USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card [Update]

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michaeljc70
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by michaeljc70 »

sperry8 wrote:
michaeljc70 wrote:
sperry8 wrote:
SurferLife wrote:
sperry8 wrote:Great rate but the direct deposit requirement rules me out. Retirees don't get direct deposit. Why make such a requirement and rule out all retirees? :confused
Are you a military retiree?
No, my father was in the military and that is how I qualified.
dbr wrote:
sperry8 wrote:Great rate but the direct deposit requirement rules me out. Retirees don't get direct deposit. Why make such a requirement and rule out all retirees? :confused
A retiree can receive direct deposit of Social Security, pension, and annuity payments and direct deposit of any automatic withdrawals arranged with an investment company. There are probably others. If you are currently receiving checks in the mail for such things direct deposit might be a good idea to prevent stolen or lost checks, issues with change of address, and so on.

In fact it is now ILLEGAL (?!?!) to continue to receive Federal benefits by paper check: https://fiscal.treasury.gov/godirect/

Note: "If you do not comply, the Treasury Department will contact you directly and may send you a Direct Express® card."
I do not get social security or pension. I retired before 65 and am not yet eligible. I have no way to get anything directly deposited. Not sure why USAA would want to block me (and others like me) from the cc :confused
They want to block you because 2.5% cash back is a lot and they are only offering it to people that have an active checking account with them. They are a publicly traded company in it for a profit.
Of course. But I have active auto and renters insurance with them. How does direct deposit of one check make them money? Perhaps allow me to do bill pay instead. Seems absurd to block someone who does not get any checks (I'm under 65).
It ensures you have $1000 in the account that they can use for other purposes (make loans) at least for some period of time. Paying a $20 bill won't help them. Maybe if you paid $1000 in bills a month....

I have been in the same situation as I work freelance mostly and direct deposit isn't always an option. I guess if transferring from another account counts I could do that, but then you have to use the $$$ there or transfer it back. Obviously they are hoping you don't transfer $1k in on the 5th of the month and transfer it out on the 6th.
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sperry8
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by sperry8 »

michaeljc70 wrote:
sperry8 wrote:
michaeljc70 wrote:
sperry8 wrote:
SurferLife wrote: Are you a military retiree?
No, my father was in the military and that is how I qualified.
dbr wrote:
A retiree can receive direct deposit of Social Security, pension, and annuity payments and direct deposit of any automatic withdrawals arranged with an investment company. There are probably others. If you are currently receiving checks in the mail for such things direct deposit might be a good idea to prevent stolen or lost checks, issues with change of address, and so on.

In fact it is now ILLEGAL (?!?!) to continue to receive Federal benefits by paper check: https://fiscal.treasury.gov/godirect/

Note: "If you do not comply, the Treasury Department will contact you directly and may send you a Direct Express® card."
I do not get social security or pension. I retired before 65 and am not yet eligible. I have no way to get anything directly deposited. Not sure why USAA would want to block me (and others like me) from the cc :confused
They want to block you because 2.5% cash back is a lot and they are only offering it to people that have an active checking account with them. They are a publicly traded company in it for a profit.
Of course. But I have active auto and renters insurance with them. How does direct deposit of one check make them money? Perhaps allow me to do bill pay instead. Seems absurd to block someone who does not get any checks (I'm under 65).
It ensures you have $1000 in the account that they can use for other purposes (make loans) at least for some period of time. Paying a $20 bill won't help them. Maybe if you paid $1000 in bills a month....

I have been in the same situation as I work freelance mostly and direct deposit isn't always an option. I guess if transferring from another account counts I could do that, but then you have to use the $$$ there or transfer it back. Obviously they are hoping you don't transfer $1k in on the 5th of the month and transfer it out on the 6th.
OK, so if that's what they need, allow that as an option. either direct deposit or maintain a certain checking balance, e.g., $1,000. My point is simply this. Come up with an option for retirees who don't have any direct deposit.
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skatterZ
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by skatterZ »

I, too, am retired with no paycheck to direct deposit. I just set up a $1,000 transfer each month from a different checking account. No problem, got my card last week.
Soon2BXProgrammer
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by Soon2BXProgrammer »

Easy solution:
use a monthly ACH push to push atleast $1000. Use the money in the account to pay your credit card bill.
if you aren't spending more then 1k a month..... is chasing credit card rewards even worth it?
Earned 43 (and counting) credit hours of financial planning related education from a regionally accredited university, but I am not your advisor.
michaeljc70
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by michaeljc70 »

