I’ve been banking with USAA for over 20 years. About 10 years ago, I made sure to opt out of overdraft protection because of all the issues with overdraft fees. I was certain I was opted out.
Fast forward to today, and I was charged $29 for an overdraft. I checked my account and saw:
Overdraft Protection: Not Enrolled
Overdraft Setting: Standard Overdraft
I had to change the setting to “auto-decline,” and it seems “Overdraft Protection” and “Standard Overdraft” are different things. Really frustrating. Not worth fighting for $29, but it feels like a sneaky move. FYI, USAA is a bank, not a credit union.
I try to keep little money on my debit card while traveling overseas, so this caught me off guard when my car insurance auto-renewed. Usually, I use credit cards for everything.
Takeaway: double-check your USAA account settings, even if you think you opted out of overdraft.
If overdraft protection works for you, that’s fine, but make sure your account is set up how you want it.
Overdraft protection lets another account or credit card cover a negative balance to avoid fees. If you don’t activate it, you’ll pay fees for overdrafts. I don’t get why anyone wouldn’t use it, but it’s your choice.
@Jensen
The fee is for when USAA pays to overdraw your account instead of pulling from another account or card. Standard overdraft also allows your balance to go negative up to $50, but it’s a separate thing from overdraft protection.
USAA updated their terms and conditions in September 2023. Everyone had to opt out again if they didn’t want overdraft protection. They sent notifications about it.
Eli said:
USAA updated their terms and conditions in September 2023. Everyone had to opt out again if they didn’t want overdraft protection. They sent notifications about it.
Figures. I bet I’ll have to opt out again when they update things next time.
Harley said: @Haven
It sucks, but people really need to read those updates. USAA usually sends out multiple notifications, but folks often miss them.
They should use their app to give pop-ups for important updates. Most of their notifications are just about monthly statements, so I don’t check them often. Opting people into things is annoying, especially when I’ve opted out before.
By opting out of overdraft protection, you opened yourself up to fees if your account goes negative. Overdraft protection pulls money from another account or card to avoid fees. There’s no way to avoid the fees without it.
@Kit
Not quite. Overdraft protection can pull from a credit card or savings, but standard overdraft just lets your account go negative up to $50 before fees kick in. You can also set it to auto-decline, so transactions don’t go through if there’s not enough money.
Gale said:
If your auto-renewal was declined, you’d have no insurance, so…
If my card was declined, my insurance would’ve sent me a notice. I’d fix it. Worst case, my car would be uninsured for a few days while it sits in a garage. This post isn’t about the reason for the overdraft. It’s about expecting transactions to decline if there’s no money. If my card gets stolen overseas, I want transactions to decline. I know USAA can recover stolen funds, but why risk it?
If overdraft works for you, great. My issue is how unclear their language is on whether you’re opted in or out. It’s worth double-checking no matter what your preference is.