The Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides many benefits to Military members.
Some of those benefits include:
- Lowering Credit Card Debt
- Early Termination of Leases or Contracts (Housing, Vehicle Leases Cell Phone, etc.)
- Housing Evictions
- Pending Trials
- Taxes
- Mortgage Payments
- For a more comprehensive coverage of all the SCRA benefits click here or here
In this post, I want to focus on the SCRA benefits of Credit Card Interest Rates. The Servicemember Civil Relief Act put a cap on the amount of interest credit card companies can charge you. The limit that was set is 6%. Technically it is referring to debts and mortgages that were entered into prior to entry on active duty but as far as I know most banks apply the rule to debt accrued while on active duty as well. Every bank that I know of is required by law to obey by this act. Some banks have met the 6% cap while others have lowered it to 4% and some others have even lowered it to 0%.
Below I’d like to compare every major bank by their specific SCRA benefits. Let’s Begin!
Here is a list of banks that offer SCRA benefits:
- American Express
- Waived Fees (annual fees, late fees, return fees)
- 0% APR
- To apply- Click Here. Or call 1-800-253-1720
- Bank of America
- 6% APR limit
- To apply – Click here
- Barclay
- Waived Fee’s
- 0% APR
- To apply – Call customer service at 877-523-0478 and ask to apply for SCRA benefits.
- Capital One
- Waived Fee’s
- 4% APR
- For more info – click here, To request SCRA benefits – click here or call a military specialist at 1-855-CAP1MIL (227-1645). Military specialists are available 24/7.
- Chase
- Waived Fee’s
- 4% APR (Regular Chase Credit Cards)
- 0% APR (Chase Military cards – all interest and fees incurred during deployment are refunded)
- To apply – Click here or call 1-877-469-0110 to talk to a military specialist.
- Citi
- Waived fees
- 0% APR
- To Apply call1-877-804-1082 or fax your orders to 1-866-533-0503
- Discover
- Waived Fee’s
- 6% APR
- To apply – Click here
- Sallie Mae
- Loans capped at 6%
- While you are serving in a hostile area that qualifies you for special pay, you do not have to pay interest on Direct Loans made on or after October 1, 2008, for up to 60 months.
- USAA
- Waived fees
- 4% APR on pre-service debt, new purchases and cash advances during active duty for up to 12 months
- If you serve in a qualifying military campaign, your interest charges over the course of your campaign will be refunded
- To learn more and apply online – Click here
- US Bank
- Waived fees
- 6% APR during active duty on eligible balances
- To apply – Click here
- Wells Fargo
- Waived fees
- 6% APR during active duty and one year after on eligible balances
- 4% interest rate on SCRA eligible loans that are serviced and owned by Wells Fargo.
- To learn more – Click here or call 1-800-642-4720.
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