Upgrade offers its customers a personal loan from $1,000 to $50,000. Furthermore, it has a two to seven years’ time limit for the repayment of this loan, depending on the time frame that accommodates your personal needs. Moreover, timely repayment of this loan saves people from the burden of prepayment fees.
Unsurprisingly, to score a low-interest rate, you must have good credit. The minimum interest rate Upgrade offers is 5.94%, which is at par with rates that other lenders offer. Applying with a co-borrower with good credit increases the chances of obtaining a better rate from Upgrade.
Benefits of Upgrade Personal Loans
Upgrade personal loans come with their own benefits, some of which are:
- Small minimum loan amounts: Upgrade allows you to take an amount as small as $1,000 as a loan which is lower in comparison to its competitors. Example: Best Egg has a lower limit of 2,000, and Payoff has $5,000.
- Rapid access: Upgrade allows quick access as it can provide the money within one business day after the review and approval of your loan application.
- Easier to qualify with poor credit: Upgrade is a good option for people with a poor credit score as its minimum credit score for eligibility for personal loans is 620. This credit score falls in the lower range of credit scores.
How it Works
Upgrade offers personal loans without needing collateral like your house or car through its lending partners, which are the Cross River Bank (member FDIC) and the Blue Ridge Bank (member FDIC). You can get approval for an unsecured personal loan for various purposes. However, this offer is only applicable in the states of the US where lending partners are available.
Although Upgrade does not require you to pay a prepayment fee, you must pay the origination fee, which falls between 2.90% to 8%. You can receive your money within one business day of its approval.
Moreover, Upgrade charges a late payment fee of up to $10 if your payment is overdue by 15 days more than the set date.
Active customer service makes the process easier. You can contact the company by email, or you can call them between 6 am to 6 pm on business days, and 6 am to 5 pm PT on weekends.
Upgrade Personal Loans vs Other Personal Loans
While the rate Upgrade offers you depends on your individual needs and credit score, the company offers market competitive rates that are comparable to other lenders. Here’s how Upgrade personal loans compare to other loans:
| Upgrade | Best Egg | Payoff by Happy Money |
| Min. credit score 620 | Min. credit score 640 | Min. credit score 640 |
| APR 6.95% to 35.97% | APR 5.99% to 29.99% | APR 5.99% – 24.99% APR |
| Origination fee? Yes | Origination fee? Yes | Origination fee? Yes |
| LOAN TERM 2 to 7 years | LOAN TERM 3 to 5 years | LOAN TERM 3 to 5 years |
| LOAN AMOUNT $1,000-$50,000 | LOAN AMOUNT $2,000-$50,000 | LOAN AMOUNT $2,000-$40,000 |
Upgrade offers personal loans with a lower credit score requirement than Best Egg. However, it has a relatively higher APR if your credit isn’t up to the mark. Nevertheless, you may still get a lower APR than what Best Egg has to offer.
Upgrade requires the borrower to pay an origination fee between 2.90% and 8% of their total loan amount. The company bakes this fee into the borrower’s overall loan APR. Meanwhile, Best Egg offers a slightly lower origination fee that lies between 0.99% and 5.99%.
Moreover, both companies provide funds within a day of the approval, but Upgrade offers a maximum loan term of seven years. On the other hand, Best Egg has a maximum loan term of five years. For those who want to spread their payment plan, Upgrade is a better option.
Upgrade has similar credit score requirements to those of Payoff. However, the difference in the maximum APRs of these companies is substantial. The highest interest rate Payoff offers is 24.99%, which is over 10% less than Upgrade’s highest APR.
Also, Upgrade has a faster service in comparison with Payoff as it sends out the money on the next business day after approval, while Payoff takes a minimum of three business days.
CONCLUSION
Upgrade has a better service, offer, interest rate, and success rate in comparison with other personal loan providers. While some lenders might be a few points above Upgrade in a few areas, Upgrade makes up for its other features.
Jamie Johnson is a sought-after personal finance writer with bylines on prestigious personal finance sites such as Quicken Loans, Credit Karma, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bankrate, and The Balance. Over the past five years, she’s devoted more than 10,000 hours of research and writing to topics like mortgages, loans, and small business lending.