All posts by Leonard Kreicas

American Legion USAA Credit Cards

The American Legion MasterCard has been changed to non-branded USAA credit cards.

These credit cards include the following five choices:

  • USAA Rewards™ American Express® Card
  • Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card
  • USAA Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card
  • Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card
  • USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum® Card

USAA Rewards™ American Express® Card

  • 3X points on dining out
  • 2X points on gas and groceries
  • 1X points on all other eligible purchases
  • 2,500 bonus points after first purchase
  • No annual fee
  • APR from 9.90% to 25.90%
  • No APR penalty
  • No minimum interest charge
  • No over credit limit fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3% balance transfer fee
  • 3% cash advance fee, which is waived if transferring to USAA deposit account
  • Purchase protections for items lost, stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase

USAA Cashback Rewards Plus™ American Express® Card

  • 5% cash back on first $3,000 in combined gas station and military base purchases per year
  • 2% cash back on first $3,000 in grocery purchases per year
  • Unlimited 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases
  • No annual fee
  • APR from 11.90% to 25.90%
  • No APR penalty
  • No minimum interest charge
  • No over credit limit fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3% balance transfer fee
  • 3% cash advance fee, which is waived if transferring to USAA deposit account
  • Purchase protections for items lost, stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase

USAA Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card

  • 2X points on gas and dining out
  • 1X points on all other eligible purchases
  • 2,500 bonus points after first purchase
  • No annual fee
  • APR from 9.90% to 25.90%
  • No APR penalty
  • No minimum interest charge
  • No over credit limit fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3% balance transfer fee
  • 3% cash advance fee, which is waived if transferring to USAA deposit account

USAA Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card

  • 1.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases
  • No category restrictions
  • No annual fee
  • APR from 11.90% to 25.90%
  • No APR penalty
  • No minimum interest charge
  • No over credit limit fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3% balance transfer fee
  • 3% cash advance fee, which is waived if transferring to USAA deposit account

USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum® Card

  • No rewards
  • No annual fee
  • APR from 6.90% to 23.90%
  • No APR penalty
  • No minimum interest charge
  • No over credit limit fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3% balance transfer fee
  • 3% cash advance fee, which is waived if transferring to USAA deposit account

To be eligible for a USAA credit card an applicant has to be currently on active duty, serving the United States honorably, anywhere in the world, or have served honorably during any of the eligible war eras.

USAA stands for United Services Automobile Association. Per wikipedia, “USAA was founded in 1922 in San Antonio by a group of 25 U.S. Army officers as a mechanism for mutual self-insurance when they were unable to secure auto insurance because of the perception that they, as military officers, were a high-risk group. USAA has since expanded to offer banking and insurance services to past and present members of the Armed Forces, officers and enlisted, and their families.”

American Express Blue Card

American Express Blue Card
Blue Card from American Express

The classic American Express Blue Card provides cardholders a worry-free Amex credit card for everyday use.

Its basic package includes an effective 1% rebate on eligible purchases, some special discounts, monthly and yearly statements to track spending habits, and world-class American Express customer service.

Interest Rates

  • Purchases – 0% for 25 days if statement balance is zero
  • Purchases – 16.99%, 19.99%, 21.99% if statement balance is greater than zero
  • Cash Advances – 26.99%
  • Balance Transfers – 14.24% to 25.24% starting on transfer date
  • Late payments – 29.99% (for at least 6 months)

Fees

  • Annual Fee: $0.00
  • Fee on balance transfer: 3% ($5 min)
  • Cash advance: 3% ($5 min)
  • Foreign transaction: 2.7%
  • Late payment: up to $38
  • Returned payment: up to $38

Earn Rewards

  • 1 Membership Reward point per dollar on eligible purchases
  • 2 Membership Reward points per dollar on eligible travel purchase at AmexTravel.com 
  • Minimum to redeem: 2,000 points

Redeem Membership Rewards

  • Cash back on eligible purchases
  • Merchandise such as electronics, fashion, home goods
  • Online shopping at amazon.com, walmart.com, grubhub.com, and more 
  • Gift cards
  • Travel, including airfare, hotels, luggage
  • Entertainment
  • Donate to selected charities

Purchase Services

  • Theft and accidental damage protection, including cell phones
  • Return protection within 90 days of purchase
  • Free extended warranties (up to 2 years)

Travel Benefits

  • Roadside Assistance Hotline
  • Car rental and damage insurance (excludes liability coverage)
  • Global Assist Hotline (doesn’t pay for third-party costs)
  • Travel accident insurance on common carriers

Security Features

  • Fraud Protection
  • Advanced secure chip technology
  • Text alerts

Amex Card Benefits

  • Exclusive savings with Amex Offers
  • Amex mobile app
  • ShopRunner program members receive free 2nd-day shipping from participating merchants.
  • Guaranteed savings off MSRP on new vehicles using the TrueCar service, with some dealers allowing cardholders to place the entire purchase on their Amex card, up to their credit limit
  • Entertainment Access for cardholder-only events and places
  • Monthly and annual summaries
  • Free authorized users cards

For all the fine print and application visit the American Express Blue Card site.

America’s Christian CU Credit Cards

America’s Christian Credit Union offers several credit card options to benefit cardholders and Christian ministries with a Giveback program.

