USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card: Decently rewarding for military purchases

You won't find much first-year value beyond the ongoing rewards rate other than the intro APR offers — which already aren’t crowd-pleasing since they don’t include the typical offer on purchases. This could be a little disappointing since many no-annual-fee rewards cards usually provide a welcome offer worth $200 (if you meet the spending requirement). However, this small handful of short-term value shouldn’t be a deal-breaker compared to the long-term value card could provide. 

According to our card value rating methodology and an estimated $22,500 annual spend, the average spender could earn a solid $411 each year. However, the real long-term value is in the low rates and fees, travel protections and military-focused terms since you could earn $450 in cash back each year with a flat-rate 2 percent card on the same spending.

In addition to the stellar travel protections and low rates and fees that USAA credit cards are known for, this card provides perhaps the highest year-round rewards rate on gas. Plus, it's one of the few cards with a specific rewards category for military base purchases.

Rewards: Exceptional rewards rate on gas and military base purchases

When it comes to rewards credit cards, this USAA offering is fairly middle-of-the-road, but it may not be the most valuable option if you spend more than $3,000 each year on either gas or military purchases — like those made on bases — or $3,000 per year on groceries.

This card’s 5 percent cash back rate for gas and military purchases is hard to match, but some no-annual-fee cash back cards come with a 2 percent flat rate on all purchases without any limit, making the card’s grocery rewards rate less impressive. Although the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus card is great for its niche rewards rate on military bases and for gas, if a majority of your spending falls into common categories like groceries or dining, you might be able to earn more overall cash back with a different card. In fact, some issuers reduce annual fees and/or other card costs if you're called into active duty.

According to the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus program terms and conditions, the minimum amount of rewards you can redeem depends on the redemption option. A statement credit, for instance, requires a $10.00 minimum.  You can redeem cash back for travel rewards, merchandise and gift cards, as a statement credit, direct deposit or as a charitable donation. However, it's worth noting that you can't pool rewards between cash back and travel USAA cards. That means that you won't be able to transfer your cash back to travel partners for potentially more value, like several competing cards allow when paired with a premium card from the same issuer.

Perks: Extensive travel protections

The USAA Cashback Rewards card offers numerous benefits for military members and their families. Perks like its 24/7 customer service, security alerts and $0 liability for unauthorized purchases are widely available, but its exceptional travel protections typically aren't available on many cash back cards. With that in mind, this card can be a competitive choice if you or your family often travel from military bases and would enjoy the following perks:

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: This coveted perk reimburses you for certain prepaid travel bookings if they're affected by eligible circumstances like injury, inclement weather or being called into active military duty.

• Baggage delay and reimbursement: The last thing military members on leave or military families on vacation want to deal with is lost luggage. USAA offers peace of mind with baggage delay and reimbursement coverage.

• Auto rental coverage: Rent a vehicle with your USAA credit card and enjoy complimentary coverage along with travel accident insurance.

Rates and fees: Remarkably low potential costs

The USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express card has no annual fee, no penalty APR and no foreign transaction fees — impressive features that normally aren't available with a major credit card other than Discover cards. Plus, the up to $35 fee for late or returned payments is slightly lower than the up to $41 that is usually charged for this fee. If you are new to credit cards, this card can also be helpful as your first late and returned payment is reduced to $25 (within prior six billing periods). However, it's worth noting that the 5 percent balance transfer fee is on the higher end of the spectrum considering some competing cards only charge 3 percent.

Although the card doesn't come with an intro APR on purchases, the card’s 16.15% to 28.15% Variable APR could fall well below the current average interest rate (currently hovering around 20 percent). In fact, this could be a lower rate than many popular low-interest credit cards provide.

Being available only to USAA Bank members and specialized rewards already hurts the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus card's value, but the missing sign-up bonus and intro APR on purchases already make it less competitive for many people than a popular everyday spending card.

Intro APR: Covers convenience checks, not purchases

The 15-month intro APR on balance transfers (then a 16.15% to 28.15% Variable) is on par with the balance transfer offer that many no-annual-fee cash back cards carry. Unfortunately, there’s no introductory APR on new purchases. Instead, there is a 15-month intro APR on convenience checks, which may not be that helpful depending on where you're stationed abroad. 

The 5 percent balance transfer fee may also be higher than what many competing cards charge, so cardholders carrying credit card debt or who are planning on a large purchase might want to look elsewhere if their goal is to curb interest for a year or more (especially on a large balance).

Welcome offer: No intro rewards

The USAA Cashback Rewards credit card doesn’t provide any sign-up bonus rewards. This means no extra cash back after you spend a certain amount in the first few months, and no intro APR to help reduce your interest payments.

Most cash back cards with no annual fee come with a welcome offer worth at least $200 to entice new applicants. Sign-up bonuses of this caliber typically require spending $500 to $1,000 in the first three months, which likely won't be a problem for many people. Missing this initial value can be a notable drawback considering you'll only earn $210 by maxing out the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus card bonus categories' rewards spending limits each year.

However, long-term value matters more in the end, so the missing sign-up bonus may not be a deal-breaker if the ongoing rewards rates are a valuable fit for your spending.

Senior editor Nouri Zarrugh leaned on the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus early in his credit card journey for its gas rewards, although he found your mileage may vary based on your spending — especially outside military bases.

USAA cash back and travel cards can't pool rewards, so you can't transfer cash rewards for more value toward travel like you can with many no-annual-fee cash rewards cards. So, unless you're looking for military-centric terms and features on all of your cards, you can expand your search to rewards cards from other issuers. 

If you’re looking to partner up your USAA card, consider a travel card for stronger rewards and perks when your service requires booking flights or hotels. A card with a 0 percent intro APR offer for large purchases could also be a big help since the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus can only help you save on convenience checks.

While the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express card offers solid cash back on specialized expenses for current and former military members and their families, it has a harder time competing with more traditional cash back cards — even quality flat-rate rewards cards.

This card in particular offers one of the best year-round rewards rates for gas purchases, plus a rare and remarkable rewards category for purchases made on military bases. While earning 5 percent for gas is a luxury in the cash back credit card world, you’ll need to supplement this card with more versatile rewards cards if you want to maximize your earnings in other everyday categories like dining and groceries. Ultimately, the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus could be a good fit if you:

• Are a member of the military (or a relative) and you drive and make on-base purchases often

• Want a low-cost card with a potentially low ongoing APR

• Plan to be stationed abroad and could use the convenience check offer, travel protections and possible SCRA benefits

The information about the USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card and USAA Rewards™ American Express® Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

If you like the military-oriented terms and features of USAA cards, the issuer's flat-rate cash rewards card and points-based cards with no annual fee could be much more lucrative across a wider variety of purchases.

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review: