USAA Personal Loans: Strong Option for Military Families With Excellent Credit

3.9 _/5

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Personal Loans

• Easy online application
• Broad range of loan amounts and repayment terms.
• No application fee
• Receive funds in as little as 2 days
• Automated payment discount option
• No fees for early repayment
• Use loan funds for almost anything

• Available only to USAA members
• Limited personal loan information on USAA website
• No live chat customer support option
• Can’t use loan funds for college costs
• No soft credit check for prequalification 

Rates (APR)	10.09% – 18.51%
Loan amounts	$1000 – $100,000
Repayment terms	1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 years

USAA personal loans offer flexible terms and a straightforward application process but fall short in transparency, eligibility, and customer satisfaction. These loans are only available to military members and their families, and they lack a soft credit check option, with key details like rates and minimum credit scores not easily accessible. 

However, for members with excellent credit who prioritize a military-focused mission and support for active-duty borrowers, USAA could still be a convenient choice. Alternative lenders may provide a better fit for those seeking clearer terms and broader eligibility. Here’s a closer look.

How do USAA personal loans work? 

USAA offers personal loans only to USAA members—you can’t apply without a membership. If approved, you can receive loan funds within two days. Depending on the loan amount, repayment terms range from one to seven years. You can use personal loan funds from USAA for nearly anything except higher education costs.

USAA rates, borrowing limits, and fees

Term	Details
Rates (APR)	10.09% – 18.51%
Rate discounts	0.25% discount for automated payments
Loan amounts	$1000 – $100,000
Repayment periods	1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 years
Unsecured or secured?	Unsecured
Allows joint loans?	Yes
Time to funding after approval	Typically 2 days
Fees	No origination fee. Late payment fee of 5% of the loan payment, returned payment fee of $25

The APR for USAA personal loans varies depending on your credit history, loan amount, and term, but it will never exceed 18.51%. Enrolling in automatic payments gets you a 0.25% rate discount. 

For active-duty members, USAA offers benefits under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), reducing interest rates on qualifying loans to 4%—lower than the federally mandated 6% cap—during active-duty service. 

You can choose your repayment terms, but only loan amounts greater than $5,000 are eligible for repayment terms of four years or longer.

Am I eligible for a USAA personal loan?

You must be a USAA member to get a USAA personal loan. Individuals eligible for membership include U.S. military members, veterans, pre-commissioned officers, and their spouses and children. 

To apply for membership, visit the USAA website and provide the necessary personal and military service information. Once your eligibility is confirmed, you can access USAA’s range of financial products and services.

Requirement	Details
Citizenship	No
Employment status	Not disclosed
State of residence	All U.S. states, including Washington, D.C.
Minimum age	18
Minimum credit score	Not disclosed

How do you repay a USAA personal loan?

For a USAA personal loan, your repayment term depends on the loan amount, loan term, and your credit history. The higher the loan amount, the more options you have for longer repayment terms. Here’s a closer look at the breakdown:

• $1,000 or greater: 12 to 36 months
• $5,000 or greater: 4 years
• $10,000 or greater: 5 years
• $15,000 or greater: 6 years
• $20,000 or greater: 7 years 

To receive the 0.25% rate discount, you can sign up for automated monthly payments by logging into your USAA account. Navigate to your consumer lending account summary page and click “make a payment.”

 If you want to pay your loan off early, no problem. USAA charges no fees for early repayment.

USAA personal loan pros and cons

USAA personal loans offer several advantages for military members and their families, but they also have some notable limitations. Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons to help you decide if USAA is the right choice for your personal loan needs.

Pros

• Easy online application

  You can easily apply online for a USAA personal loan. You’ll need to submit the amount you’d like to borrow, plus employment, income, and housing information.

• No origination fee

• Fast funding

  USAA typically sends loan funds within two business days after receiving and verifying all documents.

• Wide range of loan amounts and repayment options

  USAA offers loans ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. Depending on your credit profile and the loan amount, repayment terms are one, two, four, five, six, or seven years.

• Automated payment discount

  You receive a 0.25% discount on your APR if you sign up for automated loan payments.

