In this Review..
Eligible to borrowers with a credit score of at least 640, Best Egg is a lending company that offers loans for just about every aspect of life. Whether you’re looking to consolidate debt, refinance your home, or adopt a child, Best Egg has something available.
Best Egg has a simple application process and only uses soft pull inquiries for applicants. They offer competitive rates with quick turnaround times and they don’t charge any penalty fees for prepayment. They offer fixed rates and their loan amounts range from $2,000-$35,000.
Best Egg was rated the best company for personal loans in 2019 by Consumer’s Choice and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau too. They pride themselves on their quick approval process and are popular with their customers as a result.
Despite this, there are a few downfalls to using this company. Best Egg isn’t available in every state and they charge an origination fee when signing on. They also give large amounts in short terms, have restrictions on investing, and don’t allow joint applications either.
Best Egg has very high ratings with Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau from many satisfied customers.
APR
5.99% – 29.99%
Loan Amount
$2,000 -$35,000
Term
36-60 months
Min score
640
Best Egg Loan Pros & Cons
As we know, each lender has its own pros & cons – here are the relevant things we found for potential borrowers:
Pros
- Soft Pull Inquiry – Best Egg allows for an initial soft pull inquiry so the borrower can get an idea of the options for which they may qualify.
- Quick Turnaround Times and Simple Application Process –Best Egg has a simple application process and one of the quickest turnaround times since the loan is usually funded in about 1 to 3 days.
- Competitive Interest Rates – Interest rates are competitive for borrowers with good credit histories and strong cash flow. “You need a minimum 700 FICO® score and a minimum individual annual income of $100,000 to qualify for our lowest rate.”
- No Prepayment Penalty – The borrower can pay off their loan early without any fees.
- More than One Loan – A borrower can get multiple loans at a time from Best Egg, but they do have stipulations
- Have Many Loan Uses – Best Egg allows for many different uses for their loans.
Cons
- Not Available in All States –Best Egg does not operate in Iowa, Vermont, or West Virginia
- Origination Fee – Best Egg deducts a one-time origination fee of .99% to 5.99% of your loan amount directly from your loan funds. This should be considered in the pricing of your loan when you apply. Take into consideration that there are other lenders who do not charge an origination fee.
- Restrictions for Investments – Best Egg loans cannot be used for investment securities.
- Large Amounts on Short Terms – The terms are short and the payments on higher amounts can be too large for some borrowers
- No Joint Applicants – The application is based on the applicant alone. Best Egg does not allow for joint applicants
Loan Details
Here are the basic specifications & requirements of Best Egg Personal Loan :
What Can a Best Egg Personal Loan Be Used For?
Best Egg can be used for consolidating debt, credit card refinancing, vacations, special occasions, baby-related costs and adoption fees, home improvements, moving expenses or large purchases. It cannot be used for any post-secondary education expenses, investments, or illegal activities of any kind.
- Best Egg Debt Consolidation
Best Egg debt consolidation takes one or more loans or bills and pays them off with the new Best Egg loan. Instead of multiple payments to multiple lenders you can create one payment to one lender. The advantage of a debt consolidation loan with Best Egg is that the payment and term are fixed so you know your monthly payment.
- Credit Card Refinancing
Best Egg credit card refinancing pays off one or more credit card bills. If you pay just the minimum required payment on your credit cards it could take years, if not decades, to pay off your balances. Best Egg credit card refinancing will make those many credit card payments into one fixed payment with an end date.
- Vacations and Special Occasions
Best Egg vacation loans or special occasions loans offer a fast and easy way to get money for your events without having to deal with credit cards.
- Baby-Related Costs and Adoption Fees
A Best Egg home improvement loan is for home repairs or renovations. The advantage of using a Best Egg home improvement loan is the promptness of receiving the funds. Typically, it takes a month or more to get an equity line of credit on your home. You can use a Best Egg loan to start your home improvement project immediately. Or you may need it for a major, urgent repair requiring immediate funding, such as a tree damaging your roof.
Best Egg Reputation
- A+ on BBB: BBB assigns ratings from A+ (highest) to F (lowest). BB ratings are based on information in BBB files with respect to factors such as the business's complaint history with BBB, type of business, time in business, transparent business practices, and more.
- 4.91/5 on BBB customer reviews (+2200 reviews): BB customer reviews allow customers to post positive, negative, or neutral reviews about marketplace experiences.
- 4.7/5 on Trustpilot ( 5200 reviews): TrustScore is also an overall measurement of reviewer satisfaction, represented numerically from 1 to 5.
