How does Peer-to-Peer lending work?

In order to consolidate LendingClub loans, you can take out another loan from a different lender and use it to pay off the LendingClub loans. Or, you can do a balance transfer to move the balance of the loans onto a credit card. In either case, you'll want to make sure that the new loan or credit card will give you a lower APR than you're currently paying on your LendingClub loans. Otherwise, the process won't be worth it. Watch out for any loan origination fees or credit card balance transfer fees as well.... read full answer

Unfortunately, you won't be able to take out a new LendingClub loan to consolidate your old loans, because you can only have a maximum of two LendingClub loans open at one time. And if you need to consolidate, that means you already have two open. You could consider giving LendingClub customer service a call at 1 (888) 596-3157 to see if they would combine your existing loans into one, though.

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.