• No early repayment penalty

  You won’t pay any fees if you pay off your loan early.

• SCRA benefits for active-duty members

  USAA offers a 4% interest cap for qualifying loans under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), providing additional financial relief for active-duty military members.

• Military-focused organization and community

  With a mission centered around serving military families, USAA provides a supportive and community-focused experience tailored to its members’ unique needs.

Cons

• No soft credit pull option

  Unlike some loan marketplaces, USAA performs an initial hard credit pull to check your credit, which can temporarily affect your credit score by a few points.

• Only available to USAA members

  You must be a USAA member to apply for a USAA personal loan.

• Limited information on USAA website

  While USAA provides information about personal loans on its website, details on joint loans, citizenship requirements, fees, and more aren’t readily available.

• Limited customer support options

  There is no live chat option on the USAA website and no automated chat option for personal loan topics.

USAA alternatives 

Even if you’re a USAA member, you may be eligible for a personal loan with a better APR, payment amount, or repayment term from another lender. 

Before applying for a USAA personal loan, which requires a hard credit pull that can temporarily lower your credit score slightly, visit loan marketplaces, banks, and personal loan companies that may initially do a soft pull for prequalification, which won’t affect your credit score.

Credible, SoFi, and Upgrade, listed in the table below, are loan marketplaces that initially perform a soft pull to check your credit. Once you apply, you’ll receive loan offers from multiple lenders so you can compare loan APRs, repayment options and estimated payment amounts. 

Depending on your credit, you may get a better rate with Credible and LightStream, which both offer rates starting at 6.94%. However, Credible and LightStream also offer rates as high as 35.99% and 25.29% (compared to USAA’s maximum rate of 18.51%), respectively, depending on your credit history and other factors.

USAA customer reviews 

USAA’s overall customer ratings, shown below, paint a concerning picture for prospective borrowers. While these ratings reflect USAA as a whole and are not exclusive to its personal loans, recurring issues—such as poor customer service, delayed responses, and frustrations around loan payoff documentation—raise questions about its reliability as a lender.

 Many Trustpilot reviews report difficulties with loan approvals and inadequate support, while the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Google also show low ratings primarily due to service issues with USAA’s insurance products.

For borrowers who value responsive and dependable customer service, these ratings are hard to ignore. A lender’s customer support can be a crucial aspect of the borrowing experience, especially when it involves sensitive financial matters. 

USAA’s low scores across multiple platforms suggest that borrowers may want to consider alternatives with stronger customer service reputations, such as the recommended lenders on our best personal loans page.

Source	Customer rating	Number of reviews
Trustpilot	1.2/5	2,996
Google	2.9/5	69
Better Business Bureau (BBB)	1.16/5	2,242

How to contact USAA customer service 

USAA offers two options for contacting customer service, which you can find by clicking “contact us” on the USAA website. The USAA customer support numbers are 800-531-USAA (8722) or 210-498-2211. There’s also a shortcut mobile number: #USAA (8722). You can mail USAA at USAA, 9800 Fredericksburg Rd., San Antonio, TX 78288

An automated chat service is also available but offers only topics non-specific to personal loans.

How to apply for a USAA personal loan 

To apply for a USAA personal loan, log in to your USAA account and complete the online application. Once approved, you can set up your preferred repayment term from available options in the USAA mobile app or online.

USAA typically sends loan funds within two business days after receiving and verifying all documents. You can make payments with the USAA mobile app or online at USAA.com. You can also mail payments to the address at the bottom of your loan statement.

How we rated USAA 

We designed LendEDU’s editorial rating system to help readers find companies that offer the best personal loans. Our system awards higher ratings to companies with affordable solutions, positive customer reviews, and online transparency of benefits and terms.

We compared USAA to several personal loan lenders, using hundreds of data points from company websites, public disclosures, customer reviews, and direct communication with company representatives. We weighted, scored, and combined each factor to produce a final editorial rating. This rating is expressed on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest possible score. Our take is represented in our rating, recapped below.

Product	Rating
USAA personal loan	3.9/5