Soon2BXProgrammer wrote:Easy solution:
use a monthly ACH push to push atleast $1000. Use the money in the account to pay your credit card bill.
if you aren't spending more then 1k a month..... is chasing credit card rewards even worth it?
I probably spend $2k on average a month on credit cards. Some goes to certain cards to get a sign up bonus and some goes to certain cards because that is the only option (like Costco only takes Visa). When I figured out the 2.5% USAA vs. the 2% from Citi Double Cash, it came to under $100 a year difference. If you used other cards that offer 5% sometimes, deduct that too. That isn't worth it to me to open a checking account I don't want/need and make cash transfers every month. If you want the checking account, then I think it is worth it.
Soon2BXProgrammer
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by Soon2BXProgrammer »

michaeljc70 wrote:
Soon2BXProgrammer wrote:Easy solution:
use a monthly ACH push to push atleast $1000. Use the money in the account to pay your credit card bill.
if you aren't spending more then 1k a month..... is chasing credit card rewards even worth it?
I probably spend $2k on average a month on credit cards. Some goes to certain cards to get a sign up bonus and some goes to certain cards because that is the only option (like Costco only takes Visa). When I figured out the 2.5% USAA vs. the 2% from Citi Double Cash, it came to under $100 a year difference. If you used other cards that offer 5% sometimes, deduct that too. That isn't worth it to me to open a checking account I don't want/need and make cash transfers every month. If you want the checking account, then I think it is worth it.
I already had a checking/savings account with USAA but it was mostly unused. I hadit to get the "multiproduct" discount on my auto insurance, now i have it and its slightly used, to get the better cashback.
Earned 43 (and counting) credit hours of financial planning related education from a regionally accredited university, but I am not your advisor.
brew
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by brew »

Very happy with this card so far. Rewards are posting for me about a day after each transaction posts. I used to use the Citi Costco Visa card for 3% travel and restaurants, but I think it's worth it to give up the half-percent back to get rewards in your checking account 2-3 days later vs. next February. Now saving my Citi Double Cash (my former everyday card) exclusively for transactions for which I need to create a virtual account number (just cell phone and internet for me at the moment).
HIinvestor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by HIinvestor »

We didn't want to change any of our direct deposits that we set up years ago, so we just set up a different financial institution's account to transfer$1000 from our money market account to our USAA checking every month. There is no transfer fee from either of those institutions. There were two small trial deposits to verify the accounts were correctly linking up.
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sunny_socal
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by sunny_socal »

Latest list of state, still no CA

AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA
WorkToLive
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by WorkToLive »

Applied for mine today. I'm in MD! It showed up (finally) on my app's Products tab. My credit is frozen so I'll have to work through that.
brokendirtdart
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by brokendirtdart »

brew wrote:Very happy with this card so far. Rewards are posting for me about a day after each transaction posts. I used to use the Citi Costco Visa card for 3% travel and restaurants, but I think it's worth it to give up the half-percent back to get rewards in your checking account 2-3 days later vs. next February. Now saving my Citi Double Cash (my former everyday card) exclusively for transactions for which I need to create a virtual account number (just cell phone and internet for me at the moment).

I am having the same positive experience with the card as well. Rewards post quickly and I am segregating those rewards so I can pay for another house lease deposit when I move at the end of the year/early next year.

It has become my primary card and I also used it to pay my fed taxes last night-coming out slightly more than .5% after the "convenience fee".
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sunny_socal
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by sunny_socal »

brokendirtdart wrote:
brew wrote:Very happy with this card so far. Rewards are posting for me about a day after each transaction posts. I used to use the Citi Costco Visa card for 3% travel and restaurants, but I think it's worth it to give up the half-percent back to get rewards in your checking account 2-3 days later vs. next February. Now saving my Citi Double Cash (my former everyday card) exclusively for transactions for which I need to create a virtual account number (just cell phone and internet for me at the moment).

I am having the same positive experience with the card as well. Rewards post quickly and I am segregating those rewards so I can pay for another house lease deposit when I move at the end of the year/early next year.

It has become my primary card and I also used it to pay my fed taxes last night-coming out slightly more than .5% after the "convenience fee".
How do the USAA rewards post? I'm currently enjoying my Fidelity card and have my rewards automatically sent to my Fidelity account, I'm just letting the account grow. Do you move the USAA rewards manually or is there an option to have them sent elsewhere?
HIinvestor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by HIinvestor »

The rewards are not visible on the printed statement but you can see them on your online account. The default is for them to remain in your account and accumulate. I will let the sun grow until it's a few hundred $$$$ and then get a check. I like having a check and running it through our primary acct, which is a non-USAA checking acct
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VictoriaF
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by VictoriaF »

brokendirtdart wrote:I am having the same positive experience with the card as well. Rewards post quickly and I am segregating those rewards so I can pay for another house lease deposit when I move at the end of the year/early next year.

It has become my primary card and I also used it to pay my fed taxes last night-coming out slightly more than .5% after the "convenience fee".
I pay Estimated Taxes with credit cards when I need to meet minimum spending on a new card. Otherwise, I pay taxes with my cash funds. If and when I get a USAA 2.5% cash-back CC it will be tempting to pay most of my estimated taxes with it. If I pay $20k in estimated taxes per year, the gain would be $100/year. Would this be a legitimate use of the card?

Victoria
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gwe67
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by gwe67 »

I have the option to send the cash back to USAA bank account or to USAA credit card. There is no minimum amount or limit to number of transactions, but credits must be in whole dollars. It only takes a few easy clicks unlike Fidelity's awful system.
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rguina
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by rguina »

VictoriaF wrote:
brokendirtdart wrote:I am having the same positive experience with the card as well. Rewards post quickly and I am segregating those rewards so I can pay for another house lease deposit when I move at the end of the year/early next year.

It has become my primary card and I also used it to pay my fed taxes last night-coming out slightly more than .5% after the "convenience fee".
I pay Estimated Taxes with credit cards when I need to meet minimum spending on a new card. Otherwise, I pay taxes with my cash funds. If and when I get a USAA 2.5% cash-back CC it will be tempting to pay most of my estimated taxes with it. If I pay $20k in estimated taxes per year, the gain would be $100/year. Would this be a legitimate use of the card?

Victoria
I think it's a great use of the card. I just paid my tax bill with a check and I'm kicking myself for not using this card. Silly mistake on my part! :)

But I'll be sure to use this card for estimated taxes going forward.
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White Coat Investor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by White Coat Investor »

sunny_socal wrote:Latest list of state, still no CA

AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA
Or UT. Grrr....
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VictoriaF
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by VictoriaF »

WorkToLive wrote:Applied for mine today. I'm in MD! It showed up (finally) on my app's Products tab. My credit is frozen so I'll have to work through that.
White Coat Investor wrote:
sunny_socal wrote:Latest list of state, still no CA

AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA
Or UT. Grrr....
WorkToLive got it in MD even though it's not listed. I checked my account in VA, but no luck. Check yours in UT.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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White Coat Investor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by White Coat Investor »

VictoriaF wrote:
WorkToLive wrote:Applied for mine today. I'm in MD! It showed up (finally) on my app's Products tab. My credit is frozen so I'll have to work through that.
White Coat Investor wrote:
sunny_socal wrote:Latest list of state, still no CA

AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA
Or UT. Grrr....
WorkToLive got it in MD even though it's not listed. I checked my account in VA, but no luck. Check yours in UT.

Victoria
I've been checking every time I see this thread pop up. I log in and look under credit cards and offers. Is there someone else I should be looking?
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
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VictoriaF
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by VictoriaF »

White Coat Investor wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
WorkToLive wrote:Applied for mine today. I'm in MD! It showed up (finally) on my app's Products tab. My credit is frozen so I'll have to work through that.
White Coat Investor wrote:
sunny_socal wrote:Latest list of state, still no CA

AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA
Or UT. Grrr....
WorkToLive got it in MD even though it's not listed. I checked my account in VA, but no luck. Check yours in UT.

Victoria
I've been checking every time I see this thread pop up. I log in and look under credit cards and offers. Is there someone else I should be looking?
Like you, I check my account every time this thread is revived. Perhaps others know what else can be done.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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kelway
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by kelway »

Was a nice surprise. I saw a new blog posting on my money blog and it had a link to the card. I applied (its availability is now based on what state you reside in) and was approved within 5 minutes using their mobile web app. One thing about this bank is that their digital assets are tops. The USAA mobile app is really a pleasure to use.

