USAA Bank Review: Checking, Savings and CDs
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Overall institution rating
3.7
USAA Bank offers accounts with savings tools and no monthly fees. Through online banking options, mobile tools and broad ATM access — including ATM reimbursements of up to $15 a month — USAA Bank ensures that members can access their money from nearly anywhere. You can bank with USAA only if you're a current member of the military, you’ve served in the military, are a spouse of someone who has, or are a child of a USAA member.
Best for: Those who want to avoid fees on basic bank accounts and are looking for automatic savings tools, but aren’t likely to need in-person services or the best interest rates.
- No monthly fees on some accounts.
- Large, free, nationwide ATM network.
- Low minimum opening deposits on some savings accounts.
- Expensive overdraft fee.
- Low rates on some savings and CDs accounts.
- Limited branch access.
Full review
Full review
USAA Bank
Savings
USAA Savings
3.2
/53.2
/5APY
0.01%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
APY
0.01%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
The USAA savings account has no monthly fee, though you need $25 to open an account. The account has an innovative Savings Booster tool that analyzes your checking account to see if a few dollars can be automatically transferred to savings. These types of tools can make it easier to save money. However, the 0.01% interest rate is about as low as you can go; you can find much better rates elsewhere.
» Want to see more options? Check out NerdWallet’s best high-yield online savings accounts
Checking
USAA Bank Classic Checking
4.4
/54.4
/5Monthly fee
$0
APY
0.01%
With $1,000 min. balance for APY
Monthly fee
$0
APY
0.01%
With $1,000 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Show details
USAA’s Classic Checking Account has no monthly service fee. But it pays only 0.01%, and balances must be at least $1,000 to earn interest.
USAA owns about 160 ATMs that are free; some have the ability to take deposits. It also offers a $15 monthly reimbursement if the owner of a non-network ATM charges you a fee.
Customers can make withdrawals from more than 60,000 USAA-preferred ATMs at locations nationwide, but only the first 10 withdrawals per month are free. After that, USAA will charge a $2 ATM fee per withdrawal through the rest of the monthly statement cycle.
Payday is a day early with direct deposit.
Certificates of deposit
USAA Bank CD
2.3
/52.3
/51-year APY
3.00%
3-year APY
2.55%
1-year APY
3.00%
3-year APY
2.55%
5-year APY
2.50%
Minimum deposit
$1,000
Show details
USAA has broad CD options with fixed terms ranging from 30 days to seven years. Some other banks offer terms that go up to five years, but not seven. You can compare USAA’s CD rates with the best CD rates this month at other banks and credit unions.
Customer experience
USAA has only a few branches, so it's best for those who prefer to do their banking online. You can use the bank’s mobile app to pay bills, deposit checks, transfer money and monitor your balances. The bank’s website also offers budgeting tools and a financial advice section.
You can reach customer service representatives by phone Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT. Support is also available by Twitter, online message and regular mail.
Overdraft fees
Free transfers and an overdraft buffer. USAA offers free overdraft transfers from a USAA checking or savings account as a backup. It also offers overdraft protection via credit card cash advance, subject to card fees and interest rates. There's no charge for accounts that get overdrawn by $50 or less.
Transactions that are paid when an account goes negative are charged $29 per transaction, limited to one charge per day.
How does USAA Bank compare?
4.00%
$300
4.35%
N/A
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.