What credit score do you need for a PNC personal loan?

PNC offers three good debt consolidation options: personal loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, and credit cards. Each of those options can be used to consolidate debt from other lenders’ loans and lines of credit. Only half of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. offer all three of these options, so PNC stands out.... read full answer

PNC’s debt consolidation options are good because they offer the potential for low APRs. For example, PNC personal loans have APRs as low as 5.99%, and their home equity loans and lines of credit have APRs of around 4% to 5%. In addition, it’s possible to borrow up to $35,000 with PNC personal loans and more than that with the home equity offers.

When consolidating debt, two of the most important considerations are getting a lower rate than the ones on the current debts and getting enough funding to pay off the existing debts fully.

PNC Debt Consolidation Options:

• Personal loan: Borrow $1,000 to $35,000 for 12 to 60 months. APRs of 5.99% to 29.99%. No collateral. No origination fee. PNC doesn’t disclose a minimum credit score to qualify, but you can check for pre-qualification on their website.
• Home equity loan: Borrow $1,000 or more (potentially $500,000+). APRs of roughly 4% to 5%, depending on zip code and loan amount. Fees vary by where you live, too. PNC doesn’t disclose a minimum credit score to qualify. In general, home equity loans tend to require a credit score of at least 620, and 700+ is preferred.
• Home equity line of credit: Same terms as PNC’s home equity loans. The difference is that you can borrow, up to the account limit, at any time for 7 to 10 years. You only have to make monthly minimum payments when you actually draw from the HELOC. Then, after the draw period, you get 30 years to finish repaying any outstanding balance. HELOCS generally require a 620+ score, just like home equity loans.
• Credit cards: Some PNC credit cards are better for debt consolidation than others. In general, the best credit cards for consolidating debt are ones that have long 0% introductory APR periods on balance transfers.

If you have only a small amount of debt to consolidate, PNC’s best debt consolidation offer for you might be a credit card. But credit cards often do not have high enough limits to accommodate larger debts.

Home equity products offer the lowest APRs and highest dollar amounts, but there is the risk of losing your house if you don’t repay what you borrow. Personal loans are a happy medium, with higher APRs than home equity loans and HELOCs but more borrowing potential than credit cards.

The easiest banks to get a personal loan from are USAA and Wells Fargo. USAA does not disclose a minimum credit score requirement, but their website indicates that they consider people with scores below the fair credit range (below 640). So even people with bad credit may be able to qualify.... read full answer

Wells Fargo normally requires a credit score of 660 for their unsecured personal loans. However, they also offer secured personal loans that are available even with lower scores. Wells Fargo’s secured loans require collateral in the form of money in a Wells Fargo savings account or CD.

Most banks that offer personal loans require a credit score of at least 660. Some require even higher scores, like Citizens Bank (680) and Barclays (700).

Easiest Banks to Get a Personal Loan From

These credit score requirements are either official info from the lender or the consensus of third-party sources.

The average person’s credit score is over 660, which puts them in a decent position to qualify for a personal loan from most banks. But if your score is lower, you can apply with USAA or get a secured loan from Wells Fargo.

You might also want to look outside of banks. Some credit unions and online lenders offer better chances of being approved with bad credit. For example, Avant’s minimum score requirement is reportedly 600 and LendingPoint’s is 585.

There are no personal loans with guaranteed instant approval. Many lenders offer the opportunity for near-instant approval, with a decision minutes to hours after they receive the application. But personal loan approval is never guaranteed under any circumstance. All lenders have some sort of requirements for approval, even those that accept people with bad credit. Plus, getting approved for a loan doesn’t mean that the applicant has the funds yet. It’s rare for a lender to fund a loan the same day the prospective borrower applies.... read full answer

Personal Loans with Nearly-Guaranteed/Instant Approval

• LendingPoint: Approval and funding in 1 business day. Instant approval and same-day funding are possible. Requires a credit score of at least 620. APRs range from 9.99% to 35.99%.
• Avant: Approval and funding in 2 to 3 business days. Instant approval is possible, but same-day funding is not. Reportedly requires a credit score of at least 600. APRs range from 9.95% to 35.99%.
• Achieve Personal Loans: Approval and funding in 2 to 3 business days. Instant approval is possible, but same-day funding is not. Requires a credit score of at least 620. APRs range from 5.99% to 29.99%.

Some lenders will not do a credit check when you apply. But they’ll still require you to have some form of income, along with other basic requirements like providing identification or proof of a bank account. In addition, lenders that don’t do a credit check are primarily predatory auto title lenders and payday lenders that charge overwhelmingly high APRs and fees.

Personal loans are a much safer choice. And even though personal loans with guaranteed instant approval don’t exist, there are still some loans that are relatively easy to get, with fast approval and funding timelines.

The closest thing to a personal loan with guaranteed instant approval is a secured personal loan. This type of loan requires collateral, so you’ll have to put a valuable possession on the line. That could be money in a savings account or CD, a vehicle, real estate, or collectible items like art. Because the lender can keep and sell the collateral if you don’t pay the loan back, it’s relatively easy to get approved with any credit score. Just be sure to ask the lender how long their approval and funding process takes, along with the conditions under which they can take ownership of your collateral.

You might also be able to instantly get a loan from a friend or family member who’s willing to lend you the cash. But you shouldn’t take the money without first writing and signing an agreement to pay it back.