Of course you do need some link to military service to get in the door, and I thank my father in law for that.
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macaroon
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by macaroon »

I've been checking periodically, too, and haven't seen the offer (I'm in FL). I just checked when this thread popped up again and, lo and behold, the offer was there. It wasn't under "my offers", but was listed as one of the available credit cards from USAA under Products. It had a notation that it was a pilot program.
newinvestor84
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by newinvestor84 »

macaroon wrote:I've been checking periodically, too, and haven't seen the offer (I'm in FL)...
For the past few months, they've been adding new states on the 7th day of each month. So whoever else is waiting for this offer, you only have to check back once a month.
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flamesabers
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by flamesabers »

VictoriaF wrote:I pay Estimated Taxes with credit cards when I need to meet minimum spending on a new card. Otherwise, I pay taxes with my cash funds. If and when I get a USAA 2.5% cash-back CC it will be tempting to pay most of my estimated taxes with it. If I pay $20k in estimated taxes per year, the gain would be $100/year. Would this be a legitimate use of the card?

Victoria
Does the IRS not charge a fee when you use a credit card to pay your estimated taxes?

I thought they did. The IRS has a listing of the fees they charge:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-cr ... debit-card

While the fees charge are lower then the 2.5%, they do take quite a bit out of the 2.5% cashback.
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Rob5TCP
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by Rob5TCP »

Geneyus wrote:
TF Hutch wrote:My AAA MasterCard pays 3% cash back on "qualified" purchases. Pays to the penny to your bank account.
Card cost <$5 to open, gives you a $50 AAA credit
The best Travel card I could find. 8-)
What exactly are "qualified" purchases? The Chase 5% card sounds great, until you see what the rotating categories are. I went back over several months to see what my rewards were with the 5% cash back categories, and I would've gotten a lot more money if I just had 2% back on everything. After seeing that, I went with the Citi DoubleCash credit card (2% back on everything, no exceptions). It's a great card for those who aren't USAA members and can't get the 2.5% card.

From AAA Dollars Master Rewards Card

Earn AAA Dollars on your everyday purchases

Earn 3% on qualifying net AAA and travel purchases1
Earn 2% on qualifying net gas, grocery and drug store purchases1
Earn 1% on qualifying net purchases everywhere else1
There is no cap on how many AAA Dollars you can earn!
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VictoriaF
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by VictoriaF »

flamesabers wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:I pay Estimated Taxes with credit cards when I need to meet minimum spending on a new card. Otherwise, I pay taxes with my cash funds. If and when I get a USAA 2.5% cash-back CC it will be tempting to pay most of my estimated taxes with it. If I pay $20k in estimated taxes per year, the gain would be $100/year. Would this be a legitimate use of the card?

Victoria
Does the IRS not charge a fee when you use a credit card to pay your estimated taxes?

I thought they did. The IRS has a listing of the fees they charge:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-cr ... debit-card

While the fees charge are lower then the 2.5%, they do take quite a bit out of the 2.5% cashback.
Not the IRS but the credit card processors charge about 2% for paying taxes with a credit card. And thus my calculations:
2.5% - 2% = 0.5% "gain" on the USAA cash-back card after paying taxes
$20,000 x 0.5% = $100 cash "gain"

The amount of this gain would vary depending on the amount of my estimated taxes and whether I need to pay taxes with other cards to qualify for enrollment bonuses. Of course, I would be putting some other expenses on the USAA card, too. My question is whether USAA would object to my consistent paying of taxes with the card.

The card is not offered in my state yet.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
David Scubadiver
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by David Scubadiver »

VictoriaF wrote:
flamesabers wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:I pay Estimated Taxes with credit cards when I need to meet minimum spending on a new card. Otherwise, I pay taxes with my cash funds. If and when I get a USAA 2.5% cash-back CC it will be tempting to pay most of my estimated taxes with it. If I pay $20k in estimated taxes per year, the gain would be $100/year. Would this be a legitimate use of the card?

Victoria
Does the IRS not charge a fee when you use a credit card to pay your estimated taxes?

I thought they did. The IRS has a listing of the fees they charge:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-cr ... debit-card

While the fees charge are lower then the 2.5%, they do take quite a bit out of the 2.5% cashback.
Not the IRS but the credit card processors charge about 2% for paying taxes with a credit card. And thus my calculations:
2.5% - 2% = 0.5% "gain" on the USAA cash-back card after paying taxes
$20,000 x 0.5% = $100 cash "gain"

The amount of this gain would vary depending on the amount of my estimated taxes and whether I need to pay taxes with other cards to qualify for enrollment bonuses. Of course, I would be putting some other expenses on the USAA card, too. My question is whether USAA would object to my consistent paying of taxes with the card.

The card is not offered in my state yet.

Victoria
Might as well be precise and use the least expensive option. https://www.pay1040.com/Payment?taxCategory=Personal
1.87%. Definitely going to charge my taxes using the Bank of America Travel rewards card this year, to recoup a cool .755% bonus, which will make up somewhat for the loss of my 10% amazon discount for my missed refund.
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VictoriaF
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by VictoriaF »

David Scubadiver wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
flamesabers wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:I pay Estimated Taxes with credit cards when I need to meet minimum spending on a new card. Otherwise, I pay taxes with my cash funds. If and when I get a USAA 2.5% cash-back CC it will be tempting to pay most of my estimated taxes with it. If I pay $20k in estimated taxes per year, the gain would be $100/year. Would this be a legitimate use of the card?

Victoria
Does the IRS not charge a fee when you use a credit card to pay your estimated taxes?

I thought they did. The IRS has a listing of the fees they charge:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-cr ... debit-card

While the fees charge are lower then the 2.5%, they do take quite a bit out of the 2.5% cashback.
Not the IRS but the credit card processors charge about 2% for paying taxes with a credit card. And thus my calculations:
2.5% - 2% = 0.5% "gain" on the USAA cash-back card after paying taxes
$20,000 x 0.5% = $100 cash "gain"

The amount of this gain would vary depending on the amount of my estimated taxes and whether I need to pay taxes with other cards to qualify for enrollment bonuses. Of course, I would be putting some other expenses on the USAA card, too. My question is whether USAA would object to my consistent paying of taxes with the card.

The card is not offered in my state yet.

Victoria
Might as well be precise and use the least expensive option. https://www.pay1040.com/Payment?taxCategory=Personal
1.87%. Definitely going to charge my taxes using the Bank of America Travel rewards card this year, to recoup a cool .755% bonus, which will make up somewhat for the loss of my 10% amazon discount for my missed refund.
I did not want to be precise because $20k in estimated taxes is not precise. I find that unnecessary precision hurts more than helps. Furthermore, the lowest cost service provider may increase or lower their fee in future years.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Soon2BXProgrammer
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by Soon2BXProgrammer »

White Coat Investor wrote: I've been checking every time I see this thread pop up. I log in and look under credit cards and offers. Is there someone else I should be looking?
Are you in an approved state?

try this:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/banking_credit_cards_main

then enter your state.
Earned 43 (and counting) credit hours of financial planning related education from a regionally accredited university, but I am not your advisor.
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by High Income Parent »

White Coat Investor wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
WorkToLive wrote:Applied for mine today. I'm in MD! It showed up (finally) on my app's Products tab. My credit is frozen so I'll have to work through that.
White Coat Investor wrote:
sunny_socal wrote:Latest list of state, still no CA

AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA
Or UT. Grrr....
WorkToLive got it in MD even though it's not listed. I checked my account in VA, but no luck. Check yours in UT.

Victoria
I've been checking every time I see this thread pop up. I log in and look under credit cards and offers. Is there someone else I should be looking?

Time to buy that little beach bungalow on the Texas Gulf coast so you can get 2.5% back on your purchases. :happy
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White Coat Investor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by White Coat Investor »

Soon2BXProgrammer wrote:
White Coat Investor wrote: I've been checking every time I see this thread pop up. I log in and look under credit cards and offers. Is there someone else I should be looking?
Are you in an approved state?

try this:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/banking_credit_cards_main

then enter your state.
Nope. Guess I'm going to the right place. That's where I go too.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
WorkToLive
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by WorkToLive »

Hi, sorry, just checking back because I wanted to let people know they use Equifax for the credit check so I had to unfreeze our credit through them. I was approved the next business day.

To see the offer, I went to the app, chose the "Products" shopping bag icon on the home page, chose Banking, Credit Cards, Cash Back, then was presented with the Limitless option as the top option. It does say Online Pilot--Limited Availability.k

It's no fee, 2.5% cash back with no limit. I am very pleased. It's in the mail and I will switch over to it as soon as it arrives.
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Sunny Sarkar
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by Sunny Sarkar »

Switching to this card. 2.5% is best in the market.
Was using 2% Fidelity card & Citi double-cash.
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sunny_socal
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by sunny_socal »

It's past April 7th, the alleged date for new states to be added.

