Navy Federal Credit Union Personal Loans Review 2024 (2024)

NFCU is best for people who are active or veteran military members, a military family member, employed by a Department of Defense contractor or related to a current NFCU member.

Membership requirements aside, NFCU’s personal loans are great if you’re looking for flexible options. You can choose from unsecured loans for a wide range of purposes, over a wide range of loan amounts and term lengths. Or, you can use your existing NFCU savings or CD accounts as collateral for a secured loan at lower rates than you’ll find anywhere else.

Loan Amounts and Terms

• Loan amounts.Loan amounts range from $250 to $50,000. However, for home improvement and savings-secured loans, the minimum loan amounts vary for longer term loans. For example, 61- to 84-month terms require a minimum loan amount of $25,000; 85- to 180-month terms require a minimum loan amount of $30,000.
• Loan terms.Loans for personal expenses and debt consolidation have terms up to 60 months; home improvement loans have terms up to 180 months; savings-secured loans have terms up to 180 months; and certificate-secured loans have terms up to 60 months.

Personal Loan Costs

• APR. Most of NFCU’s personal loans charge rates ranging from 8.99% to 18%. However, for savings-secured loans, your rate will be your current savings account rate (currently 0.25%), plus 2% (for loans up to 60 months) or 3% (for loans from 61 to 180 months). For certificate-secured loans, your rate will be your current certificate rate (currently up to 4.05%), plus 2%.
• Rate discounts.If you’re an active duty or retired military member, you can get a 0.25% rate discount on a personal expense loan.
• Origination fees.NFCU doesn’t charge origination fees.
• Prepayment penalty fees.NFCU doesn’t charge prepayment penalties.
• Late fees. You’ll have to pay a $29 late fee if you don’t pay by the due date.

Perks and Features

In addition to interest rate discounts for active duty or retired military members, borrowers can view their latest FICO score updates for free online.

Personal loan applications are approved or declined based on a number of factors. All lenders have their own unique underwriting requirements, but these typically include information from an applicant’s credit profile and other factors that demonstrate the ability to repay the loan, such as income. Meeting the requirements below won’t guarantee approval, but they can help you decide if a personal loan is the right fit for you.

Membership Eligibility

You must be a member of NFCU to apply. To become a member, you or one of your family or household members must have ties to the armed forces, Department of Defense or National Guard. Members can apply online.

Credit Score Requirements

NFCU does not have a minimum credit score requirement; however, borrowers with higher credit scores have a better chance of qualifying and receiving favorable terms. We recommend a minimum score of 670.

Income Requirements

Similarly, NFCU doesn’t disclose its minimum income requirements, but it does take this into consideration. NFCU will also look at your past banking history with it as well, so this could be one benefit of establishing a relationship with NFCU before borrowing money.

Co-signers and Co-borrowers

NFCU allows you to have a co-borrower but not a co-signer. A co-borrower is someone who is jointly responsible for repayment of the loan, whereas co-signers become responsible only if the primary borrower fails to repay.

Applying for a personal loan typically involves prequalifying for a rate, submitting a formal application and awaiting loan approval. Follow these steps to apply for an NFCU personal loan:

1. Fill out the application. You can complete the application online or through the credit union’s app. You can also visit a branch to apply, or do it over the phone at 1-888-842-6328.
2. Wait for approval. NFCU will look over your application and make a decision about whether to approve you or not. Keep a close ear to the wind in case they contact you looking for more information.
3. Sign the loan agreement. If you’re happy with the rates and terms that NFCU offers you, go ahead and sign the agreement. If you’re not happy with the offer, you don’t have to accept the loan.
4. Receive the money. The quickest way to receive your funds is through an automatic deposit, which you can receive immediately after approval.
5. Repay the loan. To make things easier, always sign up for autopay on your loans. That way you’ll never miss a payment and damage your credit or incur a fee.

Time to Receive Funds

One of the benefits of getting a loan from your bank is that once approved, you can get your money quickly because it’s staying within the same institution. That’s certainly true of NFCU as well. Once you’re approved, it will deposit the money into your account as quick as the same day.

NFCU isn’t your only option when it comes to getting a personal loan. Here are a few similar personal loan lenders and how they compare:

Navy Federal Credit Union vs. USAA

USAA is another credit union that caters to veterans and military members. However, its loan amounts don’t stack up well compared to NFCU. For example, USAA only offers personal loan amounts between $2,500 and $20,000, whereas NFCU offers loans between $250 and $50,000.

If your focus is loan terms, however, the right credit union for you depends on your loan purpose. If you plan on using the funds for home improvement projects, NFCU offers terms up to 180 months—or 15 years. But if you’re using your funds for personal expenses or debt consolidation, USAA offers terms up to seven years compared to NFCUs five years.

Related: USAA Personal Loans Review

Navy Federal Credit Union vs. PenFed

Although PenFed got its start serving only veterans and military members, anyone can join today. It offers terms between 12 and 60 months, which is right in line with NFCU unless you play on using your loan for home improvement purposes. In that case, NFCU offers terms up to 180 months, or 15 years.

What’s more, loan amounts for personal expenses and debt consolidation are similar between the two: NFCU offers loans between $250 and $50,000 while PenFed offers loans between $600 and $50,000.

Related: PenFed Personal Loans Review

Navy Federal Credit Union vs. SoFi®

SoFi serves the general public and has the lowest rates and highest loan amounts of these three alternatives. For example, its personal loans range from $5,000 to $100,000.

SoFi also offers unique perks that are hard to find elsewhere. For example, it provides an unemployment protection program where, if you’re approved, it’ll place your loan in forbearance and help you find a new job.

Related: SoFi Personal Loans Review

We reviewed NFCU based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated NFCU based on the weighting assigned to each category:

• Loan cost: 35%
• Loan details: 20%
• Eligibility and accessibility: 20%
• Customer experience: 15%
• Application process: 10%

Within each category, we also considered several characteristics, including available loan amounts, repayment terms, APR ranges and applicable fees. We also looked at credit score requirements, whether the lender accepts co-signers or joint applications and the geographic availability of the lender. Finally, we evaluated NFUC’s support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like prequalification options and mobile apps.

To learn more about how Forbes Advisor rates lenders, and our editorial process, check out our .