Tried the FF Program from USAA Yet?
While I get all my insurance needs and a few other items through USAA, I was not aware until recently that they have their own frequent flyer program. The program is actually run by Explore Cruise & Travel.
The program awards points based on the price you pay for hotels and cruises, with a flat 300 points for car rentals. They guarantee the lowest rate on the cruises and hotels, so it’s not like they are getting you to pay a higher price and then using that to pay for your points.
The good point about these points is that you can directly relate them to a value. Each group of points gets you a dollar discount on future travel according to this table.
So let’s say you spent $4,000 on a cruise, that would be 16,000 points or about $150 off something in the future. I kind of like the on-line hotel option at 8 points/$ as I certainly can see spending $2,000 on hotels in a year, which again would get you 16,000 points or $150 off. If I spent $2,000 at Marriott in a year, I could expect to get 20,000 points which is about one $150/night hotel room.
One nice thing is that if you save up the points, they get larger in value, unlike most FF programs that I know. While 100 pts. ~ $1 in the beginning, at the higher levels 100 points ~ $1.20. Not huge, but it’s something.
I have never tried this program, but would be glad to hear from a reader who has. I feel like I can usually trust USAA, but wonder about this. Good or bad?
Thanks for the post. I have saved up some of these points and hope to use for a cruise discount one day. Seems like a good deal, though cruise shopping between sites/agents can be a complicated maze of discounts and credits.
Of note, I had USAA for auto and home insurance for years. I never considered changing (they have great service). One day a friend convinced me to check Geico for car insurance, and they came in about 40% less than USAA. I had to switch for that savings. Geico has not raised the rate for the past 2 years. Food for thought for long time USAA members. Couldn’t hurt to get a Geico quote. I’m glad I did.
I too have “shopped” USAA insurance as well as mortgages and indeed they do come up higher in many cases. However I still use them for banking, CD’s and credit cards, here they excel.
The issue I have with these types of programs for me as I have a high status currently with an major airline and several hotel properties, in that particular case one could use the USAA Amex since I already get discounted rates.