r/USAA

I’m in CO where windshield repair or replacement isn’t mandated so USAA is about to stiff me over a $1.9K OEM replacement.

My issue is if I go with Safelite (whom you get automatically redirected to for claims now), only an aftermarket one will be installed by them, per USAA, but they “can’t guarantee calibration”.

My truck is still under manufacturer warranty so if Safelite does a poor calibration (they actually warn that it might happen on the claim they emailed me, which means they know their service sucks and I should expect problems…), the dealership will void all subsequent claims related to the windshield under its own warranty because a 3rd-party did the work, at which point I would then have to pay them a 2nd time around for the fix.

Either way, I have to front it all and THEN USAA will decide if they cover anything at all.

I’ve gone through this in another state that mandated free replacement and, even then, they were arguing for non-OEM over a $14 difference the shop offered to pay if they would just code things for OEM replacement . It then took 2hrs on the phone with them and finally threatening to yank everything out for them to concede, but I’m left out in the cold in this state without any protection or leverage.

Insurance continues to be the greatest scam on earth after bottled water, and USAA has evidently chosen to sacrifice its customers because greed is a bottomless pit.

Off to a new insurance, I guess …

I wanted to set up automatic deposits from my USAA checking to my Fidelity SPAXX mutual fund account. But when I went through the whole process to do this, USAA gave me the message “Account not verified - you can only add checking or savings accounts to move money”.

I want to initiate the transfer with USAA instead of using Fidelity because sending money from an account is apparently faster, with less hold time, than requesting money using the other account. Is there any way to accomplish that, or will USAA just not do it at all for a mutual fund?

Posting this as a data point and to share my experience because I couldn't find too many posts describing what happened after the initial OEM denial.

Vehicle: 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line (ADAS equipped)

I only wanted genuine Kia OEM glass (the windshield with the Kia logo), not OEM-manufacturer glass or aftermarket glass.

Timeline

• I got a quote from Safelite for genuine Kia OEM glass with ADAS calibration (it was double my deductible).
• I filed a comprehensive claim with USAA.
• USAA initially denied the OEM glass request stating that my policy did not allow for OEM glass if there was another viable option available.
• After reading several Reddit posts suggesting not to give up after the initial denial, I called Safelite back.
• The Safelite representative told me that, in her experience, the initial OEM request is often denied, and that the local shop needs to submit a follow-up OEM request for the OEM glass.
• She contacted my local shop while I was on the phone, and the shop manager submitted the OEM request.
• A few days later, I called the shop back, and they confirmed that USAA had approved the OEM glass and that it had already arrived for my appointment the following day.

So if you're initially denied, don't automatically assume that's the final answer. Ask the shop if they can submit a follow-up OEM request on your behalf. In my case, that's what got it approved.

A couple other things I learned

• My Kia dealer doesn't replace windshields in-house. They outsource them to a local auto glass company, so for me there wasn't really an advantage to having the dealer handle the windshield itself.
• I was very specific that I wanted genuine Kia logo glass, not just "OEM" or "OEM-equivalent." Safelite eventually confirmed that my replacement would be the logo glass (genuine Kia glass).
• If you're paying cash, keep your original retail quote. My insurance estimate was higher than my cash quote, and I made it clear that if insurance ultimately didn't approve OEM, I expected to pay the original quoted retail price—not the higher insurance estimate.

One frustrating thing

I had a surprisingly difficult time getting answers from Safelite. The local number and the national number both kept routing me to an automated system that said all scheduling had to be done online and then disconnected the call before I could speak to anyone.

I eventually found a phone number online that got me to a representative, and I also used Safelite's text chat to confirm that my order was for genuine Kia logo glass.

Hopefully this helps someone else. This process was much more confusing than I expected, and the biggest takeaway for me was that an initial OEM denial from USAA wasn't the final answer and having the shop submit the second request allowed me to only have to pay my deductible.

I recently booked a family trip to San Diego (flights, Legoland, San Diego Zoo, and a rental car). USAA flagged the activity as fraud, froze my account, and canceled my rental car reservation with zero notification — no call, text, or email.

I only found out on my own right before our trip when my card was declined while paying for lunch. By then I had to rebook a rental car last-minute, and the same vehicle now costs roughly twice as much (hundreds of dollars more on a budget trip). I also spent another hour dealing with the process of booking a new rental.

