The best personal loans can help you save money, take care of emergencies, or finance essential purchases. They come in amounts ranging from $1,000 to over $100,000 and with repayment terms of one to 12 years.
This Best Egg personal loan review encompasses the pros and cons of Best Egg personal loans, what it’s like to apply with Best Egg, and who can benefit most from their products.
Pros and Cons of Best Egg
Pros
- Low rates for borrowers with high income and credit score
- Direct payment to creditors for debt consolidation
- Site includes a debt-to-income (DTI) calculator
- Soft credit pull
- The payment due date can be changed
- No prepayment penalty
- Willing to work with customers having credit problems
- Offers secured loans for homeowners
- Offers joint borrower loans
Cons
- Origination charges can be high
- Only two repayment terms are available
- No mobile app
- No discount for autopay
Who Is Best Egg For?
Best Egg serves customers with fair-to-excellent credit who want a small- to mid-sized loan quickly.
The company allows personal loans for almost any use, excluding student financing and securities trading. The available repayment terms (three or five years) are popular for debt consolidation, and Best Egg will pay creditors directly, simplifying the process for borrowers.
For the best rates, applicants need at least $100,000 in annual income and a credit score of at least 700.
The minimum credit score to qualify is 600.
Applicants with bankruptcies or tax liens on their credit reports or those participating in credit counseling or debt management are not eligible for financing.
Customer reviews are about 90% positive, with many citing excellent customer service, ease of application, and funding speed.
Top Features of Best Egg
Best Egg is very clear about its target customer and has created loan features to appeal to that client.
Swift process for preapproval, final approval, and funding:
- Soft credit pull for preapproval
- Extra-low APR for highly-qualified applicants
- Highly-rated customer service
- Direct payment to creditors
Preapproval and funding
If you apply early and provide requested documents promptly, you may achieve preapproval in minutes and full approval as quickly as one day.
Funding generally takes place the day after final approval, and the total time from application to funding is typically lightning-fast at one to three business days.
To determine eligibility for financing and get a quote for 36 and 60-month loans, you’ll answer a few short questions on Best Egg’s website. Best Egg performs a “soft pull” of your credit report, which does not lower your credit score.
If you choose to move forward with your application, Best Egg will generate a hard inquiry in your credit file.
Qualifying for a low APR
Best Egg is transparent about who qualifies for its lowest APR rate. Borrowers must have an income of at least $100,000 per year and a credit score of at least 700, plus meet all other qualifying requirements to obtain the lowest interest rate.
Best Egg’s online customer reviews are excellent, garnering 4.6 stars out of 5 from TrustPilot, 4.9 of 5 stars from the Better Business Bureau, and 4.9 of 5 stars from Consumer Affairs. Reviewers consistently rave about the easy application process and quick receipt of funds.
Best Egg makes it easier for its debt consolidation customers to zero out their debts by paying creditors directly.
Who Has the Best Personal Loan Rates?
Finding the right lender can save you hundreds of dollars over the life of the loan. The best way to know if you’re getting a competitive loan rate is to compare offers from competing lenders like those below.
How to Apply
Applying with Best Egg is easy.
Step 1: On the personal loans page, click “Check My Rate” and enter your email address.
Step 2: Then, you get a couple of questions to verify that you are the owner of that email address — like your date of birth and zip code.
Step 3: A page pops up with data about you, and you get the opportunity to add or correct information about your income and housing costs.
Step 4: Hit “Continue” and add your desired loan amount and purpose for borrowing.
Step 5: Next, you’ll tell Best Egg about any cash advances you’ve taken in the last six months and if you’d like to enroll in autopay, and you’ll provide your electronic signature by checking a box.
Step 6: Check the box and continue, and you’ll get two offers — one with a three-year repayment and one with a five-year repayment. The beauty is that you do not have to speak to anyone, and the loan terms are fully disclosed right there. At that point, you’d choose a loan and click “Continue.”
Step 7: You’ll get a form with all of the legal terms and disclosures and the chance to finalize your loan approval.
Step 8: If you agree to the terms of one of the displayed loans, you’ll enter your checking account routing number so Best Egg can transfer the funds to your account.
Step 9: You may have to upload proof of identity and/or income.
Step 10: At that point, you are applying, and an application does trigger a “hard” inquiry on your credit report. It takes less than five minutes.
Rating the Features
Of course, rates and fees are important, but most consumers mention the entire experience when rating personal loan providers.
Best Egg has a lot of happy customers and performs well on many fronts.
User experience
Entering your information to get preapproved and see your offers is very simple.
Best Egg gathers data about you that’s available to them without generating an inquiry on your credit report.
It’s easy to correct any errors, and in seconds, you have a response that you can choose to finalize right there.
The entire process can take as little as one day, but that’s not guaranteed.
Two days from application to funding seems typical. Although Best Egg doesn’t have a mobile app, the process online was straightforward and convenient.
Fees and rates
Best Egg’s interest rates are competitive, especially for highly qualified applicants.
The less qualified you are, the higher your interest rate.
Best Egg’s origination charge is on the high side if you choose a five-year repayment. Borrowers with excellent credit, high income, and short repayment terms get the lowest origination fees. There are no discounts for autopayment.
Transparency
Best Egg is very transparent. It’s easy to apply for preapproval, and they provide all the information you need on the screen — the amount you’ll receive, the rate, payment, charges, late fees, and loan amount. You’ll also receive an email with your loan terms.
Flexibility
Flexibility is not Best Egg’s strong suit. They offer only two repayment terms — three and five years.
They don’t lend to people in credit counseling or debt management, and if you have a bankruptcy or tax lien on your credit report, you’re out of luck.
However, if your borrower profile and needs are in Best Egg’s wheelhouse, you won’t care.
Customer support
There is a chat function on the application and a phone number for support.
Customers can call Best Egg customer service at 1-855-282-6353 on Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some customer reviews mentioned that Best Egg support helped them change their payment dates or assisted them when they could not make a payment.
Bottom Line
While Best Egg isn’t for everyone, the company does offer several attractive features for people who need help getting back on their feet or who have had credit problems in the past.
Although their products are limited, they do offer the most popular personal loan amounts, terms, and purposes.
Best Egg has clearly determined its market. And judging from customer reviews, they serve those customers well.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Personal loans can be used for almost anything, including home improvement, large purchases, medical and other emergencies, debt consolidation, weddings, and more. You can’t use a personal loan for illegal activities or paying college tuition.
Along with lenders that only offer personal loans, you can also get personal loans from banks and credit unions. You may be able to find more favorable rates, however, from online lenders that specialize in personal loans.
The cutoff credit score for personal loans is in the lower 600s, typically from 610 to 640. Some lenders may offer loans to people with scores lower than that, but usually with a high interest rate.
