Capital One Personal Loans & Best Alternatives

No, Capital One does not provide personal loans. Capital One does offer home loans and auto loans though, along with credit cards such as the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

For more information, check out the Capital One reviews on WalletHub as well as the top Capital One personal loan alternatives.

The easiest loans to get approved for are payday loans, car title loans, pawnshop loans and personal loans with no credit check. These types of loans offer quick funding and have minimal requirements, so they're available to people with bad credit. They're also very expensive in most cases.

Below, you can compare some of the easiest-to-get personal loans available right now.

Easy Loans to Get Approved For

• OppLoans: No credit check. 59% - 160% APR.
• 60MonthLoans: No credit check. 19% - 35.83% APR.
• Integra Credit: No credit check. 99% - 300% APR.
• LendingPoint: 580+ credit score required. 7.99% - 35.99% APR.

A personal loan from OppLoans is one of the easiest loans you can get approved for because there's no credit check when you apply. All you'll need is to be at least 18 years old, have U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, and have enough income to make your payments each month. Integra Credit and 60MonthLoans are two similar options.

Among lenders that do a credit check, the easiest loans to get approved for are from LendingPoint. This online lender requires a credit score of 580 or higher for approval. LendingPoint loans also range from $2,000 - $36,500, require repayment in 24 - 72 months, and have an APR range of 7.99% - 35.99%.

Types of Loans That Are Easy to Get

No Credit Check Loans

A no credit check loan is the easiest type of loan to get approved for, though it isn't necessarily the best choice for everyone. No credit check loans are usually quite a bit more expensive than loans from lenders that check your credit.

Unsecured Personal Loans

Many unsecured personal loans may be easy for people with bad credit to get approved for since they typically have a credit score requirement of 580 or higher. However, these loans are risky for lenders to offer since you do not have to put up collateral. 

Secured Personal Loan

The reason secured personal loans are easy to get approved for is that you will have to put up collateral that the lender can keep if you don't pay the loan back. This minimizes the lender's risk, so the approval criteria are relatively easy to meet.

Loan From a Friend or Family Member

You might find it easy to get a loan from a friend or family member, as they are less likely to be concerned with your credit.

Payday Loan

A payday loan is a small, short-term loan that you pay back with your next paycheck. But payday loans are incredibly expensive compared to normal personal loans, so they are not worth pursuing except as a last resort.

Emergency Loans

Emergency loans are personal loans that you can get within a few business days to pay for unexpected expenses such as hospital bills, auto repairs or fixing storm damage. They can offer up to $100,000 in funding, low minimum APRs and long repayment periods.

Hardship Loans from Local Government

All states offer hardship or disaster loans, whether it's to help pay rent or to keep a small business afloat. These loans typically have eligibility requirements that are different from state to state.

Hardship Distribution from Your 401(k)

You can withdraw money from your 401(k) because of an important, immediate financial need. However, you cannot take out more than necessary to satisfy the need and you cannot repay the withdrawal.

401(k) Loan

A 401(k) loan lets you borrow money from your retirement account. You will need to repay the loan, along with interest, within 5 years of taking it out, or else there are taxes and penalties, in most cases. 

Paycheck Advance

A paycheck advance is a way to get a portion of your next paycheck from your employer earlier than scheduled. Not all employers offer this service, though.

Car Title Loans

Car title loans usually allow you to borrow anywhere from 25% to 50% of the value of your vehicle in exchange for the car's title, which serves as collateral for the loan. This type of loan typically comes with a monthly finance fee of 25% and a short payoff term of 15-30 days, so be cautious.   

Pawnshop Loans

A pawnshop will evaluate a personal item that you bring in as collateral and loan you a percentage of its value. Pawnshop loans offer instant cash but can sell your property if you fail to repay the loan.

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.

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.

Discover Personal Loans Review Summary

Discover personal loans require minimum credit score of 660 and allow customers to borrow up to $35,000 at a time. Discover loans are especially good if you want a long repayment period, as Discover's payoff timelines are 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months. Plus, Discover's personal loan APRs can be as low as 6.99%, which makes them useful for people who want to consolidate existing debt at a low cost.

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The best places to get a personal loan are banks, credit unions and online lenders. The best place for you to get your personal loan is whichever lender will approve you for the best package of key terms: loan amount, interest rate, repayment period and fees. You can get a sense of which lender that will be by comparing personal loan offers and checking for pre-qualification, both of which are free and will not affect your credit.

Best Places to Get a Personal Loan in 2023

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To get a personal loan from a bank, first check your credit score, then compare available offers to find the best rates, fees and payoff periods. After that, check for pre-qualification, submit an application either online or in person and wait for a decision. The steps may not sound all that complex, but preparing to get a loan can be time consuming.

How to Get a Personal Loan from a Bank

Check Your Credit

The first step in getting a personal loan from a bank is always to check your credit score and reports because credit history is the biggest deciding factor for approval and most personal loans require a credit score of 660 or higher. There are some major banks that offer secured personal loans for people with bad credit, including Wells Fargo, PNC, Fifth Third Bank and KeyBank. But if your score is on the lower side, you may want to consider credit unions or online lenders instead, as they are more likely to offer personal loans for bad credit.

Choose Between the Available Offers

Next comes the most difficult part of the process, comparison shopping. WalletHub's tool can help you find available loans from banks that cater to your credit level. From there, you can choose which loans are best for you based on their lengths, required payments, interest rates and more.

Check for Pre-qualification

Once you've decided on a few good options, you will want to check if you are pre-qualified for any of them. The bank may have a tool to do this on their website, or you may be able to check in a branch. If you want to get pre-qualified with multiple lenders at once, you can use WalletHub's free pre-qualification tool. Getting pre-qualified means you have very high (but not 100%) chances of being approved. Pre-qualification also has no effect on your credit.

