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When looking for a credit card with exclusive benefits, savings opportunities, and low rates, the USAA Secured Platinum MasterCard can give you what you desire in a secured card. You also get certain protections, easy account management, and travel protection.
The USAA Secured Platinum MasterCard is a card that lets your money work for you. To apply for the card, you specify whether or not you are already a USAA member. If not, you can specify your military affiliation. You can specify if you honorably served in the U.S. military, if you are joining the U.S. military, if you are the child of a parent with USAA insurance, the spouse of someone with USAA insurance, or the spouse of someone who has honorably served in the U.S. military. If you are any one of these, then you can apply for this secured card.
When you apply, you simply provide your contact information and then you can move forward with the application process. Once you are approved, pending deposit, you can make that deposit. It must be a minimum specified amount, but no more than the maximum that is specified. After you have made this deposit, which determines your credit limit, you can make it grow. The money is deposited into a 2-Year Variable Rate Certificate of Deposit (CD) where it gains interest. This allows you to save for your future. If you withdraw the money prematurely, there is a penalty associated with that. If you wish to increase your credit limit at any time, you can request an increase and deposit more money. What this CD does is protect you and the credit card company against late payments.
Rates And Fees
The cost of the card is competitive and it is one of the USAA products that have the lowest rates. There is no penalty APR if a payment is made late and it has a small annual fee. If you wish to avoid paying interest, you can do so by paying off the card balance before the due date. There is a 25 day grace period that is given after the close of each billing cycle.
The APR on balance transfers and cash advances can't be avoided, but you can save money on your purchase APR if you pay off your balance each billing cycle. If you don't do any balance transfers or cash advances, then you can avoid paying interest because there is no minimum interest charge on this card.
In addition to the APR for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances, these transactions have fees that are a percentage of the transaction. However, the fee does not exceed a certain amount. For cash advances, the fee is waived when electronically transferring funds to a USAA deposit account.
If you like to travel and you want to use the card internationally, you can do so. However, there is a foreign transaction fee for each transaction. This fee is a percentage of the transaction and is charged after the transaction is converted to U.S. dollars.
The penalty fees only consist of a late fee and a returned payment fee. The account is not able to go over the credit limit, so there is no over-the-limit fee. What is unique about these fees is that the first time you are late in a period of six billing cycles results in the late fee being less than any subsequent late payments. The same applies to any returned payments.
Benefits
While the card doesn't have USAA Rewards or Cash Rewards, it does give the cardholder a number of benefits. Those benefits include rental car insurance that pays for damages when the rental car is charged to the card, travel accident insurance that gives you peace of mind when traveling anywhere in the world, extended warranty protection on retail purchases made with the card, and purchases assurance coverage that insures the purchases against theft or damage.
These are just some of the benefits that cardholders are provided in order to get the most out of their cards. Other benefits include roadside assistance in case you break down while you are out on the road. You also have access to travel assistance services that take care of you in case your trip is cancelled or interrupted.
The benefits give cardholders additional ways in which they can save money. If you are in an accident when you are renting a car that you charged to the car, then you can avoid financial liability. You also save money by using the USAA damage waiver instead of the rental company's waiver. It is important to review all of the benefits that you are afforded so that you can take full advantage of them when they are needed. Benefits are always subject to change. Through online account management, you are able to monitor any changes related to your account.
Security
Because the card is a MasterCard, you have access to MasterCard Global Service. This is a 24-hour service that takes care of emergency card replacement, lost and stolen card reporting, and emergency cash assistance. That way if you are on the go, you can have your card replaced in a hurry so you are not without it for long.
When you report your card lost or stolen, you are not responsible for the unauthorized transactions that may result. This is a very important feature that MasterCard gives its cardholders and it protects the cardholder from fraudulent use. This gives the cardholder the peace of mind that their credit line is protected no matter where they are in the world.
Final Word
The USAA Secured Platinum MasterCard Secured Card is a card that is about flexibility and control over the credit account. Cardholders are able to establish a CD that helps them save money, the benefits help save even more, and the rates are low to the point that having the card is not expensive.
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