What are the USAA Rewards Card requirements for approval?

The USAA credit score requirement is 750 for most cards. This means that people with excellent credit have a decent shot at getting some of the best USAA credit card offers. USAA also offers a credit card for people with good credit (a credit score of 700), plus two other cards for people with bad credit (a credit score of 300).... read full answer

To see which USAA credit card you qualify for, make sure to check your credit score before applying.

USAA Credit Score Requirements by Card

• USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card: 750+ (Excellent credit)
• USAA® Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card: 750+ (Excellent credit)
• USAA® Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card: 700+ (Good credit)
• USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card: 750+ (Excellent credit)
• USAA® Rate Advantage Visa Platinum® Card: 750+ (Excellent credit)
• USAA® Secured American Express® Card: 300+ (Bad credit)
• USAA® Secured Visa Platinum® Card: 300+ (Bad credit)

You should note that while your credit score is an important factor, there are plenty of other things that will impact your chances of being approved for a USAA credit card, too. Some other key criteria include your income, existing debt load, number of open accounts, recent credit inquiries, employment status, and housing status.

You can only get pre-approved for a USAA credit card if you have received a pre-approved offer via mail. At the moment, there’s no way to check for pre-approval online.

What you should know before applying for a USAA credit card:

Even though USAA does not offer a pre-approval tool online, there are a few ways to gauge your approval odds before applying. First, make sure you’re actually eligible for ... read full answerUSAA membership. In particular, you must be a member of the U.S. military, or an eligible family member of someone who has served in the armed forces.

If you’re eligible for USAA membership, you can move on to figuring out which card is the best fit. Fortunately, there are USAA credit cards are available to people of all credit levels, from bad to excellent. So, you should find an offer that will approve you.

Here’s what to do instead of USAA credit card pre-approval:

• Check your credit score: You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub. Your score will give you a good sense of which offers you’re likely to qualify for. Most USAA credit cards require good credit or better. If you have bad credit, USAA’s secured credit cards are your only options.
• Use an online tool:There are tools that match you with a card, based on your credit score as well as your expected monthly spending and payments. Getting a match isn’t the same thing as being approved, though. You can get a recommendation using WalletHub’s free CardAdvisor tool, which considers offers from other major issuers.
• Call customer service: USAA members may call (800) 531-8722, enter their member ID number, and ask to speak to a credit card specialist. You can ask the specialist for advice about which USAA card would be the best fit for you. They won’t be able to give you definitive answers, but they can point you in the right direction.
  
  If you aren’t a USAA member yet, you can find out whether you’re eligible and join online.
• Assess your own needs: If you have good or excellent credit and plan to pay your bill in full every month, focus on USAA’s rewards credit cards. If not, consider an offer with a 0% introductory APR, either on new purchases or balance transfers.

There’s no way to check for USAA credit card pre-approval. But if you’re eligible for USAA membership, you should be able to find a card that will approve you.

A good annual income for a credit card is more than $39,000 per annum for a single individual or $63,000 per year for a household. Anything lower than that is below the median yearly earnings for Americans. However, there’s no official minimum income amount required for credit card approval in general. It varies by credit card company and from individual card to card.... read full answer

For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card requires at least $425 more in income per month than you spend on rent or mortgage payments. Generally, the top 10 issuers either have no minimum income requirements or do not publicly disclose that information.

Reasons Why Income Is Required

By law, credit card companies are required to ask for your income. Lenders can only issue you a credit card if they’re confident you can make at least the minimum monthly payments and that you have the ability to repay any balance you may incur. In addition to employment income, you should also report any alternative sources of income. This includes alimony, Social Security or pension payments, and investment income, among other sources.

Applicants under 21 years old can only report “personal income.” This may include money earned from a job, of course, as well as things like investment income, inheritance distributions, or even an allowance that someone regularly deposits into your bank account. You cannot include your parents’ income unless they co-sign for your card, and major issuers don’t allow co-signers anymore. If you’re over the age of 21, you can add in someone else’s income that you may have reasonable access to, such as the salary of a working spouse.

There’s still another part of the equation, and that’s how much debt you have. Issuers will review your debt in relation to your income to determine how much more you can afford to borrow and how risky you would be as a borrower. Issuers set your credit limit based on this information and other factors like your credit history. There’s no specific cutoff for credit cards, but you’ll want to maintain as low of a debt-to-income ratio as possible.

Finally, you should always be honest and accurate when reporting income on a credit card application. Knowingly entering false info is illegal.