Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

If you’ve worked hard to cultivate an excellent credit score, there’s no better time to make the most of it than when you’re in need of a personal loan. But exactly what qualifies as excellent credit in 2019, and which lenders are most likely to offer the best rates for exceptionally qualified borrowers?
Continue reading to find out what constitutes a superb score and to learn all about the best personal loans for excellent credit applicants.

What Is an Excellent Credit Score?

In the realm of personal finance, every consumer is assigned a credit score based on their individual creditworthiness. These scores range from 300 to 850 — the higher the better — and several factors play a role in determining a person’s specific number.

While no three digits universally signify the threshold of an excellent score, generally speaking, most lenders will consider any credit score greater than 750 to be exceptional. Individuals who have a score in that range are likely to qualify for the lowest APRs offered by a particular bank, peer-to-peer platform, or other financial organization. This means their loan will cost less in the long run. So in order to score the best personal loan rates, excellent credit is essential.

Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

While many online lenders specifically target individuals with less-than-impressive scores, there are others that almost exclusively issue personal loans for excellent credit applicants. If you’ve done an exemplary job when it comes to maintaining your personal finances, these five lenders are likely to offer you some of the most attractive loans on the internet.

Let’s take a quick look at each of them and their best personal loan rates for excellent credit applicants.

LightStream

This online lending division of SunTrust Bank uses its own set of criteria to determine an applicant’s creditworthiness, but an excellent score is a must. Note, though, that LightStream does not offer a pre-approval process and any application with this lender requires a hard credit pull, which will temporarily lower the applicant’s credit score.

APR: As low as 4.99%* (maximum 16.79%) with AutoPay*
Loan amounts: $5,000 to $100,000
Repayment terms: 2-12 years
Fees: None
Minimum credit score: 660
Click "Check Rates" to apply to LightStream

SoFi

Short for Social Finance, SoFi is a peer-to-peer platform that distinguishes itself from other lenders by offering exclusive member perks including social events and professional coaching. In addition to considering an applicant’s credit score, SoFi also weighs their salary and payment history when determining a borrower’s terms.

APR: As low as 5.99% (maximum 18.64%)
Loan amounts: Up to $100,000
Repayment terms: 3, 5, or 7 years
Fees: None
Minimum credit score: 680
Click "Check Rates" to apply to SoFi

Marcus

Operated by investment bank Goldman Sachs, Marcus offers personal loans for weddings, vacations, debt consolidation, home improvement projects, and more. Marcus provides pre-qualified loans, so borrowers can apply without the process affecting their credit scores.

APR: As low as 6.99% (maximum 24.99%)
Loan amounts: Up to $40,000
Repayment terms: 3 to 6 years
Fees: None
Minimum credit score: 660+
Click "Check Rates" to apply to Marcus

Prosper

Prosper's peer-to-peer network eliminates the role of traditional lenders by connecting borrowers directly with investors who provide loans in exchange for interest. Due to this unique funding arrangement, money can sometimes take longer to transfer into a borrower’s account.

APR: As low as 7.95% (maximum 35.99%)
Loan amounts: Up to $35,000
Repayment terms: 3 to 5 years
Fees: Origination fee of 2.41%-5.00% included in APR, plus a 1-5% closing fee
Minimum credit score: 620+
Click "Check Rates" to apply to Prosper

Laurel Road

Laurel Road may be lesser known than the other lenders on this list, but this bank offers some of the best rates for borrowers who have immaculate credit reports.

APR: As low as 8.01% (maximum 16.30%)
Loan amounts: Up to $45,000
Repayment terms: 3 to 5 years
Fees: None
Minimum credit score: 680+
Click “Check Rates” to pre-qualify and receive a personalized rate.

Personal Loans for Debt Consolidation

If your credit score isn’t currently high enough to qualify for the best rates from the above lenders, there could still be some attractive offers available to you if you have “good” credit. But what kind of credit scores do lenders consider “good”?

In general, a rating between 670 and 750 is above average but not quite excellent. Consumers whose credit scores fall into this category will likely find agreeable terms from the below three lenders.

Discover

While Discover might be most well known as a credit card company, the institution also offers personal loans, primarily for debt consolidation. You don’t need to have a Discover credit card in order to get a loan, and you can completely avoid paying interest fees if you’re able to pay off the loan within the first month.

