weaseltown

Some possibly bad news. Per DoC, the pilot program has been further restricted and is now available only to Louisiana residents. I'm somewhat suspicious of the timing because the USAA web site has been acting up for me all day. Holding out narrow hope that it's just a web site glitch and that this isn't the new policy going forward.

mikesyr18

Applications in my state (NY) have been shut down.

The fact that they took away 9 states, and then the remaining states except for one is pathetic. What's so special about Louisiana?

Instead of removing states, add an AF to the card.

weaseltown

Agree. This is a bizarre move.

An AF card would be interesting. A few months ago I got an unsolicited email survey from USAA. It was fairly lengthy and seemed to be gauging interest for a premium credit card to compete directly with the Chase Sapphire or Amex Platinum Card offerings. I'm kicking myself for not taking screen shots of the survey questions.

The biggest argument against an AF card in my mind is that USAA caters to military personnel, which means that their members likely take advantage of SCRA benefits to a greater proportion than other banks' members. And though SCRA doesn't mandate that banks waive AFs, many (most?) banks offer this as an extra benefit anyway. I'm having a hard time seeing how USAA makes a profit if they were to offer this as a new product.

mikesyr18

Navy Federal offers a 2x points everything card for $49 a year. I think most people could be fine with a $49 2.5% cash back card, especially if it means USAA keeps the product on the market. If 2 million people sign up for the card, USAA reduces their losses by $98 million per year.

Perhaps they could go to a tiered rewards system, for example: $1-$1,500 earns 1.25%, $1501-$2000 earns 2%, $2000+ earns 2.5%. [Monthly statement spend].

isle-hawg

I called two days ago to CANX an old USAA Cash Rewards card that I haven't used for anything of note for over a decade. After failing to talk me into keeping it, the CSR tried real hard to talk me into PCing to a low interest CC for which I have no use. I knew the Limitless was no longer available and never was for VA but told her if she could PC me into it I would gladly accept and use it regularly. She confirmed again what we already knew that the card was no longer being offered and even if it was someone would have to apply from scratch as they did not ever allow PC to that card.

I got to talking more with her about it, and from what she knew and was willing to share she mentioned that there are no intentions to make it available for new sign ups in the future but was adamant that for those of you lucky enough to get this card when offered in your state that you would be allowed to keep it as they intended to keep the card with the same benefits for you folks.

serpens

I was on the phone with USAA for a different issue and asked about the 2.5% card. The rep said there are plans to bring it back after issues with Visa and American Express are resolved. (Why both? It seems like it would be Visa or American Express.) The rep seemed confident about the intent to bring it back but also seemed to think it would be a while before it happened.

mikesyr18

I don't see them bringing this card back. It's simply too expensive with no AF and no FTFs.

Blind and Green

I agree that taken in a vacuum, the card doesn't make sense for USAA; however, the direct deposit requirement for the card has kept my business with USAA when I likely would have switched to a different bank (additionally, because I use them for my primary checking account, I also get my insurance products through them because I'm lazy and don't want to remember more logins).

mikesyr18

I mean all you have to do is push money through ACH into USAA and then push it back out to the original bank.

I have the Limitless, checking, and insurance through USAA. I just simply manufacture the direct deposit, push it back out, and pay my insurance bill every month. However, the only reason I keep my insurance with USAA is because they offer me lower rates and I've heard they're more generous with claims.

Diplomatico

IME, USAA is also very responsive when it comes to appraising damage and settling the claim. 7-10 days until settlement.