Still no Cali :|
donaldson
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by donaldson »

Posting here rather than starting a new thread:

I just signed up for this card, and I am wondering if anyone has any advice on how to manage both the $1000 minimum direct deposit, and my desire to max out my employer retirement plan.

Right now I am participating in a SIMPLE IRA plan with my employer and contributing about 70 percent of the maximum allowed. I have already contributed the maximum to my Roth IRA this year, and I would like to adjust my SIMPLE IRA contribution to also get to the max.

However, doing that will bring my net pay below $1000 for each check, which is not compatible with this cash back offer. I am looking for ways to max out the employer plan while also taking advantage of this card's rewards.

Here are the options I have thought of (My checking account is with USAA and I also have savings accounts with Ally):

1) See if my employer can deposit both checks for the month in a lump sum (not sure if this is possible)
2) Change my direct deposit to go to one of the Ally accounts, then transfer money back to USAA in amounts greater than $1000.

Would this satisfy the direct deposit requirement of the card? Disadvantages would be potential cash flow issues, since I pay all of my bills from the USAA account, and I would have to pay attention to the six-transaction limit for these savings accounts.

3) Open a checking account with Ally and then do the same as 2). This would avoid any transaction limit issues, but I'm not sure if it is worth opening another account just for this (my Ally accounts only get one deposit per month as I save for short-term goals).

4) Continue with my current salary reduction amount, and then have this amount adjusted only for a few paychecks at the end of the year in order to make the maximum contribution. Again, I will have to see if this is an option.


Obviously I will have to sit down with our finance department and look into some of these possibilities, but does anyone have any recommendations based on your own experience?

Thanks.
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flamesabers
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by flamesabers »

donaldson wrote:Posting here rather than starting a new thread:

I just signed up for this card, and I am wondering if anyone has any advice on how to manage both the $1000 minimum direct deposit, and my desire to max out my employer retirement plan.

Right now I am participating in a SIMPLE IRA plan with my employer and contributing about 70 percent of the maximum allowed. I have already contributed the maximum to my Roth IRA this year, and I would like to adjust my SIMPLE IRA contribution to also get to the max.

However, doing that will bring my net pay below $1000 for each check, which is not compatible with this cash back offer. I am looking for ways to max out the employer plan while also taking advantage of this card's rewards.

Here are the options I have thought of (My checking account is with USAA and I also have savings accounts with Ally):

1) See if my employer can deposit both checks for the month in a lump sum (not sure if this is possible)
2) Change my direct deposit to go to one of the Ally accounts, then transfer money back to USAA in amounts greater than $1000.

Would this satisfy the direct deposit requirement of the card? Disadvantages would be potential cash flow issues, since I pay all of my bills from the USAA account, and I would have to pay attention to the six-transaction limit for these savings accounts.

3) Open a checking account with Ally and then do the same as 2). This would avoid any transaction limit issues, but I'm not sure if it is worth opening another account just for this (my Ally accounts only get one deposit per month as I save for short-term goals).

4) Continue with my current salary reduction amount, and then have this amount adjusted only for a few paychecks at the end of the year in order to make the maximum contribution. Again, I will have to see if this is an option.


Obviously I will have to sit down with our finance department and look into some of these possibilities, but does anyone have any recommendations based on your own experience?

Thanks.
I don't have this card but I'm in a similar situation with you. What I would do is transfer my payday deposits into my Vanguard's money market account and then do a $1k transfer from this account into my USAA checking account.
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dratkinson
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by dratkinson »

Data point. The 6-transactions/mo limit on savings/mmkt accounts is on withdrawals, not deposits (unlimited).
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_D_(FRB)


Your restrictions on accounts, most to least severe, seem to be:
--Simple IRA. Deposits required for retirement. (Serious LT consequence if not funded.)
--USAA checking. Deposits required for monthly bills and to satisfy $1K deposit of 2.5% CC. (Serious ST consequences if not funded.)
--Ally savings. Deposits required for nice-to-have ST goals. (If underfunded, nothing serious happens except you delay a ST goal.)


As you don't have enough monthly money to fund everything, then given above restriction priorities, these are my suggestions:
--Use direct deposit* from salary to fund your Simple IRA. (Avoids serious LT consequence of underfunding.)
--Use DD* to send all your remaining salary to USAA checking. (Avoids serious ST consequences, plural, of underfunding.)
--Manually** move any excess from USAA checking to your Ally savings. (Worst case, you delay a ST goal; which happens to all of us.)