APR: As low as 6.99% (maximum 24.99%)
Loan amounts: Up to $35,000
Repayment terms: 3 to 7 years
Fees: No origination fee
Credit Score Req: 660 Minimum Credit Score
Click “Check Rates” to pre-qualify and receive a personalized rate.

Best Egg

This online-only lending platform offers personal loans that can be processed in as quickly as the same day. Note that borrowers who opt not to enroll in Best Egg’s automatic payments program will be charged a $7 processing fee for each transaction.

APR: As low as 5.99% (maximum 29.99%)*
Loan amounts: Up to $35,000
Repayment terms: 3 to 5 years
Fees: Origination fees ranging from 0.99%-5.99%
Credit Score Req: 640 Minimum Credit Score
Click "Check Rates" to apply to BestEgg

Payoff

Designed specifically for consumers interested in debt consolidation, Payoff offers attractive APRs to help borrowers achieve financial freedom. Payoff currently doesn’t operate in Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Nebraska, and West Virginia, and rates in all other states may vary slightly.

APR: As low as 8.00% (maximum 25.00%)
Loan amounts: Up to $35,000
Repayment terms: 2 to 5 years
Fees: Origination fees ranging from 2.00%-5.00%
Credit Score Req: 640 Minimum Credit Score
Click "Check Rates" to apply to Payoff

How to Maintain a High Credit Score

If you’re looking for low-interest personal loans, excellent credit will go a long way toward ensuring you get the very best rate. If you’re not sure how to establish excellent credit — or if you’d just like a refresher regarding how to maintain it — try to keep these tips in mind:

  • At the very least, make your minimum payments on time, but aim to pay off any outstanding debt as quickly as possible.
  • Refrain from closing old or unused accounts; this will reduce your open credit, lowering your overall credit score.
  • Be crafty about your credit card utilization. Transfer bigger balances to accounts with higher limits, and keep lower balances on cards with lower limits.
  • Open a new credit account every couple of years even if you don’t plan on using it, and try to have as diverse a mix of account types as possible.

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Disclosures

— *Trustpilot TrustScore as of December 2022. Best Egg loans are personal loans made by Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender or Blue Ridge Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. The Best Egg Credit Card is issued exclusively by First Bank & Trust, Member FDIC, Brookings SD pursuant to a license by Visa International. Visa is a registered trademark, and the Visa logo design is a trademark of Visa International Incorporated. “Best Egg” is a trademark of Marlette Technologies, LLC. Offers may be sent pursuant to a joint marketing agreement between Cross River Bank, Blue Ridge Bank, First Bank & Trust and Marlette Marketing, LLC, a subsidiary of Best Egg, Inc.

— The term, amount, and APR of any loan we offer to you will depend on your credit score, income, debt payment obligations, loan amount, credit history and other factors. Your loan agreement will contain specific terms and conditions. About half of our customers get their money the next day. After successful verification, your money can be deposited in your bank account within 1-3 business days. The timing of available funds upon loan approval may vary depending upon your bank’s policies. Loan amounts range from $2,000– $50,000. Residents of Massachusetts have a minimum loan amount of $6,500; Ohio, $5,001; and Georgia, $3,001. For a second Best Egg loan, your total existing Best Egg loan balances cannot exceed $100,000. Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) range from 8.99%–35.99%. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 0.99%–8.99% of your loan amount, which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive. The origination fee on a loan term 4-years or longer will be at least 4.99%. Your loan term will impact your APR, which may be higher than our lowest advertised rate. You need a minimum 700 FICO® score and a minimum individual annual income of $100,000 to qualify for our lowest APR. For example: a 5‐year $10,000 loan with 9.99% APR has 60 scheduled monthly payments of $201.81, and a 3‐year $5,000 loan with 7.99% APR has 36 scheduled monthly payments of $155.12.

— To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver’s license or other identifying documents. Best Egg products are not available if you live in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, or U.S. Territories. TO REPORT A PROBLEM OR COMPLAINT WITH THIS LENDER, YOU MAY WRITE OR CALL– Operations Manager, Email: [email protected], Address: P.O. Box 42912, Philadelphia, PA 19101, Phone: 1-855-282-6353. This lender is licensed and regulated by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Financial Institutions Division, P.O. Box 25101, 2550 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504. To report any unresolved problems or complaints, contact the division by telephone at (505) 476-4885 or visit the website https://www.rld.nm.gov/financial-institutions/

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