Visa Signature Rewards

  • No Annual Fee
  • Earn rewards on purchases and donations
  • Redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards, and merchandise
  • Visa® Giveback program benefits Christian ministries

Platinum Visa with Rewards

  • No Annual Fee
  • Earn points on purchases and donations
  • 0% introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and 3.9% balance transfer for the first six months from card’s opening
  • Visa® Giveback program benefits Christian ministries

Giveback Platinum Visa

  • No Annual Fee
  • Low Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
  • 0% introductory APR and 3.9% balance transfer for the first six months from card’s opening
  • Visa® Giveback program benefits Christian ministries

Giveback Ministries

  • Use your credit card and we’ll give back to ministries:
  • The Legacy Center
  • New Beginnings Adoption & Family Services
  • World Mission Broadcast

Please visit their personal credit cards page for details and applications.

 

Chase Sapphire Credit Card Comparison Tool

Chase Sapphire Card
Chase Sapphire with Ultimate Rewards no longer takes new clients, but current cardholders can still use the card as before.

Chase currently offers a Ultimate Rewards card in two versions:

  • Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee)
  • Sapphire Reserve ($450 annual fee)

You can compare the three Chase Ultimate Rewards cards offer in the table below to see which one is best for you.

CHASE SAPPHIRE COMPARISON CHART

FEATURES REG PREFERRED RESERVE
Type VISA VISA VISA
Grace period 21 21 21
Annual Fee $0 $95 $450
Balance Transfer Fee n/a 5% 5%
Cash Advance Fee 5% 5% 5%
Foreign Transaction Fee 0% 0% 0%
APR Intro n/a n/a n/a
APR Balance 17.49%- 24.49% 17.49%- 24.49% 17.49%- 24.49%
APR Cash Advances 26.49% 26.49% 26.49%
REWARDS
Base  purchase rewards 1% 1% 1%
Dining (see notes) 2% 2% 3%
Travel (see notes) 1% 2% 3%
Annual bonus no no 50% UR
Minimum amount to redeem none none none
Redeem at UR portal 100 => 100 100 => 125 100 => 150
Redeem at ChasePay 100 => 80 100 => 80 100 => 80
Redeem at Amazon 100 => 80 100 => 80 100 => 80
PURCHASE SECURITY
Fraud Protection yes yes yes
Purchase Protection $500 per claim $500 per claim $10K per claim
Price Protection discontinued discontinued discontinued
Return Protection discontinued discontinued discontinued
Warranty extension 1 yr max 2 yr max 3 yr max
Free FICO score yes yes yes
Blueprint Financial Tool yes yes yes
Apple Pay yes yes yes
Mobile App yes yes yes
Visa Signature Concierge yes yes yes
Add authorized user fee $0 $0 $75
Shop through Chase yes yes yes
Credits – travel no no $300
Credits – global entry no no yes
Credits – travel no no $300
Points transfer no 1 to 1 1 to 1
Lounge access n/a n/a Priority select
INTRO (ONE TIME ONLY)
Bonus points ($4000 spend/3 months) n/a $500 $500
Bonus points (authorized user) n/a $50
INSURANCE
Auto rental collision yes yes yes
Trip cancellation up to $5K up to $10K up to $10K
Trip Interruption $500/12 hrs $500/12 hrs $500/6 hrs
Baggage delay yes $100 day/ 5 days $100 day/ 5 days
Lost baggage $3K per person $3K per person $3K per person
Roadside assistance fee fee 4 times
Travel accident death $500K $500K $1M

NOTES

DINING REWARDS

The restaurant category for extra reward points is broader than is generally believed, since it includes fast-food places, coffee shops, bars, as well as fine dining ones.

However Chase writes, “Please note that merchants that sell food and drinks located within larger merchants such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category.”

So buying a coffee from Starbucks in a grocery store may not get points, but a purchase in a free-standing shop will.

TRAVEL REWARDS

Although bonus rewards for travel aren’t applicable for the no-fee Chase Sapphire card, they could add up quickly in certain metropolitan areas such as New York City or Los Angeles.

Besides airline tickets and hotels, the travel category includes tolls and parking which can quickly add up in Manhattan, where the average monthly garage bill is about $400 or almost $5,000 per year, and the George Washington Bridge toll is $15 or up to $3800 per year.

Earning 2% on $7,800 nets $156, or more than the $95 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

REWARD POINTS NEVER EXPIRE, BUT…

Under certain conditions Chase will take all your hard-earned points away.

Your points don’t expire as long as your account is open, however, you’ll immediately lose all your points if your account status changes, or your account is closed, for any of the following reasons:

  • You don’t make the minimum payment on your account within 60 days of the due date
  • You fail to comply with this or other agreements you have with Chase
  • We believe you may be unwilling or unable to pay your debts on time
  • You file for bankruptcy
  • We believe that you’ve engaged in fraudulent activity related to your account or the program
  • We believe that you’ve misused the program in any way, for example:by buying or selling points
  • By moving or transferring points to an ineligible third party or account
  • By repeatedly opening or otherwise maintaining credit card accounts for the purpose of generating rewards

In other words deadbeats and people who churn accounts at Chase will be unceremoniously booted out of the program.

Since the original Chase Sapphire cardholders can still use their cards Ultimate Rewards card, the choice on whether to upgrade to the premium versions depends on whether paying annual dues makes or breaks the deal.