USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card: Is It Worth It?

For military members, especially active duty members with qualifying balance transfers, the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card offers substantial interest savings. First, the balance transfer offer lets you pay no interest for 15 months. Additional savings are available for active duty military members — USAA caps their interest rate at 4%, making this a great card for military members who have a considerable amount of qualifying debt.

Remember, however, that not everyone is eligible for the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card. You need to be a USAA member or have a military connection that allows you to join.

Unfortunately, this card doesn’t offer a promotional APR on new purchases or a rewards program. There are valuable travel and purchase protections that make up for it, but you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons against your intended use of the card. If you don’t need a credit card for a balance transfer or are looking for a stellar credit card with cash back, this isn’t for you.

Want to save more on a balance transfer? See our best balance transfer credit cards

• Annual fee: $0
• Intro purchase APR: None
• Regular purchase APR: 11.65% to 25.65% variable
• Intro balance transfer: 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers, then 11.65% to 25.65% variable regular APR
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Sign-up bonus: N/A
• Rewards: N/A
• Other benefits: Travel protections, Cell phone protection, Very low APR for active duty military
• Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

• Intro APR on balance transfers

  One of the main benefits of the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card is that it offers a 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers, then 11.65% to 25.65% variable regular APR on balance transfers and convenience checks (followed by a 11.65% to 25.65% variable after the introductory period ends). You can find balance transfer cards that offer this rate for up to 21 months. However, this is a relatively long APR compared to most balance transfer cards. If you don’t have a lot of debt to transfer or want to push yourself to pay it off, this card gives you well over a year to do so without paying a cent of interest.

• Possible low ongoing APR

  We don’t recommend carrying a balance on a credit card, but sometimes, it can’t be helped, and when that happens, having a low interest rate helps reduce the financial burden. With the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card, you’ll pay a 11.65% to 25.65% variable APR. The lower range is one of the lowest interest rates on credit cards right now.

  You’ll need good / excellent credit to be approved for this credit card, and the higher your credit score, the better your chance of being approved for the lower interest rate.

  Finally, for active duty military, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) offers protections, including reducing the interest rates at a maximum of 6% on debt incurred prior to qualifying military service. However, USAA goes above and beyond by offering a maximum interest rate of 4% for active service members.

• Doesn’t assess a penalty APR

  Unlike other cards, the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card does not have a higher, penalty APR that replaces your current one if you pay your credit card bill late. Note, however, that you will be assessed a late fee of $25 or $35 if you make a late payment.

• Few fees

  The USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. The latter is especially attractive for active-duty military stationed abroad, as foreign transaction fees typically run around 3%.

• Includes useful benefits

  One of the most outstanding features of this card is that it includes benefits that you usually see with travel credit cards. Cardholders receive the following travel benefits:

  • Auto rental coverage
  • Travel accident insurance
  • Trip cancellation and interruption coverage
  • Baggage delay and reimbursement

  Aside from travel protections, there are some useful day-to-day protections: extended warranty, purchase security and cell phone protection. However, for the coverage to be valid, you need to pay for items and your monthly cell phone bill with your USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card.

• High balance transfer fee

  Before you sign up to transfer a balance to the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card, you should be aware that you’ll have to pay a balance transfer fee of 5% of the amount of each balance transfer and convenience check. This is a bit higher than the typical balance transfer fee of 3%. While this may seem like a minor difference in fees, the additional cost can be substantial.

  For example, for a $1,000 balance transfer, you would pay a $50 fee with the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card, versus $30 with a card that charges a 3% fee. For a $5,000 balance transfer, you would pay $250 with this card, versus $150 with a lower-fee card — that’s a $100 difference.

  To get the most savings on a balance transfer, you should look for a card with a lower balance transfer fee, like the Citi Simplicity^® Card.

• No intro APR on purchases

  Unfortunately, this card does not offer an introductory APR on new purchases. If you’re looking for a card with introductory rates for both purchases and balance transfers, consider the U.S. Bank Visa^® Platinum Card.

  → Find the best 0% APR credit cards

• USAA membership isn’t available to everyone

  USAA is known for affordable rates and exceptional customer service, but membership is not open to everyone. You’re eligible if you fall into one of the following groups:

  • U.S. military members and veterans
  • Precommissioned officers
  • Spouses and children

• No rewards program

  If the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card’s balance transfer intro offer is the main reason you’re interested in the card, don’t let its lack of a rewards program concern you too much. A balance transfer credit card gives you the potential to save far more on interest than you would earn from a rewards program. But if you’re not particularly looking to do a balance transfer, and don’t carry a balance, consider a cash back credit card or rewards credit card.

USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card vs. Citi Simplicity^® Card

The Citi Simplicity^® Card comes in at the top of the list when it comes to credit cards for balance transfers. It offers a long 0% intro APR for 21 months on Balance Transfers, then 18.49% - 29.24% (Variable). This is six months longer than you get with the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card, plus you’ll get a low, introductory balance transfer fee. However, you’ll pay a higher interest rate after the intro period ends.

This $0 annual fee card also has a 0% intro APR for 12 months on Purchases, then 18.49% - 29.24% (Variable). Like the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card, the Citi Simplicity^® Card
doesn’t have a rewards program, which makes it less valuable to keep in your wallet long-term.

USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card vs. U.S. Bank Visa^® Platinum Card

The U.S. Bank Visa^® Platinum Card has a longer intro APR on balance transfers, plus it offers an equally long intro APR for new purchases. You’ll pay a 0% intro APR for 21 billing cycles on Balance Transfers, then 18.24% - 29.24% (Variable). And you’ll get a 0% intro APR for 21 billing cycles on Purchases, then 18.24% - 29.24% (Variable). There’s also a low introductory balance transfer fee for transfers made within 60 days of account opening.

Like the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card, there’s no rewards program but the U.S. Bank Visa^® Platinum Card does offer cell phone protection if you use it to pay your monthly bill.

USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card vs. Citi Double Cash^® Card

The Citi Double Cash^® Card is a great balance transfer card that makes sense to keep long-term thanks to the sign-up bonus and cash back rewards that you can earn on every purchase. You’ll pay 0% intro APR for 18 months on Balance Transfers. After that, the variable APR will be 18.49% - 28.49% (Variable), and you’ll get a low introductory balance transfer fee.

It also offers an easy-to-earn sign-up bonus and a simple cash back rate. Just note that you don’t earn the full 2% cash back at once: Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25.

Thanks to the lower rate that USAA offers active duty military members on qualifying debt, the USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card is ideal for service people who have a large amount of debt that will extend beyond the intro period. Although the balance transfer fee is on the higher end, you’ll save much more in interest in the long run.

However, if you don’t qualify for a USAA membership, or if you do but don’t have a lot of debt to transfer, then a card with an intro purchase APR or rewards program may offer more useful benefits. The U.S. Bank Visa^® Platinum Card offers intro APRs on both purchases and balance transfers, while the Citi Double Cash^® Card earns cash back rewards even after your balance transfer is paid off.