USAA Rewards Programs Review

Jun 18, 2025

Fact checked

Written by John S Kiernan

WalletHub Managing Editor

Fact Checked by Alina Comoreanu

WalletHub Senior Researcher

Editor’s Rating

4.1 out of 5 rating 4.1 / 5

Opinions and ratings are our own. This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. USAA is a WalletHub partner. WalletHub independently collected information for some of the cards on this page.

USAA has two credit card rewards programs, USAA Cash Rewards and USAA Points Rewards. These two USAA rewards programs feature different credit cards, reward currencies, earning rates and redemption options.

USAA Credit Card Rewards Program Overview

Name	Overall Rating	Type of Rewards	Average Value Per $1 Spent
USAA Cash Rewards	4.3/5	Cash Back	1 cent
USAA Points Rewards	4/5	Points	0.85 cents

Offers information was collected on June 6, 2025, and is likely to have changed since.

Summary: USAA Rewards Program Scores by Review Category

Category	Score
Earning Policies	27/30
Redemption Policies	8/20
Rewards Value per $1 Spent	30/30
Eligibility & Transparency	17/20
OVERALL	82/100

How to Earn USAA Rewards

Category Rating: 90% (27/30)

The credit cards in each USAA rewards program offer different earning rates, though you will receive at least 1 point per $1 spent or 1% - 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

Earning Rates by Program

USAA Points Rewards: 1 - 3 points per $1 spent, depending on the card

USAA Cash Rewards: 1% - 5% cash back, depending on the card

Earning Restrictions

The USAA credit card rewards programs may place restrictions on the rewards you can earn. For example, the USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card in the USAA Cash Rewards program limits the amount of bonus cash back you can earn on gas and military base purchases each year. After reaching the limit, you will still get 1% cash back in those categories. In addition, you need to be a USAA® member to get any USAA cash back or points credit card.

You can learn more by checking out WalletHub’s individual reviews of the rewards programs.

How to Redeem USAA Rewards

Category Rating: 39% (8/20)

The best way to redeem USAA rewards is for travel with USAA Points Rewards, as that option offers the greatest value. With USAA Cash Rewards, the only redemption option is for cash back. You can learn more about the redemption options for each program below.

Cash Back

Both USAA Cash Rewards and USAA Points Rewards let you get cash back in the form of a statement credit or a deposit to a USAA checking or savings account.

Travel

With USAA Points Rewards, you can redeem your points for travel through your online account or by calling customer service.

Gift Cards

USAA Points Rewards allows you to use your points to get gift cards from various popular retailers.

Habitat for Humanity Donations

With USAA Points Rewards, you can use your points to make a donation to the charity Habitat for Humanity.

Notable Redemption Restrictions:

Limited options: USAA Cash Rewards only allows you to redeem for cash back, and USAA points rewards limits its travel redemption options to airfare and cruises.
No transfer partners: The USAA Cash Rewards and USAA Points Rewards programs do not allow you to transfer your rewards to any hotel or airline loyalty programs. Many other top rewards programs do offer this feature.

You can learn more about these restrictions, and see a full list of the different ways to redeem, by checking out WalletHub’s individual reviews of the rewards programs.

USAA Rewards Value

Category Rating: 100% (30/30)

Cash Rewards: $1 in rewards = $1 USD
Points Rewards: 0.85 cents per point

Redemption Option	Programs That Offer	Average Rewards Value
Cash Back	USAA Cash Rewards USAA Points Rewards	Cash Rewards: $1 in rewards = $1 cash back Points Rewards: 0.83 cent - 1 cent per point*
Travel	USAA Points Rewards	0.99 cent - 1 cent per point*
Gift Cards	USAA Points Rewards	0.71 cent per point
Habitat for Humanity Donations	USAA Points Rewards	0.83 cent per point

*Varies by type of redemption

Overall, USAA Cash Back Rewards offers the most rewards value per dollar spent. However, the best rewards program for you depends on your individual spending habits and what you want to redeem your rewards for.

USAA Eligibility & Transparency

Category Rating: 88% (18/20)

Each USAA credit card rewards program has different cards that participate. Below, you can see your options.

Participating Cards by USAA Rewards Program

USAA Cash Rewards	USAA Points Rewards
USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Credit Card	USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card USAA® Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card USAA Eagle Navigator® Credit Card

Miscellaneous Details

There are a few other key things that you should know about each of the USAA credit card rewards programs. You can find highlights below. For the full details, check out WalletHub’s individual reviews of the programs.

Key Things to Know About USAA Cash Rewards

As long as your account is open and in good standing, your cash back never expires.

You must be a USAA® member to get a card.

You can opt for a card that offers bonus cash back in certain spending categories or a flat cash back rate on all purchases.

Key Things to Know About USAA Points Rewards

As long as your account is open and in good standing, your points never expire.

You must be a USAA® member to get a card.

The USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card offers better overall rewards, while the USAA® Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card has better international acceptance.

USAA Rewards Programs vs. Other Popular Options

Rewards Program	Overall Score
USAA Cash Rewards	86/100
USAA Points Rewards	79/100
Capital One Cash Back Rewards	94/100
Capital One Miles Rewards	88/100
Chase Ultimate Rewards	87/100
Citi ThankYou Rewards	86/100
Discover Cash Back Rewards	86/100
Bank of America Points Rewards	87/100
Bank of America Cash Back Rewards	90/100
Amex Blue Cash Reward Dollars	79/100

Summary: USAA Rewards Program Ratings by Category

Name	Overall Rating	Earning Policies Rating	Redemption Policies Rating	Rewards Value Per $1 Spent Rating	Eligibility & Transparency Rating
USAA Cash Rewards	86/100	26/30	10/20	30/30	20/20
USAA Points Rewards	79/100	28/30	6/20	30/30	15/20
Average Score	82/100	27/30	8/20	30/30	18/20

Methodology

This review of the USAA credit card rewards programs is a compilation of data from WalletHub’s individual reviews of each program. These individual reviews are based on the same methodology as WalletHub’s annual study on the Best Credit Card Rewards Programs.

Editor’s ratings reflect the sum of each program’s scores across the study’s four major categories, adjusted to a 5-point scale to create a representative distribution of ratings. The four major categories considered were: Earning Policies, Redemption Policies, Rewards Value per $1 Spent and Eligibility & Transparency.

Questions & Answers

Editorial and user-generated content on this page is not reviewed or otherwise endorsed by any financial institution. Please keep in mind that it is not a financial institution’s responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered.In addition, WalletHub independently collected information for some of the cards on this page.

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* The information about the following cards has been independently collected by WalletHub: USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card, USAA® Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card, USAA Eagle Navigator® Credit Card, and USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card.