* Minimizes number of monthly transactions and automates process (so you don't forget) of paying yourself first and avoiding serious consequences.

** Or could set up a small automatic transaction (USAA checking push, or Ally savings pull) to take effect after your salary deposits into USAA checking.

Two birds with one stone. USAA checking $1K deposit requirement exists, but assuming you have a $0*** checking account balance requirement, you don't have to keep it there. Meaning you can ACH a portion of it to (1) Ally (to further automate the process of paying yourself first) after you satisfy the (2) USAA $1K DD requirement. (*** Edit using actual checking minimum balance requirement.)



Bottom line to automate paying yourself first and paying your bills.
--DD portion of salary to Simple IRA.
--DD remaining salary to USAA checking (to satisfy $1K requirement).
--DD some portion of USAA checking to Ally savings.

Assuming your bills are paid by ABP (automatic bill payment plan set up with each creditor, avoids need to go online or mail checks to pay bills), you don't have to do much except record automatic transactions, reconcile statements (I prefer mailed paper), and (infrequently) manually rebalance accounts as needed.

Disclosure. I have used this method (DD/ABP) for many years and am pleased with how much time it saves each month. No problems noted.
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
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White Coat Investor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by White Coat Investor »

WorkToLive wrote:Hi, sorry, just checking back because I wanted to let people know they use Equifax for the credit check so I had to unfreeze our credit through them. I was approved the next business day.

To see the offer, I went to the app, chose the "Products" shopping bag icon on the home page, chose Banking, Credit Cards, Cash Back, then was presented with the Limitless option as the top option. It does say Online Pilot--Limited Availability.k

It's no fee, 2.5% cash back with no limit. I am very pleased. It's in the mail and I will switch over to it as soon as it arrives.
Nope. Can't get it through the app either. I think USAA hates Utahns.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
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VictoriaF
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by VictoriaF »

White Coat Investor wrote:Nope. Can't get it through the app either. I think USAA hates Utahns.
And Virginians.

Victoria
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donaldson
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by donaldson »

dratkinson wrote: Your restrictions on accounts, most to least severe, seem to be:
--Simple IRA. Deposits required for retirement. (Serious LT consequence if not funded.)
--USAA checking. Deposits required for monthly bills and to satisfy $1K deposit of 2.5% CC. (Serious ST consequences if not funded.)
--Ally savings. Deposits required for nice-to-have ST goals. (If underfunded, nothing serious happens except you delay a ST goal.)


As you don't have enough monthly money to fund everything...

[snip]
Just to clarify, the issue is not that I don't have enough monthly money to satisfy all three requirements (SIMPLE IRA/Checking/Ally Savings), it's that I need to see how to still have a "qualifying direct deposit" if I increase my SIMPLE IRA contribution (which, in turn, would make each paycheck I receive less than the required $1,000).

From the card terms and conditions:
A Qualifying Direct Deposit is a single electronic transfer of at least $1,000 into your USAA checking account that you initiate with your employer, a government entity, or an external financial institution.
Using my Vanguard MM account is another option that was suggested, and I will look into it.

Ultimately I would like all of my net pay to end up in my USAA account, but I have the direct deposit go elsewhere, this would require manually transferring funds (from Ally, or Vanguard, etc.) to USAA every month.

After reading through the thread again, it sounds like some were contemplating a strategy similar to this:

1. Continue to receive direct deposits from work (of less than $1000 each) into my USAA checking account.
2. Set up an automatic transfer of $1000 every month from Ally to USAA to meet the Qualifying Direct Deposit requirement.
3. Set up an equivalent monthly transfer of $1000 from USAA back to Ally.


