United Services Automobile Association (“USAA” or the “Company”) is one of the leading military financial institutions that offer great benefits to the military community. The Company was founded in 1922 and started out as a car insurance company, but has grown over the years to offer a wide variety of products. USAA is dedicated to serving military members and their families by offering more benefits than most other major financial service provider. They offer a very wide range of excellent products, including insurance, banking, investing, real estate, retirement, health insurance, and other discounts. Additional detail on USAA is below. If you are eligible for membership, you should look to take advantage of their excellent product offerings.
Eligibility: For those who serve and for their eligible family members. This means their membership is open to: active military, former military, eligible family members, and cadets or midshipmen. Eligible family members include spouses and children.
When you do join USAA there some great benefits with your USAA membership:
Banking
- Free ATMs nationwide, including no monthly service charge and no minimum balance fees
- Military earnings are available 1 day in advance with direct deposit
- Competitive APRs and great rewards program for USAA’s credit cards. USAA also advertises it offers credit cards for people who are rebuilding their credit as well as for people who have excellent credit
- Auto loans and mortgage loans with competitive rates
Insurance
- Competitive auto insurance rates
- Homeowners insurance coverage protection against fire, theft, vandalism and many weather-related events.
- Uniforms are covered
- Home claims are settled quickly with claims paid with direct deposit
- Competitive renter’s insurance coverage
Investments
- USAA offers a variety of investment products, services, and advice. This includes brokerage accounts, CDs, IRAs, mutual funds, 529 college savings, etc.
- USAA also provides financial planning advice through their salaried financial advisers to help evaluate your financial needs.
Shopping / Discounts - USAA provides several discounts including:
- Home security and monitoring discounts
- Travel include flights, hotels, cruises, and resorts
- Travel insurance travel protection with waived service fees
- Travel cancellation coverage in case of deployment or unexpected leave revocation
- Car rental savings up to 35% discount with Avis, Hertz, or Budget
- USAA car buying service - only discounts on new and used vehicles through the program.
- FTD discounts - 25% discount on flowers, gifts and more.
- FedEx - shipping discounts up to 28% discount on personal shipments and up to 40% discount on business shipments.
- PODS - 10% discount on hassle-free moving and storage.
Other
- USAA is known for its great customer service and support
- USAA provides simple solutions including internet, smartphone, tablet, telephone, and mail banking.
- Deposit checks from your phone
- Online tools for USAA members to help understand their options and make more accurate financials decisions.
There are a few downsides to USAA, which you need to consider, including:
- Few local branches
- Rates vary by location
Overall, you still want to shop around and compare rates, offerings, benefits, etc. to other banks as USAA may not be the best option for you. However, if you are eligible, it is definitely worth exploring and talking to a USAA representative for additional details.