How to Become a USAA Member Without Joining the Military

Filed in Articles by on December 28, 2022

Become a USAA Member Without Joining the Military- The USAA did not just begin its life as a traditional bank. The United Services Automobile Association was originally formed in the year 1922 by a group of army majors in order to ensure each other’s cars.

The organization has grown both in size and offerings since then, it is still not really a bank. USAA is an inter-insurance interchange, rather than a corporation, this means USAA members, are actually insuring each other, and the members technically own the organization’s assets.

That means that every member may receive distributions at the end of each year if premiums have exceeded claims.

USAA began as an automobile insurance cooperative between military officer friends a long time ago. It has really grown into an enormous financial services membership organization still dedicated to serving the military and those who are associated with the military.

USAA mend every aspect of your financial life, from insurance to banking and credit cards down to retirement products.

Unlike other big banks, USAA does not have a network of brick-and-mortar branches all across the country.

USAA has few branches across 11 states, and all of them are in key military installations. However, USAA has a network of about 60,000 ATMs that members may use, as well as excellent mobile technology for remote banking.

The United States Automobile association does not do a stellar job of clarifying membership eligibility requirements.

So in this article, I have taken time to outline how to become a member without joining the military.

What USAA Offers

USAA’s bank offerings aim to meet the needs of members’. They offer:

Free checking includes no service fees, no minimum balances, and free bill pay, and also online transfers.

USAA also refunds ATM fees up to $15 per month and does not charge ATM fees for the first 10 withdrawals of every month

  1. Savings accounts
  2. Mortgages, auto loans, and also personal loans all with incredibly competitive rates.
  3. Credit cards:
  4. Their cards offer cash rewards, and also special benefits for active-duty service members, including extremely low regular APRs
  5. They offer Insurance products, including renters, homeowners, automobile, personal property and also life
  6. A car-buying service that assists members to secure lower prices

How to become a USAA member without joining the military

There are 2 ways of becoming a USAA member

1) Be active on military duty at some point

2) Be the child or immediate family relative of a USAA member. This is only best for 1.25 generations with family.

Once the grandchild has passed the age where he/she is old enough to have their own insurance without being covered by the families’ policy, they are out on their own except they go back to option 1.

USAA Membership is Only for Active or Former Military. This is not true.

This is a very common misreading. Even though USAA is marketing itself as serving the U.S. military, they have actually broadened the eligibility requirements to include regular civilians who are immediate family members of service members.

But when you see advertisements like this online, it confuses the issue. This advertisement seems to indicate that USAA is only for “those who serve”, A.K.A. service members and “their family members”, A.K.A. service members’ spouse,s and also their children:

Normally, USAA membership is open to active, retired, and also separated veterans with a discharge type of “Honorable” from the U.S. military and their eligible family members.

Here is what you need to know about USAA fitness for family members.

There Are Different Levels of Membership!

Not all USAA members are qualified to have their spouses or children become USAA members.

They are two major stages

Level 1 USAA Member: A USAA Member with basic checking or savings

Level 2 USAA Member: A USAA Member but who also holds USAA auto or property insurance.

If you are a Level 1 USAA Member, your children and spouse are not qualified to become a USAA member.

Once you become a Level 2 USAA Member, your children and spouse are now qualified to become a USAA member.

Who is an eligible family member?

Eligible members include Spouses, widows, widowers, and of USAA members who joined USAA prior to or during the marriage, as well as individuals whose parents joined USAA.

Are children of my second wife eligible for membership?

YES. USAA members can pass membership fitness to step-children as well as biological children.

Are children of deceased parents eligible?

For a child to be fit, the parent must join USAA while still alive. Once the parent’s USAA membership is recognized, membership eligibility can be passed on to the member’s children. USAA membership cannot be established posthumously for late parents.

 Can my siblings join?

No. Your USAA membership fitness cannot be passed to siblings.

 Are Parents Eligible for USAA?

No. Your USAA membership fitness cannot be passed to parents.

Why these eligibility restrictions?

USAA was founded in the year 1922 when 25 Army officers came together to ensure each other’s automobiles.

Since that time, USAA has continued to grow as a membership-based association. Their eligibility rules reflect USAA’s primary mission which is to be the provider of choice for the U.S. military community as well as their immediate families.

This does not reflect USAA’s opinion concerning the desirability of other family members but rather, a decision to focus our resources on the current fitness groups.

From the USAA website, the following people are also qualified:

  1. Active, retired, and honorably separated officers and also enlisted personnel of the U.S. military.
  1. Officer candidates in commissioning programs.
  2. Adult children 1
  3. From the age of 18 and above of USAA members who have had a USAA auto or property insurance policy.
  4. Widows and widowers of USAA members who have had a USAA auto or property insurance policy.

Serving in the U.S. military does not make you a USAA member automatically. You really have to sign up to become a USAA member.

So, if you have a parent or partner who served or currently serves in the U.S. military, then you have to encourage them to sign up!

I hope this article will be helpful to you especially if you are interested in becoming a USAA member without joining the military.

CSN Team.

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