USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card
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USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card

Type
Military
Credit Rating
Good
Annual Fee
-
Reward Type
Cash Back
SigUp Bonus
No

Main Credit Card Features

Rewards
No Annual Fee

USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card Key Benefits:

Primary cash back categories:

  • Gas
  • Military

How Cash Back Credit Cards Work

Cash back rewards occur when a credit card company gives a small percentage of the purchase back to the customer. Most companies offer cash back between 1-3%, with certain cards offering as much as 6% back. Cash back may be flat-rate, multi-tier, or revolving categories. Rewards come in two primary forms. With an actual cash back rebate, the cash value of the rewards is added to your account. The other type of reward is where your purchases accumulate points. As the customer, you have to initiate the exchange of the points for cash.

Your rebate is redeemed as a check, placed in an account, or more commonly as a statement credit. Using a statement credit, you will not physically receive cash. Instead, the credit card company transfers the “cash” to pay a portion of your credit card bill. How you receive your cash back is described in your credit card agreement.

Cash back takes one or two billing cycles to become applicable and is only redeemable after meeting a minimum threshold. This is done to ensure your account standing is good before the cash back is paid. Cash back cards generally have smaller sign-on bonuses, but lower spending thresholds, than other rewards cards. They are appealing because rewards are simpler to redeem with cash back, and can be received in more ways. When applicable, annual fees are usually $100 or less. Cash back is not subject to devaluation like other rewards programs.

How No Annual Fee Credit Cards Work

A no annual fee credit card is excellent as a backup credit card as you don’t need to pay to maintain it. You might need a backup credit card if your primary one got lost or stolen. Another benefit of a no annual fee credit card is that you can improve your credit to debt ratio if you don’t use it consistently. You may also consider this card if you are looking for a specific perk.