When I contacted USAA, they confirmed they canceled the reservation but refused to cover the difference or offer any help for the problem they caused. There was zero accountability or resolution to make things right, even after I spent hours on the phone trying to reach a manager.

Has anyone else dealt with something similar? I’m looking for advice or just wanting to warn others.

Who came up with this idea? Today I got another email from USAA about this "thing".

"USAA created The National Military Monument^((TM)) to honor the more than 41 million men and women who've served our country over the past 250 years. And your name will be on it.

"We opened the monument in Washington, D.C. on July 28 with millions of names from historical, public and veteran service sources. To respect USAA members’ privacy, we asked you to opt in and an incredible number of you did. We’re now going to automatically include your name to ensure your service is honored.

"Additionally, because of the overwhelming response, the monument will now be up through Veterans Day. Even more service members and military families will be able to experience this powerful tribute.

"If you prefer not to have your name displayed, email us at nationalmilitarymonument@usaa.com to have your name removed."

There's something about a commercial enterprise installing this thing on the National Mall, but it may be innocent and/or well-intentioned. Use of "TM" is for situations where you claim rights without a completed trademark registration. This may be the case because USAA doesn't want someone greedy grabbing the rights. It also can be used to establish first use in commerce.

I just talked to USAA for the second time in regards to payment assistance for a credit card. They refuse to set a payment plan monthly fee up, and instead were rude on the phone to me and harassing me of when I can pay next, advising me to get a side gig to pay it off. Any payment I make keeps disappearing to interest accrued and like I said, they refuse to help set up a payment plan as I do not qualify. The account is already closed. Any advice? Should I just balance transfer elsewhere? Hate that they are the only bank I have ever had refuse to help me in this regard.

I sent a check for a few thousand dollars in the mail this morning, but I want to cancel it and zelle the money instead. Is that possible? Can I call them and they make it so the check cannot be cashed?

Have anyone settled credit cards with USAA for less than the full amount and were able to get another credit card for them years later?

if i were to remove an alternate email, will that email be notified? same with an alternate phone number

Hi friends.... We are looking at buying a golf cart at the rv park we frequent and they require insurance. I'm curious who other usaa members insure their carts with. I'm looking for a low cost option to satisfy the park.

So I need to vent/share this because it's honestly kind of wild.

I've got an ongoing claim dispute with USAA, and the whole thing really comes down to something stupidly simple: the numbers don't add up and they won't just... look at them. Basic accounting, not rocket science.

Instead of engaging with the actual line items, USAA's move has been to just go silent. Not responding to me directly, not really responding to the state regulator either — even though there's an active DFR complaint open against them right now.

Because they wouldn't talk to me, I looped in my state's Department of Financial Regulation. That's escalated to the point where I've now got three different state employees trying to get USAA to just reconcile the account. Three people, for one insurer, to look at some numbers.

And even with a state agency actively watching them, it's still been nothing but delays and dodging. Like, you'd think having a regulator CC'd would speed things up. Nope. My DFR complaint has been open for over 100 days now.

Posting this mostly as a heads up for anyone else in the middle of a dispute — if you've filed with your state regulator and are waiting for USAA to suddenly get responsive, don't hold your breath. It took multiple state workers leaning on them just to get any movement on what should've been a simple ledger check.

Anyone else had USAA go completely silent after a regulator stepped in? How'd you finally get it resolved?

Edit: thanks for the fun yall.

Hey all, this month we have encountered USAA putting all mobile deposits on hold for 1 week. Is anyone else experiencing this?

That's unacceptable.

Hi, in 2024 I financed a vehicle and got the basics for auto insurance coverage on USAA. I finished paying off the vehicle earlier this year and have received my car's official ownership title from the dealership I bought it from.

Since I got this auto insurance right as I initially begun financing my vehicle, I did not have an ownership title that I could add yet to further reduce my monthly premiums and whatnot.

Now that I have received my title, is there anywhere I can upload it or send it to USAA directly so my vehicle on their website is officially shown as paid off/owned, so that it no longer shows up as financed? That way I can make more changes to my liability coverages & whatnot. I would prefer to fill something out myself on the website if possible.

Thank you!

