USAA Secured Visa Platinum

Earning Rates

Key Benefits

All Benefits

• Issued on the Visa Platinum network
• Secured credit card: requires a refundable security deposit of $250 to $5,000, which becomes your credit line. The deposit is held in a USAA two-year Certificate of Deposit that earns interest while you build credit — most secured cards lock the deposit in a non-interest-bearing account, so this is a real differentiator
• Membership-gated: must be a USAA member to apply, and you must have a USAA Federal Savings Bank checking or savings account in good standing. USAA membership is restricted to current and former U.S. military servicemembers, their spouses, and their dependents
• No annual fee ($0)
• No foreign transaction fees — useful for deployed servicemembers spending overseas
• Variable purchase APR ~26.40% (a single posted rate, not a tiered range like USAA's unsecured cards)
• Active-duty servicemembers receive USAA's SCRA benefits, including a 4% APR cap during qualifying military service
• Reports to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) monthly — the credit-building mechanism
• Periodic account reviews for graduation to an unsecured USAA card (USAA reviews credit history, payment behavior, and overall financial profile; there is no fixed graduation timeline)
• Visa Platinum benefits: auto rental CDW (secondary U.S.), travel and emergency assistance services, roadside dispatch, zero-liability fraud protection
• 5% cash advance and convenience check fees; late payment and returned-payment fees capped at $35
• Earns no rewards on purchases (none of USAA's secured products earn points or cash back)
• Not Offered: no rewards / cash back / points on purchases
• Not Offered: no sign-up bonus
• Not Offered: no purchase protection or extended warranty (Visa Platinum tier, not Signature)
• Not Offered: no cell phone protection
• Not Offered: no travel insurance benefits beyond the basic Visa Platinum auto rental CDW
• Not Offered: no graduation guarantee — upgrade to unsecured depends on USAA's discretionary review, not a fixed schedule