Item: Achieve Personal Loans
Rating: 4
Author: Nicole Dow

4.0

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4.0

NerdWallet Rating

Est. APR

8.99 - 29.99%

Min. credit score

640

Time to fund

3 days

Loan amount

$5K - $50K

Loan term

2 to 5 years

Origination fee

1.99% to 8.99%

Disclosures from Achieve Personal Loans

Overview

Achieve offers personal loans that work well for consolidating large amounts of credit card or other unsecured debt. The lender offers personal loans for borrowers with fair, good and excellent credit scores. Its average borrowers have good credit and strong household incomes.

» MORE: Compare top personal loans

What the nerds think

“Achieve helps borrowers save time and money when consolidating debt by offering direct pay to creditors and providing a significant rate discount for those who take that option. Achieve also provides other rate discounts you’re not likely to see elsewhere. You could get a lower APR on your loan for having an adequate retirement fund or for adding a co-borrower. If you’re looking to borrow under $5,000, however, you’ll need to look elsewhere.”

Nicole DowLead Writer & Content Strategist

Detailed breakdown

Affordability

(25%)

3.5/5

We review lenders’ annual percentage rate offerings and the competitiveness of each lenders’ APR range. We also assess whether a lender charges an origination fee and any opportunity for borrowers to receive a rate discount.

Customer experience

(20%)

4/5

We consider the experience of the consumer trying to manage a personal loan, which means accessibility of customer service representatives, whether borrowers can choose and change their payment due date, and the ability to track their loan on a mobile app.

Underwriting and eligibility

(20%)

4.5/5

We consider the rigorousness of each lender’s underwriting practices and how widely available their loans are. This category includes whether a lender does a hard credit check before providing a loan, the range of credit profiles they accept and how many states their loans are offered in.

Loan flexibility

(20%)

4/5

We assess how flexible lenders can be with borrowers, including whether they offer multiple loan types, personal loan amounts and repayment term options and whether they offer direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.

Application process

(15%)

4.5/5

We consider the lender’s full application process, including a borrower’s ability to preview their loan offer via pre-qualification, whether basic loan information such as APR range and repayment terms are available and easy to find online and how quickly a loan can be funded after approval.

Overall

4/5

Read more about our ratings methodology for personal loans.

Where Achieve personal loans stand out

Multiple rate discounts: Achieve offers three rate discounts. Borrowers who opt for a joint loan may qualify for a co-borrower discount that reduces their APR by 2 percentage points on average. Borrowers who have debt consolidation loan proceeds sent directly to their creditors can get a discount that’s typically about 3 percentage points. Borrowers who show proof of sufficient retirement savings in a 401(k), individual retirement account (IRA), Roth IRA or thrift savings plan (TSP) may get a retirement asset discount of about 1 percentage point.
Direct payment to creditors: Borrowers can use Achieve personal loans for debt consolidation and have loan proceeds sent directly to their creditors, streamlining the process. Funds are typically sent one to three days after loan approval, though the lender says it could take five to 15 business days for the money to be credited to your accounts.
Joint loan option: Loan applicants may improve their chances of loan approval or getting a lower interest rate by adding a co-borrower to the application who’s in better financial shape.
Same- or next-day funding: Achieve says it typically makes approval decisions on completed loan applications in 30 minutes or less. Once a borrower is approved, the lender can send funds that same day, though it could take between one to three days for the money to be available in the borrower’s bank account.
Customer support available seven days a week: While some lenders lack customer service hours on the weekends or on Sundays, Achieve has daily customer service support. Customers navigating the application process can work with a dedicated loan consultant. If borrowers find themselves unable to make a payment on time, they can reach out to customer service to change their payment due date or discuss hardship accommodations.

Where Achieve personal loans fall short

Origination fee: Achieve charges an origination fee ranging from 1.99% to 8.99% of the loan amount. The fee is deducted from the loan before funds are disbursed, reducing the amount of money you’ll receive.
High minimum loan amount: Achieve has a minimum loan amount of $5,000, which doesn’t make it a viable choice for smaller expenses.
Reports payments to only two of the three major credit bureaus: Achieve reports loan payments to Experian and Equifax but not TransUnion. This means if a future creditor, landlord or employer only uses TransUnion to check your credit, they won’t see any positive payment history you might have by repaying your Achieve personal loan on time.
No mobile app: Unlike many other online lenders, Achieve does not offer a mobile app for borrowers to manage their loans.

How to qualify

Achieve offers loans to borrowers with fair credit or better. It uses the FICO 10T credit scoring model, which helps Achieve expand loan access to more borrowers, according to the lender.

To apply for an Achieve personal loan, you must be a resident of one of the 40 states where Achieve’s loans are available. Achieve’s loans are not available to residents of CO, CT, HI, KS, ME, ND, VT, WV, WI and WY.

Achieve’s borrowing requirements

Minimum credit score: 640.
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 70%, including mortgage payments.
Minimum credit history: 3 years and 2 accounts.
Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Must provide a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
Must have a valid email address and a valid U.S. bank account.
Must provide proof of residency and proof of employment or income.

» MORE: How to get a personal loan

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Profile of an average Achieve borrower

Credit score

700

Annual income

$130,000

Loan amount

$23,000

Average APR

17.5%

Loan term

5 years

Loan purpose

Debt consolidation

Compare Achieve to the best lenders

4.0	4.5	5.0	5.0
EST. APR 8.99% - 29.99%	EST. APR 8.74% - 35.49%	EST. APR 7.9% - 35.99%	EST. APR 7.74% - 35.99%
LOAN AMOUNT $5K - $50K	LOAN AMOUNT $5K - $100K	LOAN AMOUNT $1K - $60K	LOAN AMOUNT $1K - $50K
MIN. CREDIT SCORE 640 Check Rates	MIN. CREDIT SCORE None Check Rates	MIN. CREDIT SCORE 600 Check Rates	MIN. CREDIT SCORE 600 Check Rates