Apply Online or in Person

Eventually, you'll settle on one personal loan. At that point, you can apply either online or at a bank branch. Applying online typically gives you the fastest decision, since it's automated. But applying in-branch may plug you right into an automated system, too. And you'll have the expertise of a banker with you.

Wait to Hear Back

In most cases, it won't take long to receive a decision. You may get one instantly, and typically won't have to wait more than a few business days. Occasionally, it could take up to a few weeks. After you're approved, it will usually take at least one business day for the bank to transfer the funds to you.

There aren't too many differences between how to get a personal loan from a bank and how to get one from other types of lenders. But there are a few. First off, you're more likely to need a credit score of 660 or better to get a loan from a bank, while credit unions and online lenders are more likely to cater to people with subpar credit. In addition, unlike online lenders, banks offer the ability to apply in person. You can have a credit specialist sitting right there with you as you apply.

Capital One does not offer debt consolidation loans because Capital One no longer has personal loans as one of their products. The closest thing would be a Capital One credit card with good balance transfer terms or you can consider debt consolidation loans from other lenders.

Most companies that offer debt consolidation loans do so in the form of personal loans that can be used for nearly any type of expenses. But Capital One doesn't have loans specifically for debt consolidation. Nor do they have general-purpose personal loans.

Another common way to consolidate debt is by taking out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Both of these options allow you to borrow against the equity in your home (home value minus mortgage balance). And both use your house as collateral. Unfortunately, Capital One no longer offers home equity financing, though they did in the past.

So, the best way to consolidate debt with Capital One is to get a Capital One balance transfer credit card. But keep in mind that balance transfer credit cards are only a short-term consolidation solution. If you won't be able to pay in full before any introductory APR ends, or can't get a high enough credit limit, you may want to consider a personal loan with low interest rates from a different issuer.

Capital One does not offer home improvement loans. Most people use personal loans or home equity loans for home improvement. Capital One has neither.

The best way to borrow from Capital One for home improvements is with a credit card. Capital One offers a wide selection of credit cards, some of which have low introductory APRs and high rewards rates. The Capital One Quicksilver card is actually the best credit card for home improvement. It has an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases, which may give you adequate time to pay off a small home improvement expense interest-free. Quicksilver will also save you money with 1.5% cash back on all the necessary purchases. And it offers a bonus of $200 for spending $500 in the first 3 months.

That said, for larger expenses, a credit card probably won't work as well. In that case, you'll want to pursue personal loans from other lenders. LightStream, Wells Fargo and Avant are a few good places to start.

The major bank with the lowest interest rate for a personal loan is Barclays, at 5.74%. Other notable banks with low personal loan rates include HSBC (5.99%) and PNC (5.99%). Some smaller banks across the country may also offer personal loans with similarly low rates.

Banks with the Lowest Interest Rates for Personal Loans

• Barclays: 5.74%+ APR
• HSBC: 5.99%+ APR
• PNC: 5.99%+ APR
• American Express: 6.90%+ APR
• Discover: 6.99%+ APR
• Fifth Third Bank: 6.99%+ APR
• Santander Bank: 6.99%+ APR
• TD Bank: 6.99%+ APR

But just because a lender advertises an interest rate below 6% or 7% on personal loans, as many do, does not mean you are guaranteed that minimum rate. In fact, you'll likely need excellent credit (a score of 750+) to qualify for a lender's lowest rate. Personal loan providers usually display their APRs as a range. For example, Barclays has a minimum APR of 5.74%, but their maximum is 20.99%. The exact rate you receive will depend on such things as your income, credit score and current debts.

Of the largest banks in the country that offer personal loans, those listed above have the lowest interest rates. A few other banks with personal loans have slightly higher minimum rates. For example, Wells Fargo's APRs start at 7.24%. Others have minimum APRs that are significantly higher; USAA's personal loan APRs start at 9.49%.

If you use WalletHub's free pre-qualification tool, you can see which major lenders are likely to approve you and what rates you might qualify for.

It's also good to note that banks aren't the only place to get personal loans. Credit unions and online lenders are options, too. Each type of lender has its own advantages and disadvantages.

No, Capital One does not offer medical loans. Capital One does give corporate loans to healthcare providers and finances real estate used in healthcare, such as senior-housing and nursing facilities. But they don't offer any kind of personal loans for medical expenses. In fact, Capital One doesn't offer personal loans at all. They don't have home equity loans or home equity lines of credit, either, which means customers can't borrow against their house for medical expenses.

The closest thing you'll find to a Capital One medical loan for patients is a Capital One credit card. It might work if your medical bills are relatively small, or if you don't have to pay much after your insurance kicks in. The best choice is the Capital One Quicksilver card, which has a $0 annual fee and an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases. So you'll have over a year to pay off your medical expenses interest-free if you charge them to the Quicksilver card. You'll also get 1.5% cash back to help recoup some of the cost.

If you're willing to look outside of Capital One, there are a lot of good options for medical loans. One of the best and most prominent is LightStream, a division of SunTrust Bank. Their medical loans have APRs as low as 5.95%, and the maximum is just 17.29%. LightStream doesn't charge origination fees and lends anywhere between $5,000 and $100,000. Applicants reportedly need at least a 660 credit score.

If you have a lower score, one of the best alternatives to Capital One is Avant. They only require a credit score of 600 and lend anywhere from $2,000 to $35,000. Avant's APR range is 9.95% to 35.99%, with an origination fee of up to 4.75% of the loan amount.