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Introduction to the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Card
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card may make sense for military members and their families who want to earn flat-rate rewards on each dollar they spend. A handful of travel perks come standard with this card.
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 except for American Express in J.D. Power's 2023 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study.
While USAA offers quite a few credit cards, the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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.
Here's what you should know about whether this product makes sense for your wallet.
$0
N/A
17.15% - 29.15% variable
Earn a $200 reward bonus
Good, Excellent
- No annual fee
- No bonus categories to keep track of
- Comes with some travel coverage
- Like other USAA products, only available to current and former military as well as their spouses and dependents
- You can earn more cash back with more redemption options on other cards
- Charges a balance transfer fee
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card could make sense for military members and their families who want to earn flat-rate rewards on each dollar they spend. A handful of travel perks also come standard with the card.
- Must be a USAA member, or become a member, to apply. USAA proudly offers membership to current and former military, as well as their spouses and dependents.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on purchases, no category restrictions, no caps on cash back.
- Intro Offer: Earn a $200 reward bonus when you spend $1,000 on qualifying purchases within 90 days of account opening.
- Auto Deductible Reimbursement (up to $200).
- A fee of 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, cash advance and convenience check applies.
- No annual fee.
- Cash back rewards never expire.
- Redeem cash back your way, on your schedule.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- 17.15% to 29.15% variable regular APR.
- Terms and Restrictions apply. See the Reward Terms and Conditions and the ADR Benefit Guide on USAA's website for details.
- See Rates and Fees for details.
USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card Overview
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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.
Before you decide on the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card, 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 APR).
USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card Rewards
Earning Rewards
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a flat rate of 1.5% cash back as we already mentioned, and a welcome bonus of $200 reward bonus when you spend $1,000 on qualifying purchases within 90 days of account opening. 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 additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
Redeeming Rewards
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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 Credit Card Benefits
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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.
Up to $200 Auto Deductible Reimbursement
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card recently introduced a new benefit: Cardholders who make at least eight purchases a month on this card can apply for reimbursement of up to $200 toward their auto policy deductible if they experience a covered loss.
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 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 reimbursement coverage.
USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card Fees
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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.
Some fees you should know about include:
- Balance transfer fee
- Cash advance fee
- Late payment fee
- Returned payment fee
Compare the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Card
USAA Eagle Navigator™ Credit Card vs. USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card
The USAA Eagle Navigator™ Credit Card is USAA's first card with an annual fee (USAA Eagle Navigator™ Credit Card, focused specifically on travel rewards. It earns 3x points on most travel-related purchases, and 2x points per dollar on everything else. You'll also get several great benefits including cellphone protection, baggage delay coverage, and an anniversary bonus of 10,000 points each year when you renew your card.
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no annual fee. But the USAA Eagle Navigator™ Credit Card doesn't automatically offer better returns per dollar spent, since Eagle Navigator rewards are only worth 0.7 cents apiece when redeemed as a statement credit. Therefore, you'll only come out ahead with the USAA Eagle Navigator™ Credit Card if you spend your points on travel booked through USAA, or if you can earn enough points to offset USAA Eagle Navigator™ Credit Card.
Read our USAA Eagle Navigator credit card review.
USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card vs. USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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 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, then 12.15% - 26.15% variable APR.
That makes the USAA Rate Advantage 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% intro APRs for longer timelines.
Read our USAA Rate Advantage credit card review.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® vs. USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card
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 Travel℠, 5% back on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025) and 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases.
New cardmembers can also earn additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). 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
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card could be a good card for you if you want to earn 1.5% cash back on all spending with no annual fee required. With no foreign transaction fees, this is also a good card for international travel.
Yes, the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases. It also offers a welcome bonus of $200 reward bonus when you spend $1,000 on qualifying purchases within 90 days of account opening
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card does not charge foreign transaction fees.
You can technically use the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card for debt consolidation, but we wouldn't recommend it. If you need to consolidate and pay down high-interest debt, you'll want to get a balance transfer credit card instead.
The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card card will typically require good credit or better. A good score is defined by FICO as at least 670.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Card
When reviewing the USAA Preferred Cash Rewards 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.
![<span>Katherine Fan is a personal finance expert, journalist, and public speaker with nine years of industry experience. </span><span>Experience</span><span>Since 2015, Katherine has published 1,800+ articles, guides, and reviews covering credit card benefits and rewards, small business finances, points and miles travel, loyalty programs, and real estate investing. </span><span>Before joining Personal Finance Insider as Senior Editor of Credit Cards, Katherine covered aviation, award travel, loyalty programs, and credit cards as a senior reporter for The Points Guy, and small business finances as a lead writer for Nerdwallet. </span><span>Katherine has also freelanced for CNN Underscored, Forbes Advisor, Wall Street Journal Buy Side, Bankrate, CreditCards.com, the Dallas Morning News, LendingTree, Upgraded Points, Fortune Recommends, Newsweek, and Slickdeals Money. Her work has been syndicated by Nasdaq, MSN and Yahoo. </span><span>Katherine is a guest speaker at TravelCon, and has been featured on multiple podcasts including NPR Life Kit, Expedia's Out Travel the System, and The Points Guy's Miles Away. In her spare time, Katherine moonlights as a photojournalist covering Formula 1, Austin City Limits, and SXSW for the Austin American-Statesman and other media outlets. When she's not jetsetting around the world, you'll likely find her in Austin cooking up a batch of spicy Chinese food.Expertise</span><span>Katherine's expertise encompasses:</span><ul><li><span>Small business finances</span></li><li><span>Credit cards</span></li><li><span>Points and miles travel</span></li><li><span>Travel insurance</span></li><li><span>Real estate investing</span></li></ul><span>Katherine's interest in personal finance runs parallel to her passions for real estate investing and award travel. Despite a salary of just $28,000 a year from her first full-time job, Katherine built an excellent credit score of 805 from scratch through hard work [and privilege], which allowed her to purchase her first home six years after graduating college. She's since added five more doors to her real estate portfolio, although she plans to retire on her index fund investments.Thanks to credit card travel rewards, Katherine has flown well over one million miles visiting 44 countries across all seven continents. She's sailed with orcas in Antarctica, flown home in first class from Japan, photographed a wedding at Hobbiton in New Zealand, and gone on safari in South Africa. But her most meaningful trips always bring her home to loved ones in Taiwan. Education</span><span>Katherine holds dual degrees in photojournalism and Asian American studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a certificate in business Chinese proficiency from National Taiwan University. She began her professional career in tech as a software sales executive for several years before returning to her media roots. </span>](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i.insider.com/62eaeb8326082a001825aa6c?crop=1:1&width=256&format=jpeg&auto=webp)
