USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card review: A solid no-annual-fee option for military members and families

Active-duty military members who want to earn rewards toward military base expenses should consider the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Credit Card. It offers 5 percent cash back on gas station and military base purchases (up to $3,000 per year in combined purchases), 2 percent cash back on grocery store purchases (up to $3,000 per year) and unlimited 1 percent cash back on other purchases. Both cards have no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees or penalty APR, but the Cashback Rewards Plus card lacks any kind of welcome bonus. 

The Cashback Rewards Plus card limits your earning potential by capping some spending categories, but it does offer more military-specific benefits, which the USAA Rewards Amex doesn’t. The versatility of military base spending may give the Cashback Rewards Plus the overall edge.

The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card works well for people who want a simple flat-rate cashback rewards card without USAA membership restrictions. It earns 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases, so you don’t have to think about bonus categories like you would with the USAA Rewards card. 

The Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card and the USAA Rewards Card have no annual fee and offer great travel perks, but the Quicksilver’s intro APR offer covers purchases and balance transfers, giving it added value to assist with larger purchases. You’ll also get significantly more value from the welcome offer, which has a manageable spending amount. If you value simplicity or need upfront solid value from a welcome offer or purchase intro APR, you’ll likely prefer the Quicksilver. If you value rewards potential, the USAA Rewards Amex may be your pick.

This card is only available to service members and their families. The everyday reward earnings and perks make this a solid addition to the wallets of those serving our country.

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.

Only USAA members can apply for the USAA Rewards American Express card. Active and former military personnel and eligible family members can become USAA members. If your grandparents were former service members, they and your parent must be or have been members for you to qualify.

The USAA Rewards American Express card’s credit score requirement is good to excellent (FICO Score of 670 or higher or a VantageScore of 661 or higher). Cardholders who are approved with a lower score will have a higher-than-average APR.

The USAA Rewards American Express card reports to all three credit bureaus.