Comments on: Best & Worst Credit Cards By Consumer Reports

By: Sun

Sun — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:28:43 +0000

TFB: I will have to check that as it seems Consumer Reports kind of categorizes USAA as a credit union.

Cindy: Thanks for the information on USAA. I guess it’s the nature of USAA that makes it special and different from other commercial banks which focus more on their own profits.

Ada: If you look at the product itself (and only the product), Capital One’s 3 miles per dollar is probably the best offer among travel cards out there. And it also has 12-month 0% APR introductory period as I remember. It would be fine if you just use the card, pay your balance in full every month, and don’t run into any problem with them. From what I heard, Capital One is not very good in customer service and very aggressive in fees, though I don’t have any card with them myself.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:40:30 +0000

ada, the Consumer Reports study was based on user experiences, not just their relative levels of reward or APR. I think this study reflects the hard-to-quantify customer service angle. As an example, I know one of the things they specifically asked for was if the user had any mistakes in billing and how it was resolved.

By: ada

ada — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:41:20 +0000

I am surprise, why is “Capital One” No Hassle card not recommended? I am planning to apply for one because it pays 3 miles/dollar spent. And I can use it for any airlines. Am I missing something?

By: Cindy

Cindy — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:59:29 +0000

I absolutely love USAA, and particularly their extraordinary level of customer service and flexibility.

Just to add to the unusual nature of USAA, its core (the insurance end) is technically an inter-insurance exchange…. that is, it is not a corporation. One of the huge benefits of this is that they profit share with members.

I think it’s amusing that in the last 5-10 years, folks-at-large have been getting used to internet banking with no bricks and mortar branch… USAA has been doing the long-distance banking thing (via mail and phone, now internet) for decades. My family have been members since the 60′s…

Membership is quite restricted (military members and children of current USAA members, and a few other gov organizations), so if you get a chance to become a member, do it!

By: The Finance Buff

The Finance Buff — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:00:55 +0000

USAA Federal Savings, a credit union for military personnel and their family members, ranked the highest customer satisfaction

USAA Federal Savings is not a credit union. It’s a savings and loan. The full name is USAA Federal Savings Bank.