I’m almost 18, and my mom made me a youth checking account because Ive got a chunk of money for a car, but I have zero way to touch that money in the account. I can look at the amount if I go into transfer, but I can’t move money over. I can’t touch anything either, it all yells at me cause I’m not 18. I reached out to customer service, and they said my mom should be able to let me see the account by using parental controls, but either I’m blind as shit, or parental controls is a myth. So, do I just have to wait 2 months for my birthday, get my mom to move the money to a different app, or is there any way for me to have access to it.

I left USAA today after 39 years with them. They were great when for military only. Now, they jack up rates astronomically, fight to pay claims, customer service is horrible, and on my last call a week ago they tried to hard sell me a jewelry coverage policy and I had to firmly say NO three times. I moved auto and home to another large insurer and am saving over $2800 per year for BETTER coverage. It's sad that I'm happy to leave.

Edit - Everyone is asking. I moved to Travelers.

I live in coastal georgia, with wind threats from tropical cyclones. Does anyone know if we get discounts for homeowners insurance based on specific factors? For instance, we're looking at getting an IBHS Fortified roof for wind damage.

I got up this morning and found the Safepilot app had updated and wanted me to log in. I have all the information in my password manager so I enterd my USAA id and password and it rejected the password. No problem, I'll just change it. So I pressed "new password" and entered my id and telepone number and was told I would get a text with a verification key - never got it. So I tried again and request a verification using email and that never happened either. Wonderful system. Now I going to call and see what they say

Hi friends.... I figured I would share my attempt to change after 42 years. State Farm offered savings of about 600 per year for home and 2 vehicles. I agreed and paid the 1st month. The agent advised to not cancel until the underwriters approved the policy. They sent a property inspector out to take pictures. A few days later the agent advised that my roof being 15 years old caused the policy to be denied. So after all that I will be staying with the devil I know..... the agent said to call him bacj if I get the roof replaced. Lol....

I moved over to USAA this year and started using the SafePilot app with my two existing cars. Never a single harsh braking event.

I got a 2026 CR-V hybrid a month ago and from the first drive I was pinging a harsh braking event on average about every 1-5 miles every single drive.

After half a dozen calls to find out more about how the app works, have them adjust my history, and USAA's approved strategies to try and minimize the impact (drive other cars with app on, sign out when driving the CR-V) I started testing a lot of stuff.

• Not braking at all on a trip - still happened. Even going downhill when the car is "braking" to decelerate to charge and I was not on the pedal at all
• Different ways of securing and orienting the phone. Pocket, wedged in the console, on the charger, even bought a magnetic mount trying vertical and sideways for everything
• B drive mode to see if I could mess with the brakes and find some way to avoid problems even if it was more effort
• Had someone else with SafePilot installed (but not connected to CarPlay) drive the car - worked, but I didn't understand why at the time and thought it was a one-off because I immediate did the same route and got hit multiple times

I was on a Slack call using Bluetooth when I got in the car and forgot to sign out of the app the other day and CarPlay did not kick in.

To my amazement my drive didn't register a harsh driving event for the first time since I bought the car.

I've been running no CarPlay for a few days and no harsh braking events.

Called in and USAA confirms for my Honda 2026 infotainment, it truncates the GPS coordinates. They said there MAY be a Honda-side update in September that will fix it.

So what I pieced together is:

• Speed change is listed as criteria for harsh braking, but it seems that the distance over which speed change happens matters very much. If you jam on your brakes the car would stop moving AND you'd see a speed change
• When connected to CarPlay, the SafePilot app is using the phone accelerometer and car GPS data
• Since the GPS coordinates are truncated, when you slow down it looks like your position is not changing as much as it is so speed change / distance looks like you slammed on the brakes
• When not connected to CarPlay, the SafePilot app must be using the full GPS coordinates from the phoone so it has a more granular view of speed change / distance so it's clear that you're not coming to a dead stop

I'm not sure if this goes beyond this specific make / model / infotainment version, but if you can't drive without harsh braking events try disconnecting CarPlay and see what happens.

Hey all, I’m trying to upload pictures to assist my credit card dispute but it keeps crashing out on me. Any idea if they have an email address I can send them to? The ai on the app is about worthless. I have a slam dunk dispute but want to send documents to support it and close the case