apply.

Travel perks you get automatically include auto rental coverage, travel accident insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and baggage delay and reimbursement coverage.

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card Fees and Other Costs

The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ has a $0 annual fee, so you can plan on keeping it for the long haul without having to worry how often you use it. This card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees or over-limit fees that apply when you go over your credit limit, either.

While a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases, you’ll want to try to avoid paying the potentially high 17.15% – 31.15% Variable APR this card charges otherwise. 

Some fees you should know about include:

• Balance transfer fee
• Cash advance fee
• Late payment fee
• Returned payment fee

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card vs. Wells Fargo Active Cash Card

While the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ offers a better-than-average rate of 1.5% cash back with no annual fee, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers superior rewards and benefits by far. This card doesn’t have an annual fee, and new cardmembers get the chance to earn $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Cardholders also earn a higher flat rate of 2% cash rewards on purchases, which is more lucrative than what the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​ has to offer. The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card also comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 15 months from account opening (followed by 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR). That makes it a good option for paying down large purchases over time or consolidating high-interest debt from other credit cards.

Read our Wells Fargo Active Cash Card review.

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card vs. USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum Credit Card

If you’re looking for a USAA credit card and you want an intro APR offer that applies to balance transfers specifically, you should check out the USAA Rate Advantage Visa® Platinum Credit Card. This card doesn’t have an annual fee, although it doesn’t offer any rewards. The main benefit of this card is the fact you get 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers and convenience checks that post to your account within 90 days of account opening, the 12.15% – 29.15% Variable APR. 

That makes the USAA Rate Advantage Visa® Platinum Credit Card an option from USAA to consider if you need to consolidate and pay down debt over time. Then again, there are some balance transfer credit cards that offer 0% APR for longer timelines.

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is also worth considering if you want to earn 1.5% cash back on regular purchases plus even better rewards in other categories. This card gives you the flat rate of 1.5% back on non-bonus spending, but you also earn 5% back on travel booked through Chase, 5% back on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025) and 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases. 

New cardmembers can also earn 1.5% cash back in addition to regular earning on everything you buy up to $20,000 spent in the first year (worth up to $300 cash back). The best part? The Chase Freedom Unlimited® comes with 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (followed by 20.49% – 29.24% Variable APR).

Read our Chase Freedom Unlimited Card Review.

USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Card Frequently Asked Questions 

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Card

When reviewing the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card​, we followed our credit card rating methodology. This determines a card’s star rating out of 5, and it assigns equal weight to five key categories.

The categories we focus on when evaluating a credit card are: welcome bonus offer (20%), annual fee (20%), rewards rates (20%), using rewards (20%), and benefits (20%). Note that we compare a given credit card to other similar cards, so we wouldn’t expect the same perks on a no-annual-fee credit card and a premium credit card.