USAA Eagle Navigator® Visa Signature® Credit Card review: Solid rewards for on-the-go military members and their families

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a top travel card without eligibility restrictions at the same price point. While the USAA Eagle Navigator earns better rates in its bonus categories and everyday purchases, the Sapphire Preferred offers 3X points on dining, streaming, and online grocery purchases, better rates through their travel portal, and a boost in points value when redeeming through Chase Travel.

The Sapphire Preferred also offers a significantly higher welcome bonus for a higher spending requirement. You’ll also have access to Chase’s transfer partners, giving you more flexibility in using your rewards.

If you want to stay in the USAA family, you might prefer the no-annual-fee USAA Rewards™ American Express® Credit Card. The USAA Amex is significantly different from its counterpart, offering 3X points on dining, 2X points on groceries and at gas stations, and 1X points on other purchases. The USAA Eagle Navigator offers a base rate of 2X points on purchases and covers different categories at 3X, making the better rewards choice dependent on your spending habits.

While the USAA Amex offers a tiny welcome bonus, it provides a solid intro APR offer on balance transfers, making it an excellent choice for consolidating debt. The card also offers one of the lowest potential APR rates available, (ongoing Variabel APR of 14.65% to 28.65%), making it a better choice if you need to carry a balance. 

USAA cards are designed for military members and their families, allowing them to consolidate all their assets and expenses under the USAA roof with a solid card offering.

Eligible travelers can earn solid rewards on travel expenses, whether for leisure travel or expenses related to the service member’s deployment.

Regardless of the commuting method, you can earn elevated rewards on your transit-related expenses, which are broadly defined under the USAA rewards program.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

The USAA Eagle Navigator card is only available to USAA members, including active and former military personnel and eligible family members. If a grandparent is a retired service member, you’ll qualify if they and one of your parents have or had an active membership.

No, you can’t combine USAA Rewards with any other accounts. However, if you don’t have enough points for your desired redemption, you may be able to pay the difference with a USAA credit or debit card.

You’ll need at least a good credit score (FICO Score of 670 or higher or a VantageScore of 661 or higher) to have the best chance for approval.