"Looking To Replace An Older Card"
USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card Review
Written by: roughdraft on 2013-05-06
Overall Satisfaction
Customer Service
Rewards
Account Management
Delivery Time
roughdraft's review: 
Because my scores are a little higher now and I noticed I only had 2 inquires on my Equifax report, I wanted to apply for a card that would do a hard pull on EQ and decided to give this one a shot.
On their official website there are some less than flattering reviews about this card. There are complaints about the customer service, payments being on hold when processing, holds of $100 when pumping gas and some frustrated customers that are left high and dry.
I received an instant approval for $6000 with an APR of 16.9%. Not the greatest apr but my EQ score was a 702. My other cards apr's are around 15% so I will accept that as being fair for my situation.
The rewards are supposed to be 2 points for gas and groceries and 1 point for everything else with a sign on bonus of 2500 after the first purchase. An important thing to consider though is your redemption rate. It takes 3500 points for a $25 gift card (.71%) or 3000 points for a $25 cash deposit (.83%). If you only use it for gas and groceries and earn 2 points per dollar ($1500 = 3000 points) then your redemption rate comes out to 1.67% earnings.
My next challenge will be figuring out which stores AMEX has coded as 'grocery stores'. For example AMEX uses their own MCC (merchant category code) that defines a grocery store, one of being 5411. Places like Walmart, Target and Costco will be coded differently, to be defined as discount stores, etc. So I don't know how that will work out as far trying to use it for groceries.
As far as trying to use it only for gas, I mentioned earlier that there are rumors of funds being put on hold and that seems to have an effect on the card balance and I imagine it would cause more problems if this card were used for "everyday use."
I will probably hang onto it for a couple of years and then end my relationship with them, once I have an American Express card from American Express. I don't see myself having this card for 20 years, which is something I factor in when applying. I shouldn't be applying for anything else for the next couple years. Just long enough for all my inquires to fall off.
If I write any more reviews in the near future it will be for existing cards.
Because my scores are a little higher now and I noticed I only had 2 inquires on my Equifax report, I wanted to apply for a card that would do a hard pull on EQ and decided to give this one a shot.On their official website there are some less than flattering reviews about this card. There are complaints about the customer service, payments being on hold when processing, holds of $100 when pumping gas and some frustrated customers that are left high and dry.
I received an instant approval for $6000 with an APR of 16.9%. Not the greatest apr but my EQ score was a 702. My other cards apr's are around 15% so I will accept that as being fair for my situation.
The rewards are supposed to be 2 points for gas and groceries and 1 point for everything else with a sign on bonus of 2500 after the first purchase. An important thing to consider though is your redemption rate. It takes 3500 points for a $25 gift card (.71%) or 3000 points for a $25 cash deposit (.83%). If you only use it for gas and groceries and earn 2 points per dollar ($1500 = 3000 points) then your redemption rate comes out to 1.67% earnings.
My next challenge will be figuring out which stores AMEX has coded as 'grocery stores'. For example AMEX uses their own MCC (merchant category code) that defines a grocery store, one of being 5411. Places like Walmart, Target and Costco will be coded differently, to be defined as discount stores, etc. So I don't know how that will work out as far trying to use it for groceries.
As far as trying to use it only for gas, I mentioned earlier that there are rumors of funds being put on hold and that seems to have an effect on the card balance and I imagine it would cause more problems if this card were used for "everyday use."
I will probably hang onto it for a couple of years and then end my relationship with them, once I have an American Express card from American Express. I don't see myself having this card for 20 years, which is something I factor in when applying. I shouldn't be applying for anything else for the next couple years. Just long enough for all my inquires to fall off.
If I write any more reviews in the near future it will be for existing cards.
2 Comments
Comment 1 by wanderer
Re: Looking To Replace An Older Card 
on 2013-05-06
Congrats! USAA is really a good credit provider. They are really conservative with the rewards redemption. Many better cards on the market for redemption today. Have this card and I don't use it much for that reason. Also, you are right about the amount many gas providers place on hold. My experience with American Express cards is $75+ dollars hold (why?). Asked the merchants and they told me they had no control on the holds. Another card that has had high holds was Discover. It males no sense to me.
on 2013-05-06 Congrats! USAA is really a good credit provider. They are really conservative with the rewards redemption. Many better cards on the market for redemption today. Have this card and I don't use it much for that reason. Also, you are right about the amount many gas providers place on hold. My experience with American Express cards is $75+ dollars hold (why?). Asked the merchants and they told me they had no control on the holds. Another card that has had high holds was Discover. It males no sense to me.
Comment 2 by roughdraft
Re: Looking To Replace An Older Card on 2013-05-06
Thanks Wanderer! When you are coming back from a rebound you are grateful for a decent CL from a respectable bank. I like USAA, I mean, I applied for their card. I had been interested in this card since I applied for their checking account in 2010. The more I researched it, the less I seemed to like it though. But at least now I can weed out some of the old cards and improve the quality of my credit. I am sure I will find a use for it.
on 2013-05-06 Thanks Wanderer! When you are coming back from a rebound you are grateful for a decent CL from a respectable bank. I like USAA, I mean, I applied for their card. I had been interested in this card since I applied for their checking account in 2010. The more I researched it, the less I seemed to like it though. But at least now I can weed out some of the old cards and improve the quality of my credit. I am sure I will find a use for it.
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Disclaimer: This content is not provided by USAA Savings Bank. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by USAA Savings Bank. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
