Best Egg Personal Loans

Best Egg is an online lender that offers unsecured and secured personal loans to borrowers across the credit spectrum. It allows borrowers to use their cars or permanent fixtures in their homes as collateral on secured personal loans.

Best Egg says one of the most popular reasons borrowers use their loans is for debt consolidation. The lender gives borrowers the option to have loan funds sent directly to up to 10 creditors.

Pros

• Wide range of loan amounts.
• Secured loan options.
• Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
• Fast funding.
• Free credit score monitoring.

Cons

• Origination fee.
• No rate discounts.
• No mobile app to manage loan.

Best Egg personal loans at a glance

• Disclosure from Best Egg*Trustpilot TrustScore as of December 2022. Best Egg loans are personal loans made by Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender or Blue Ridge Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. The Best Egg Credit Card is issued exclusively by First Bank & Trust, Member FDIC, Brookings SD pursuant to a license by Visa International. Visa is a registered trademark, and the Visa logo design is a trademark of Visa International Incorporated. “Best Egg” is a trademark of Best Egg Technologies, LLC. Offers may be sent pursuant to a joint marketing agreement between Cross River Bank, Blue Ridge Bank, N.A. and/or First Bank & Trust and Marlette Marketing, LLC, a subsidiary of Best Egg, Inc. The term, amount, and APR of any loan we offer to you will depend on your credit score, income, debt payment obligations, loan amount, credit history and other factors. Your loan agreement will contain specific terms and conditions. About half of our customers get their money the next day. After successful verification, your money can be deposited in your bank account within 1-3 business days. The timing of available funds upon loan approval may vary depending upon your bank’s policies. Loan amounts range from $2,000– $50,000. Residents of Massachusetts have a minimum loan amount of $6,500 ; Ohio, $5,001; and Georgia, $3,001. For a second Best Egg loan, your total existing Best Egg loan balances cannot exceed $100,000. Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) range from 8.99%– 35.99%. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 0.99%– 9.99% of your loan amount, which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive. The origination fee on a loan term 4-years or longer will be at least 4.99%. Your loan term will impact your APR, which may be higher than our lowest advertised rate. You need a minimum 700 FICO® score and a minimum individual annual income of $100,000 to qualify for our lowest APR. For example: a 5‐year $10,000 loan with 9.99% APR has 60 scheduled monthly payments of $201.81, and a 3‐year $5,000 loan with 7.99% APR has 36 scheduled monthly payments of $155.12. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver’s license or other identifying documents. Best Egg products are not available if you live in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, or U.S. Territories. TO REPORT A PROBLEM OR COMPLAINT WITH THIS LENDER, YOU MAY WRITE OR CALL– Operations Manager, Email: [email protected], Address: P.O. Box 42912, Philadelphia, PA 19101, Phone: 1-855-282-6353. This lender is licensed and regulated by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Financial Institutions Division, P.O. Box 25101, 2550 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504. To report any unresolved problems or complaints, contact the division by telephone at (505) 476-4885 or visit the website https://www.rld.nm.gov/financial-institutions/

Where Best Egg personal loans stand out

Wide range of loan amounts: Best Egg loan amounts are from $2,000 to $50,000, which gives borrowers the flexibility to cover small expenses like car repairs or larger costs like home improvement projects.

Secured loans: Borrowers can use their home’s fixtures or vehicle as collateral for a secured loan with Best Egg. The homeowner-secured loan is similar to a home equity loan, but it uses permanent fixtures like built-in cabinets and shelving, bathroom vanities or lighting as collateral instead of your entire house. The auto-secured loan requires your car as collateral. Best Egg offers lower annual percentage rates (APRs) and larger loan amounts for secured loans, but if a borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender can take the collateral.

Offers direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans: Best Egg sends loan payments directly to up to 10 creditors on debt consolidation loans. This feature takes the work of paying individual creditors out of borrowers’ hands and eliminates any temptation to spend the money elsewhere.

Fast approval and funding: Best Egg says it makes instant approval decisions on loan applications and typically funds approved loans on the following business day.

Financial health tool with free credit score monitoring: Best Egg’s Financial Health tool is a free resource that provides access to credit reports, alerts to changes in credit score and budgeting calculators. It also has a credit simulator that shows you the potential impacts of financial decisions. This tool is available for borrowers and nonborrowers.

Where Best Egg personal loans fall short

Origination fee: Best Egg charges an origination fee from 0.99% to 9.99% of the loan amount, which is deducted from the loan before funds are disbursed, reducing the loan amount. Not all lenders charge an origination fee.

No rate discounts: Best Egg doesn’t offer a rate discount for setting up automatic payments or for paying off other creditors directly. Other lenders can discount interest rates, usually by a fraction of a percentage point, for choosing these options.

