Families Find Relief in a Surprising Place: Credit Card Rewards

The Lead:

• As household budgets tighten, more consumers are leaning on their credit card rewards to help manage costs like groceries and gas.
• A new report from USAA Bank reveals that 36% of consumers with rewards are using their points immediately to offset everyday expenses.
• More broadly, credit card rewards are becoming a more practical part of monthly money management, as consumers use points more often and, increasingly, as ‘Pay With Points’ options become available.

Key Stats:

• Nearly half of consumers say they’ve used ‘Pay With Points’ options for essential items.
• USAA Bank’s Shop With Rewards program reflects this trend: In 2025, this program helped drive a 47% year-over-year increase in rewards redemption volumes among USAA Bank credit cardholders.
• Shop With Rewards enables members to reduce a gas, grocery or retail expense using points.

Read the full report for details on this shift in reward behaviors.

Yes, and:

• The report also revealed some notable differences between consumers with higher and lower credit scores as well as older and younger consumers.
• More consumers (45%) with self-reported credit scores in the 300-660 range say they use rewards to help with everyday costs.
• This group is also three times more likely to not have a strategy for using their rewards than their peers with as 780 or higher credit score.
• Younger consumers use points more often, with 72% of respondents age 18-24 using points monthly or as quickly as possible.

USAA Bank President Michael Moran: “Consumers are changing the way they think about credit card rewards. What was once viewed as a benefit for travel or larger purchases is increasingly becoming a tool to help manage everyday expenses. As household budgets remain under pressure, people are looking for immediate ways to stretch their dollars, and rewards are playing a bigger role in helping them do that.”

USAA Meets The Moment:

• To help put more money back in members’ pockets, USAA Bank has launched a new suite of credit cards that significantly enhance cash back for everyday spending.
• These cards provide military service members and their families substantial value for spending on gas, groceries, on-base and other essential categories.

How to Get Ahead:

• Align earning with spending habits: Pick a card delivers the most value for what you spend and aligns with your financial objectives.
• Look for flexible redemption options: Having the ability to pay bills or at point of sale with points creates more opportunities for in-the-moment or monthly budgetary relief.
• Start early: Early exposure to managing rewards can help set consumers up for greater success as they continue their credit journey.
• Build a strategy: About 23% of respondents with a credit score of 719 or lower said they don’t have a strategy.

Moran: “From young, enlisted service members building their credit to established families with higher grocery and gas bills, we’re meeting our members with products that are valuable and propel them towards financial security.”