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The Military Lending Act protects active duty military servicemembers and their spouses from certain lending practices.
Also known as the MLA, this law provides many benefits for active duty troops and their spouses including annual fee waivers on the best military credit cards from American Express and Chase.
The Military Lending Act was enacted in 2006 and is implemented by the Department of Defense. It protects active duty servicemembers, their spouses, and their dependents from certain lending practices, such as charging more than 36% annual interest on loans.
These individuals are identified as “covered borrowers” of the MLA. National Guard and Reservists called to active duty orders of 30 days or more are also eligible for MLA benefits.
For covered transactions, such as consumer credit like payday loans and credit cards, the total annualized rate charged to a covered borrower may not exceed 36 percent. This is calculated as the Military Annual Percentage Rate or MAPR.
The practical implications of the MLA is that Chase, Citi, and U.S. Bank do not charge covered borrowers annual fees. Head overe here for more information on the American Express military benefits program.
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The annual fee waiver interpretation of the MLA opens up a world of travel opportunities for military servicemembers and their spouses. You can open premium travel rewards cards, earning the welcome bonuses, reaping the annual benefits, and paying no annual fees.
Credit card companies were given until October 2017 to comply with the MLA rules. That is when Chase credit cards began waiving annual fees on their personal credit cards, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve ® card.
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Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site
Military Annual Percentage Rate or MAPR must be calculated on any covered credit product offered to a covered borrower. Any credit insurance premium or fee must be added to the MAPR.
The MAPR must not exceed 36 percent if offered to a covered borrower as determined by the credit issuer checking the MLA database.
If you are offered a loan or take out a loan that exceeds the 36 percent interest rate cap, talk to your Judge Advocate General's (JAG) or legal office on your base for help.
In general, any consumer credit product offered to covered borrowers including:
The Military Lending Act does not apply to residential mortgage transactions, regardless of whether the covered borrower lives in the home.
The MLA also does not apply to the financing of vehicles purchases if the loan is secured by the vehicle.
MLA does not apply to credit that is used primarily for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. That is why no credit card company waives annual fees for their business credit cards.
Credit products that are subject to MLA protections include:
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are all jointly responsible for enforcing the Military Lending Act.
A creditor cannot require that you submit to mandatory arbitration or give up rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act or Military Lending Act.
In the context of the military, MLA stands for “Military Lending Act”
The MLA database is how banks, credit unions, credit card companies, and lenders verify that you are a covered borrower and therefore eligible for MLA benefits. The MLA database is maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center or DMDC.
You can access the Military Lending Act website at https://mla.dmdc.osd.mil/mla/ to verify that you are a covered borrower. If you are a covered borrower, then you can take my 100% free course The Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course.
I have taught 10,000 graduates since 2018 how to maximize their military credit card benefits. You can also check out the optimal order in which to open credit cards in my best credit cards for military article.
Banks, credit card companies, and other lenders use the MLA database to identify if you are a covered borrower of the Military Lending Act. They will need your last name, Social Security Number, and date of birth to check the MLA database.
Which agency is responsible for implementing the Military Lending Act?The Department of Defense is responsible for implementing the Military Lending Act but several other agencies are responsible for enforcement of the MLA. These agencies include CFPB, FDIC, NCUA, and FTC.
What does MLA stand for?MLA stands for “Military Lending Act” The MLA is a 2006 law that protects active duty servicemembers, their spouses, and their dependents from certain lending practices.
How does MLA/ SCRA work for spouses who already have credit cards? What date does it show as a spouses eligibility for MLA/SCRA? Capital One says it waives fees for military and spouses if accounts were opened before active service; I am currently active so could not get fees waived but what If I had my girlfriend apply for a Venture X card before we got married? Obviously we would have to pay the fee the first year but just wondering if it might work to get future years waived. Reply
If the card account was opened (established) prior to the marriage, it may qualify for SCRA if the servicemember is added as an authorized user. You can apply for SCRA benefits on Chase or American Express’s website. The Capital One Venture X plan you mentioned may work for spouses, but probably not, as SCRA is supposed to be strictly for the active duty servicemember. But! You can try it. Let us know your data point! I think it may work, especially if you’re added as an authorized user. Reply
Does the Military Lending Act (MLA) apply to National Guardsman on State Active Duty (SAD) too? Reply