No mobile app: Best Egg doesn’t offer a mobile app to manage your loan. Many online lenders have mobile apps where borrowers can make payments and track the progress of their loan repayment.

Our expert take:

“Best Egg’s personal loans are a solid all-purpose borrowing option. The lender accepts those with somewhat low credit scores but prefers borrowers with good or excellent credit, which is typical for most lenders that offer similar APRs.

Best Egg’s direct pay feature is convenient for those looking to consolidate debt, and fast funding makes it an ideal option for urgent expenses.”

— Annie Millerbernd, Personal Loans Assistant Assigning Editor

How to use Best Egg personal loans

You can use a Best Egg personal loan for:

• Debt consolidation.
• Credit card and loan refinancing.
• Home improvement projects.
• Emergencies.
• Medical and dental bills.
• Vacations.
• Weddings.
• Family planning.
• Funerals.
• Moving.
• Business expenses.
• Taxes.
• Vehicle financing.
• Other large expenses.

Best Egg prohibits the use of its personal loans for:

• Post-secondary education expenses.
• Investing.
• Illegal activity.

Best Egg personal loan customer reviews

As of August 2024, Best Egg has 4.6 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Customers mention the company’s fast funding and competitive rates. Best Egg also has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Do you qualify for a Best Egg personal loan?

Best Egg says its target audience is borrowers with fair, good or excellent credit, but a minimum credit score of 600 means those with bad credit scores may be considered. Borrowers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old to apply.

Best Egg’s borrowing requirements

• Minimum credit score: 600.
• Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 70% including a mortgage.
• Minimum credit history: 3 years and 1 account.
• Acceptable income sources: Employment, household income, alimony, retirement, child support, Social Security payments and disability benefits.

• Best Egg’s average borrower snapshot
  • Average credit score: 680 to 720.
  • Average annual income: $95,000 to $115,000.
  • Average debt-to-income ratio: 36% to 38%.
  • Average loan amount: $12,000 to $15,000.
  • Most common loan term: 3 years.
  • Most common loan purposes: Debt consolidation and credit card refinancing.

Before you apply

• Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.

• Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.

• Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments impact your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses in order to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
• Gather your documents. Most lenders require proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, as well as proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.

How to apply for a Best Egg personal loan

Here are the steps to apply for a Best Egg loan, based on a detailed preview of the process the company has provided to NerdWallet.

1. Pre-qualify on Best Egg’s website. You’ll input a loan amount and purpose, as well as your name, birthdate, address and email address. You’ll also provide financial information including your income, employment status, monthly rent or mortgage payment and whether you’ve taken out a credit card cash advance in the last six months. Finally, you’ll input your Social Security number, but there’s no hard credit pull at this stage.
2. Compare loan offers. If you qualify, Best Egg will display the offer’s loan amount, rate, repayment term and monthly payment. The lender may show multiple offers. Compare Best Egg personal loan offers with pre-qualified offers from other lenders to find the best deal. The loan with the lowest APR is the cheapest option. If APRs are close, consider other factors like funding times, fees and perks like mobile apps or free financial tools.
3. Accept a loan offer and receive funds. To accept a loan offer from Best Egg, you’ll electronically approve the Truth in Lending Act disclosure statement and submit the personal loan application. The lender will do a hard credit check at this stage, which will cause your credit score to dip by a few points. Best Egg says it makes instant loan application decisions and typically funds approved loans in one business day.
4. Make a plan to repay the loan. Best Egg reports payments to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) so making on-time payments will help build your credit, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage loan payments.

Compare Best Egg to other lenders

Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh other options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.

Like Best Egg, Achieve and Upgrade help borrowers consolidate debt with fast-funded personal loans.

Achieve

Upgrade

How we rate Best Egg personal loans

NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:

• Category definitionsAffordability (25%)An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.Customer experience (20%)A good customer experience includes allowing borrowers to choose and change their repayment date, a fully online application process, a mobile app to manage the loan and a customer service team with wide availability.Underwriting and eligibility (20%)The lender reviews borrowers’ credit reports and credit history and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan. It offers loans in most states and doesn’t restrict eligibility by requiring a pre-existing relationship.Application process (20%)Borrowers can pre-qualify to check their potential rate, loan amount, repayment term and APR without affecting their credit score. They can easily find answers to questions about the personal loan on the lender’s website. The application process is fast enough to allow funding within a couple of days or less.Loan flexibility (15%)A flexible loan is one that offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment term options. It includes common features like additional loan types and direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.DiscretionaryA lender’s star rating can be reduced if the lender is sued by a state or federal regulator for unfair consumer practices or has been accused by a reputable source of suspicious business practices.

Find the Best Personal Loan

Methodology

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.

Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.