- 4.9/5 on Best Company customers reviews (+8,300 reviews).
- 831/1000 points on J.D Power: Best Egg got 831 out of 1000 possible points in the 2020 research, lower than industry average. .J.D Power offers the most comprehensive and independent study of personal loans consumer satisfaction . The study aims to help consumers and issuers to understand user opinions and ratings of top lenders. It covers terms, benefits, services, communication, transparency and more.
Best Egg Application Process
- 1.
The Best Egg application process only takes a few minutes. You will fill out a short form with some basic questions about yourself, including your full name, contact information, date of birth, and income. You will need to consent to Credit Profile Authorization, allowing Best Egg to check your credit.
- 2.
Then Best Egg does a soft credit pull and you’ll be presented with loan options for which you are pre-qualified. You can get an idea of how much you’ll be paying before they do a hard pull inquiry on your credit.
- 3.
You may get a notification that the application has been declined. If you decide to move forward you will need to answer more verification questions, and allow a hard credit pull.
- 4.
If Best Egg approves your credit application you will also need to provide verifiable banking information and possibly some documentation to verify your information.
- 5.
The process is relatively quick – the average turnaround time for Best Egg is 1 to 3 days. Once the information has been verified you will need to sign loan documents.
Best Egg FAQs
Best Egg is an online lender offering personal loans to those with good or fair credit. You can borrow up to a decent maximum with reasonable rates and a term of three to five years. However, you do need a fair or good FICO score. You can use the loan funds to refinance credit cards, consolidate debt or cover a large expense such as moving home or home improvements.
The application process for a Best Egg loan does require you to provide some important financial details including your income, employment status and your typical household expenses. You may also need to verify these details by providing bank statements, pay stubs or a W-2.
Depending on how quickly you provide this supporting information, the approval process typically takes one to three days for approval and funding.
Upgrade allows you to borrow more than Best Egg, but the minimum credit score requirement is similar. However, Upgrade is less flexible in regards to loan terms, as there is only the option of three years or five years. Additionally, the APR rates are generally higher than Best Egg.
So, unless you need the larger loan amount, Best Egg is likely to offer the better rates and loan terms.
Freedom Plus has a similar credit score requirement to Best Egg and similar rates. However, where Freedom Plus differs from Best Egg is that you can borrow a larger amount.
So, if you’re looking to borrow that bit extra, Freedom Plus is a better option. However, the Freedom Plus has a higher lowest loan amount. So, if you need a smaller amount, you may be better to choose Best Egg.
Best Egg is a solid alternative to Marcus for your personal loan. This lender does have a higher maximum loan amount, you can also qualify with a lower credit score. However, the maximum loan term is five years, rather than six with Marcus.
However, what really makes Marcus better than Best Egg is the loan rates. While Best Egg has a lower starting rate, at the higher end of the scale, Marcus has a lower maximum rate.
Alternatives Lenders For Consideration
Here are our 3 choices of lenders which can use as a great alternative to Best Egg:
- SoFi
SoFi has moved away from that business model and moved to a “non-traditional underwriting approach focused on lending to financially responsible individuals. SoFi uses an underwriting model that examines free cash flow, professional history and education in addition to a history of responsible bill payment to evaluate its borrowers.”
SoFi personal loans have no origination or late fees. They also do not have a prepayment penalty so the loan can be paid off early without additional costs. SoFi gives borrowers flexibility in payments and allow you to change payment due dates and do not charge late fees.
- Discover
Discover is one of the leading U.S online banks. It offers customer service based 100% in the USA. Discover offers a variety of products including personal loans with competitive rates and no origination fees.
You can use a Discover personal loan for various reasons, from financing a large purpose, such as home repairs or a wedding to debt consolidation. You can also use your personal loan to cover unexpected expenses, remodeling your home or purchasing a new vehicle.
If you want to use a Discover loan for debt consolidation, Discover will send funds directly to your creditors. You will need to use at least 70% of your loan for your existing creditors, or your final APR may be impacted.
- Prosper
Prosper is the first peer-to-peer lending marketplace, a platform that matches lenders with borrowers.
Prosper marketplace is a great place to start in your personal loan search. Prosper focuses on the mass market of borrowers and their personal loans can be used for a wide range of reasons. They also have a lending arm for medical costs, Prosper Healthcare Lending. They offer personal loans for a wide variety of purposes and to a large market of borrowers.
They do have a high origination fee while other providers do not have one. The process will take longer than with other platforms, so if you need funds quickly Prosper may not be the right place to start your search.
