What are the best personal loans for a 640 credit score?

The best places to get a $20,000 loan with fair credit include LightStream, SoFi and Marcus. Most major personal loan providers have minimum credit score requirements that are within the fair credit range (640 to 699). Most also offer loans of $20,000 or more. But not all lenders are equal. The best ones don’t charge origination fees to process the loan, and they offer especially low APRs.… read full answer

However, it’s important to remember that even though it’s possible to get a $20,000 loan with fair credit, there’s never a guarantee that a lender will let you borrow that much. People with credit scores that just barely meet the issuer’s requirements could potentially have trouble getting loans that are high above the issuer’s minimum. They might even have difficulty getting approved for a loan of any amount. Most issuers’ minimum loan amounts are around $1,000 to $3,000.

Best Lenders for a $20,000 Loan with Fair Credit

• LightStream: Loans of $5,000 - $100,000. $0 origination fee. 3.99% - 19.99% APR. 660 minimum credit score.
• SoFi: Loans of $5,000 - $100,000. $0 origination fee. 7.99% - 23.43% APR. 680 minimum credit score.
• Marcus by Goldman Sachs: Loans of $3,500 - $40,000. 0% origination fee. 6.99% - 24.99% APR. 680 minimum credit score.
• Discover: Loans of $2,500 - $35,000. $0 origination fee. 5.99% - 24.99% APR. 660 minimum credit score.

Note: Credit score requirements are from the company’s customer service or several credible websites.

If your score is toward the bottom of the fair credit range, consider Best Egg or Prosper. Both require a minimum credit score of 640. But both also charge origination fees. Best Egg’s fee is 0.99% - 6.99% and Prosper’s is 1% - 5%. Both lenders offer loans of $20,000 or more. But again, there’s no guarantee you’ll qualify for a loan that big.

The best way to gauge your odds of getting a $20,000 loan with fair credit is to use WalletHub’s free pre-qualification tool. Just put in the amount of the loan you want, along with a few personal details. You’ll then be able to see which lenders will give you the best approval odds.

The fastest ways to improve your credit score are to pay down your balances, dispute incorrect information on your credit report, make more frequent payments, and reduce credit utilization. Credit utilization (how much of your credit limits you use each month) contributes to a portion of your credit score that accounts for 20% - 30% of your overall score. So, an adjustment there can result in a big credit boost pretty quickly. Similarly, you can dispute incorrect information with a quick online request or phone call. You won’t always get an immediate credit score increase, but correcting errors on your credit report is a great place to start.… read full answer

There are a few other ways to increase your credit score quickly, from becoming an authorized user to increasing your credit limit. They may not all be equally effective for everyone, as it can take years to build a consistently good or excellent credit score. In fact, some strategies could send your credit score in the wrong direction before leading to an increase. For example, requesting a credit limit increase can result in a hard inquiry that damages your credit a bit in the short-term, but having more credit available could produce long-term gains if used responsibly.

Here’s how to improve your credit score fast:

1. Pay down your balances. If you aren’t eligible for a credit limit increase, focus on paying down existing debt. Paying down a large chunk of debt at once will help your credit utilization ratio and bump up your score. If you can’t make a large payment all at once, try to pay more than just the minimum monthly amount. If you have multiple debts, start by making payments on the debt that has the highest interest rate so you can limit interest charges.
2. Dispute incorrect information on your credit report. You should file a dispute for any incorrect negative info on your report. Once the dispute goes through, incorrect items will drop off your file, and your score should improve. You may have to wait 30 days for the credit bureau to review your dispute before you see any changes.
3. Make more frequent payments. Credit utilization is calculated based on the statement balance on each of your credit cards. You can reduce these balances, thus decreasing your credit utilization and increasing your credit score, by making payments before the end of each billing period. Then, pay off the remaining balance by the due date to avoid interest charges and credit-score damage.
4. Become an authorized user. If you’re just starting out, or your credit report has a string of negative marks, a good move would be to become an authorized user on someone else’s credit card and build your credit over time. Just make sure the primary holder is responsible and pays their bills on time.
5. Add new payments to your credit file. There are new services that can add positive information, like on-time utility payments, rent payments, and positive bank balances to your credit report. Not all of these programs apply to all credit bureaus, and some cost money to utilize, but they could boost your credit score over a few months.
6. Increase your credit limit. A higher credit limit can reduce your credit utilization ratio, assuming your spending does not increase. The only potential problem is that asking for a credit limit increase usually results in a hard credit inquiry, which would temporarily hurt your credit score a bit. But if you get a credit limit increase without asking, or you have a few months before you need the highest credit score possible, a higher limit could definitely help.

Everyone’s credit situation is different, so not every option will be relevant or available to you. The best way to find out exactly what you can do to quickly improve your score is to check out the personalized advice in the Credit Analysis section of your WalletHub dashboard.

The minimum credit score for personal loan approval is 580, depending on the lender. That means it is possible to get an unsecured personal loan with a bad credit score, though such a loan will likely have an origination fee.

For your reference, WalletHub researched some of the most popular lenders to find out more about their specific loan requirements.… read full answer

Credit Score for Personal Loan Approval by Lender

*According to multiple third-party sources.

Your credit score is a measure of how risky it is for lenders to let you borrow money. The higher your score is, the better your chances of approval are and the better terms you’re likely to receive. Your credit score comes from a combination of factors that include your payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, recent inquiries, and diversity of accounts.

But your credit score is far from the only thing that matters when it comes to personal loan approval. Lenders consider many other factors, including your income, existing debts, monthly expenses and more.

The minimum credit score needed for a personal loan with no origination fee and no collateral requirement is 660, which is fair credit. And borrowers will need good credit or excellent credit – a credit score of 700 or higher – to get the best personal loan rates. Personal loans for credit scores under 700 tend to be for relatively low amounts and have high APRs.

If your credit score is below 585, lower in the bad credit range, you still have options. For example, you could opt for a secured loan, where you put up something valuable as collateral. If you fail to pay back the loan, the lender can take the collateral as compensation. Because this greatly reduces the risk for the lender, people with any credit score may be considered for secured loans.

You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub. You’ll also get personalized advice for how to improve your score. The best way to estimate your odds of approval for a personal loan is to check to see if you’re pre-qualified for any offers before submitting an official application.