Has anyone done this yet? Did it work out?
Last edited by donaldson on Wed Apr 12, 2017 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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leeks
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by leeks »

This card didn't show up in my offers when I was logged into USAA, but I got to it by logging out and then typing in: http://www.usaa.com/limitless
A monthly transfer from another bank is meeting the "direct deposit" requirement without issue. The transfer is initiated at the other bank (as the helpful USAA rep said was required to count as an eligible deposit).
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kelway
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by kelway »

leeks wrote:This card didn't show up in my offers when I was logged into USAA, but I got to it by logging out and then typing in: http://www.usaa.com/limitless
A monthly transfer from another bank is meeting the "direct deposit" requirement without issue. The transfer is initiated at the other bank (as the helpful USAA rep said was required to count as an eligible deposit).
Wow I wish I had known that... I hope it proves true for you, though.
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White Coat Investor
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by White Coat Investor »

Didn't work for me. I can see the terms for the card by searching limitless on the site, but I can't actually apply for it. It says this when I click the apply now button:
This online-only credit card offer isn't currently available in your state. Please check our credit card page over the next few months and apply when the card is offered in more states.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
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leeks
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by leeks »

kelway wrote:
leeks wrote:This card didn't show up in my offers when I was logged into USAA, but I got to it by logging out and then typing in: http://www.usaa.com/limitless
A monthly transfer from another bank is meeting the "direct deposit" requirement without issue. The transfer is initiated at the other bank (as the helpful USAA rep said was required to count as an eligible deposit).
Wow I wish I had known that... I hope it proves true for you, though.
Yep, it's true, the rewards are already appearing as expected.
rgs92
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by rgs92 »

Is there any way to join USAA if you are not connected to the military in any way, even by relatives? Thanks.
donaldson
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by donaldson »

To follow up from my last post, from my Ally account I just set up an automatic transfer of $1000 to my USAA checking account for the last business day of each month. Then, from my USAA account, I set up an automatic transfer of $1000 back to Ally for the first of each month.

The first transfers will happen on 4/28 and 5/1. Meanwhile, I will continue to get my (non-qualifying) direct deposits in my USAA account. I will come back to this thread if there are any updates, but from everything I have read it seems like this should work to satisfy the card requirements.
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flamesabers
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by flamesabers »

rgs92 wrote:Is there any way to join USAA if you are not connected to the military in any way, even by relatives? Thanks.
You can join USAA but you'll have limited access to the products when you have no military connections. According to the site:
We can offer you only the products and services listed below. If your parents establish membership with USAA, their additional products will become available to you.
The following products are available to you:
Investments
Financial guidance to help you make informed decisions.
Life Insurance
Coverage at competitive rates.
Shopping and Discounts
Take advantage of discounts and rewards.
https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/why_choose ... cyPassDown
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dratkinson
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by dratkinson »

donaldson wrote:...
Just to clarify, the issue is not that I don't have enough monthly money to satisfy all three requirements (SIMPLE IRA/Checking/Ally Savings), it's that I need to see how to still have a "qualifying direct deposit" if I increase my SIMPLE IRA contribution (which, in turn, would make each paycheck I receive less than the required $1,000). ...
My bad. I misunderstood. I thought you now didn't have enough for a qualifying USAA deposit because you were trying to increase your monthly Simple IRA contributions + maintain your monthly deposits to Ally saving. In that case, reordering the transactions should have helped.

donaldson wrote:To follow up from my last post, from my Ally account I just set up an automatic transfer of $1000 to my USAA checking account for the last business day of each month. Then, from my USAA account, I set up an automatic transfer of $1000 back to Ally for the first of each month.

The first transfers will happen on 4/28 and 5/1. Meanwhile, I will continue to get my (non-qualifying) direct deposits in my USAA account. I will come back to this thread if there are any updates, but from everything I have read it seems like this should work to satisfy the card requirements.
Sounds like your plan meets the letter of the USAA requirement, maintains your Ally balance, and deposits your "now too small to be a qualifying deposit" paycheck into USAA checking for bill paying.

Let us know if your plan works as expected as it can be another arrow in the quiver for someone who needs it.


(Added) Idea: Use your planned transfers to automate the process of slowly growing your Ally savings.
Last business day of the month: transfer $1000 from Ally savings to USAA checking.
First business day of the month: transfer $1050* from USAA checking to Ally savings. (* Or whatever you want.)
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
cpants
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by cpants »

I already have a USAA Cashback Rewards AmEx. Can I get them to just convert that to the new 2.5% card? I already meet the direct deposit and geographical requirements.
cmublitz
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Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card

Post by cmublitz »

cpants wrote:I already have a USAA Cashback Rewards AmEx. Can I get them to just convert that to the new 2.5% card? I already meet the direct deposit and geographical requirements.
We tried to do that and the USAA representative said they couldn't. Maybe I didn't speak the right magic words, but we ended up having to just apply for the new 2.5% Limitless card and then separately cancel the inferior 1.5% card.
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