Pros
- Low maximum APR 17.65%
- No origination fees
- No prepayment fees
- High customer satisfaction
- Joint applications allowed
- Autopay discount
Cons
- Must be a USAA member
- Credit score requirement not disclosed
- 5 % late fee
- Low BBB rating
USAA Personal Loans Review Summary
USAA personal loans are only available to USAA members, and they’re best suited for people with less-than-perfect credit scores. Since the highest interest rate on USAA personal loans is 17.65% and USAA accepts applicants with bad credit, they may be a cheaper option than many other lenders. People with excellent credit may have cheaper choices, however. The lowest USAA loan APR is 7.24%, while some competitors offer minimums 1% - 2% lower.
USAA personal loans also provide quick funding. It usually takes 1 business day for a decision and you can receive funding as soon as 24 hours after approval. You can read more about USAA personal loans below, including how they rate in WalletHub’s three major personal loan review categories: Terms, Requirements & Application, and Reviews & Transparency. You’ll also see how they compare to offers from a few popular competitors.
USAA Personal Loan Terms
 | |
| APRs | 7.24% - 17.65% |
| Loan Amount | $2,500 - $100,000 |
| Loan Terms | 12, 24, 36, or 48, 60, 84 months |
| Origination Fee | None |
| Prepayment Fee | None |
| Late Fee | 5 % |
| Minimum Credit Score | Not disclosed* |
| Minimum Income | Not disclosed |
| Loan Purpose | Debt Consolidation, Home Improvement, Big Purchase |
| Time to Receive Loan Money | 2 - 4 business days |
| Other Requirements |
|
USAA Personal Loan Rates, Fees & Other Terms
Category Rating: 5/5
- APRs: USAA personal loan rates have a fairly narrow range: 7.24% - 17.65%. If you have excellent credit, you’re likely to get the lowest rates, while people with less-than-fair credit are likely to get the maximum, according to USAA’s rate estimator.
USAA’s interest rates start a little bit higher than those of many of their competitors, but they also cap out lower, so they’re more useful for people with less-than-excellent credit. USAA personal loan interest rates are fixed, so they won’t change after you lock them in at the beginning.
- Autopay discount: USAA offers a 0.25% APR discount for people who sign up for automatic payments.
- Origination fee: There is no USAA origination fee.
- Other fees: There is no fee for paying your loan off ahead of schedule. If you are ever late on a payment, you will owe a late fee of 5 %.
- Loan Sizes and terms: USAA offers $2,500 - $100,000 in funding for 12, 24, 36, or 48, 60, 84 months.
USAA scores well in this category for their low rates, especially their very low maximum APR, in addition to their lack of an origination fee.
USAA Personal Loan Requirements
Category Rating: 3.3/5
- Credit score: There are no publicly disclosed USAA personal loan credit score requirements. However, only borrowers with "excellent" credit will qualify for the lowest rates, according to representatives. In addition, USAA’s website shows potential rates based on credit profiles, and there is a section for people with less-than-fair credit. So people with bad credit may want to consider applying.
- Membership: Only USAA members can apply for USAA personal loans, the same as with all of USAA’s financial products. To join, you’ll have to be an active or former member of the military. Or, you need to have a family member who has served or is a USAA member.
- Citizenship: U.S. citizens, permanent residents of the U.S. and immigration visa holders can apply.
- Identification: You will need to have a Social Security number.
- Age: You must be at least 18 years old.
- Pre-qualification: Unfortunately, USAA doesn’t let you prequalify for personal loans. The best that they do is allow you to use a calculator to estimate potential rates based on the loan amount, repayment term and your general credit range.
- Joint loans: USAA allows joint personal loan applications.
- Ways to apply: You can apply online or by phone (210-531-8722 ext. 78612).
USAA Personal Loan Reviews & Transparency
Category Rating: 66% (3.3 out of 5)
- Better Business Bureau: USAA is not BBB accredited, and is not rated due to government actions against them. According to the BBB, USAA had to reach a settlement for failing to honor stop-payment requests and failing to complete error investigations. In addition, they had another action taken against them for failing to have an “effective risk management program.” Both of these cases were settled in January 2019.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: USAA has around 4 complaints filed against their personal loans with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some reasons for personal loan complaints include USAA charging late fees when they should not have and people having fraudulent accounts opened in their name.
- WalletHub: USAA has an average rating of 3.6/5 from over 7,800 user reviews.
- Transparency: While USAA does openly disclose the terms of their personal loans online, their use of a simple calculator rather than a pre-qualification check makes it more difficult for customers to know the rates they might get. In addition, USAA isn’t clear about their minimum credit score or income requirements.
USAA is highly rated by their members, and their personal loans have brought about very few complaints. However, USAA has failed to keep up with some government standards regarding how they operate, which has made its reputation fall with the Better Business Bureau.
USAA Personal Loan Score by Review Category
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Rates, Fees & Other Terms | 5/5 |
| Requirements & Application Info | 3.3/5 |
| Reviews & Transparency | 3.3/5 |
| OVERALL | 11.6/15 |
USAA Personal Loans vs. Popular Competitors
| Info | USAA | Navy Federal Personal Loan | Avant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews | |||
| APRs | 7.24% - 17.65% | 7.49% - 18% | 9.95% - 35.99% |
| Loan Amounts | $2,500 - $100,000 | $250 - $50,000 | $2,000 - $35,000 |
| Loan Terms | 12, 24, 36, or 48, 60, 84 months | Up to 60 months (up to 180 for home improvement) | 24 - 60 months |
| Minimum Credit Score | Not disclosed* | Not disclosed* | Bad* |
| Winner | USAA | ||
Methodology
In order to provide the most accurate review of USAA personal loans, WalletHub used 17 key metrics grouped into three overall sections: Terms, Requirements & Application, and Reviews & Transparency. We rated each section on a scale of 0 to 5, with 5 being the best, and then averaged the scores of the three sections to produce an overall rating for the loan.
- The “Terms” section includes information about how expensive the loan is, including rates and fees. It also takes into consideration how much consumers can borrow and how quickly they must pay it back.For companies where APR and fee ranges differ greatly by state, we used data from the most populous state serviced by the company. USAA’s terms do not fluctuate significantly by state, however.
- The “Requirements & Application” section examines how easy it is to apply for a loan and how long it takes to receive the money. It also looks at exactly who is eligible to apply.
- The “Reviews & Transparency” section measures the loan provider’s reputation as well as how clearly the lender discloses its terms and requirements. This takes into account user reviews and information from watchdog organizations.
The average of these three scores reflects how close a loan offer is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star loan. For more information, please read WalletHub’s full methodology.
