In this Review..
Best Egg is an online lender that was founded in 2014. Best Egg specializes in personal loans and has funded over 600,000 loans.
Like Marcus personal loans, Best Egg also offers prequalification. This allows you to check your initial rate without affecting your credit score. A hard inquiry will only be conducted if you decide that you want to move on with your application.
Best Egg offers personal loans for almost any purpose. You can use the proceeds of your loan to pay for home repairs, make a large purchase, refinance your credit card debt or consolidate existing debt.
The loans are available from $2,000 to $35,000, but in some circumstances a maximum loan of $50,000 may be possible. Some states also have higher minimum amounts. For example, in Ohio, the minimum is $5,000. The loans have a repayment term of three or five years. The interest rates range from 5.99% to 29.99%. This includes an origination fee deducted from your loan, which varies from 0.99% to 6.99%.
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, established in 2014 out of Wilmington, DE, is a newer online lender but they boast lending over $6 billion to over 420,000 customers.
They focus on borrowers with good credit histories and pride themselves on the speed at which they can get customers their money. They have very high ratings with Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau from many satisfied customers.
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 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
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.
