Achieve Personal Loans: 2024 Review

Last updated on August 2, 2024
Written by 
Annie Millerbernd
Assistant Assigning Editor
Kim Lowe
Edited by 
Kim Lowe
Lead Assigning Editor
Fact Checked
Nicole Dow
Co-written by 
Writer
Annie Millerbernd
Written by 
Assistant Assigning Editor
Kim Lowe
Edited by 
Kim Lowe
Lead Assigning Editor
Fact Checked

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

  • 35+ personal loans reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
  • 20+ years of combined experience covering personal loans and financial topics.
  • Objective, comprehensive star rating system assessing 20+ categories and 70+ data points.
  • Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
NerdWallet's personal loans content, including articles, reviews and recommendations, is produced by a team of writers and editors who specialize in consumer lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, USA Today, The New York Times, MarketWatch and many other national, regional and local publications. They have been cited in publications including The Harvard Kennedy School, and appeared on NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast as well as local TV and radio.

Our Take

4.0

NerdWallet rating
The Nerdy headline:

Achieve personal loans can be a good debt consolidation option for fair- or good-credit borrowers who qualify for one of the lender’s rate discounts.

Jump to:Full Review
Achieve
Achieve Personal Loans

Est. APR
8.99-35.99%
Loan amount
$5,000 - $50,000
Min. credit score
640
on Achieve's website
on NerdWallet

Pros

  • Multiple rate discounts.
  • Direct payment to creditors for debt consolidation.
  • Joint loan option.
  • Fast approval and funding.
  • Access to a dedicated loan consultant.

Cons

  • Origination fee.
  • High minimum loan amount.
  • No mobile app.
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Full Review

Achieve, formerly FreedomPlus, 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 (630 and up). Its average borrowers have good credit and strong household incomes.

Table of Contents

Achieve personal loans at a glance

Minimum credit score

640.

APR

8.99% - 35.99%.

Fees

  • Origination: 1.99% to 6.99%.

  • Late fee: $8.

Loan amount

$5,000 to $50,000.

Repayment terms

2 to 5 years.

Time to fund after approval

1 business day.

Loan availability

Loans not available in CO, CT, HI, IA, KS, ME, ND, VT, WV, WI and WY.

  • Personal loans available through Achieve.com (NMLS #138464) or Achieve Personal Loans (NMLS ID #227977) are made by Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Equal Housing Lender. Loan applications are subject to credit review, underwriting criteria and approval. Loans are not available in all states and available loan terms/fees may vary by state. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $50,000. APRs range from 8.99% to 35.99% and include applicable origination fees that vary from 1.99% to 6.99%. Repayment periods range from 24 to 60 months. Example loan: four-year $20,000 loan with an origination fee of 6.99%, a rate of 15.49%, and corresponding APR of 19.54%, would have an estimated monthly payment of $561.60 and a total cost of $26,956.80. To qualify for a 8.99% APR loan, a borrower will need excellent credit, a loan amount less than $12,000.00, and a term of 24 months. Adding a co-borrower with sufficient income; using at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the loan proceeds to pay off qualifying existing debt directly; or showing proof of sufficient retirement savings, could also help you qualify for lower rates. Funding time periods are estimates and can vary for each loan request. Same day decisions assume a completed application with all required supporting documentation submitted early enough on a day that our offices are open. Achieve Personal Loans loan consultants' hours are Monday-Friday 6am-8pm AZ time, and Saturday-Sunday 7am-4pm AZ time.

Where Achieve personal loans stand out

Multiple rate discounts. Achieve offers three ways to get a rate discount:

  • Co-borrower discount: Borrowers who get a joint loan with a qualified co-borrower reduce their APR by nearly 4 percentage points on average.

  • Retirement savings discount: Borrowers who are able to show proof of sufficient retirement savings in a 401(k), individual retirement account (IRA), Roth IRA or thrift savings plan (TSP) can get an average rate discount of about 1.5 percentage points.

  • Direct creditor payoff discount: Borrowers using their Achieve loan for debt consolidation can reduce their rate by more than 3.5 percentage points on average if the loan proceeds are sent directly to their creditors. To qualify for the discount, borrowers must use at least 85% of the loan to pay off existing debt.

Direct payment to creditors for debt consolidation. Borrowers who use Achieve personal loans for debt consolidation can have loan proceeds sent directly to their creditors, streamlining the process. The best debt consolidation lenders offer this feature, but few include a discount for using it. It can take two to three business days for the funds to reach other creditors, according to Achieve. Keep an eye on those accounts until they’re paid off to avoid missing a payment while you wait.

Joint loan option. Loan applicants may improve their chances of approval or get a low interest rate when by adding a co-borrower to the application with better credit or higher income.

Fast approval and funding. Achieve says it can approve or decline an application an hour after receiving it, as long as all necessary documents have been sent. Once a borrower is approved, typical funding time is the next business day.

Flexible payment options. Borrowers can choose their payment date before signing a loan agreement and change the date twice in a calendar year, or six times throughout the life of the loan. This is a helpful feature if you switch jobs, for example, and get paid on a different date.

Access to a dedicated loan consultant. Applicants can work with a dedicated loan consultant over the phone for additional support throughout the loan process. The lender says its loan consultants look at a potential borrower’s whole financial situation to help determine if a personal loan is right for them.

Where Achieve personal loans fall short

Origination fee. Achieve charges an origination fee from 1.99% to 6.99%. The fee is deducted from the loan before funds are sent to the borrower, reducing the total loan amount. When selecting a loan amount, borrowers should factor in the origination fee to ensure they receive their desired amount of money.

High minimum loan amount. Achieve has a minimum loan amount of $5,000, which doesn’t make it a viable choice for smaller expenses. Many lenders' minimum loan amounts start at $1,000 or $2,000. Consider other lenders if you need a smaller personal loan.

No mobile app. Unlike many other online lenders, Achieve does not offer a mobile app for borrowers to manage their loans.

Our expert take:

“Achieve is a really strong option for debt consolidation — especially because the lender says it can offer a substantial rate discount for having the lender transfer your loan funds to pay off other creditors for you. Loan consultants to walk you through the application process is a nice touch, especially because you want to be sure those other debts get paid off when you consolidate.

The biggest mark against Achieve may be its high minimum loan amount, which means it’s a nonstarter for those looking to pay down smaller amounts of debt.”

Annie Millerbernd, Personal Loans Assistant Assigning Editor

How to use Achieve personal loans

You can use an Achieve personal loan for:

  • Debt consolidation.

  • Credit card refinancing.

  • Home improvements.

  • Medical and dental bills.

  • Emergencies.

  • Vacations.

  • Weddings.

  • Funerals.

  • Business expenses.

  • Other large purchases.

Achieve prohibits the use of its personal loans for:

  • Investing.

  • Illegal activity.

Achieve personal loan customer reviews

As of July 2024, Achieve has 4.8 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Customers mention the company’s easy loan process and excellent customer service. The lender also has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Do you qualify for an Achieve personal loan?

Most lenders have basic requirements to apply, and some have financial requirements or recommendations to qualify. To apply for an Achieve personal loan, you must be a resident of a state where Achieve’s loans are available and provide a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Here are Achieve’s minimum requirements to qualify for a loan. (Meeting these requirements doesn't guarantee approval.)

Achieve’s borrowing requirements

  • Minimum credit score: 640. Achieve uses Experian FICO 8 credit scores to evaluate loan applications.

  • Minimum annual income: None.

  • Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 70%, including a mortgage payment or other housing expense.

  • Minimum credit history: 3 years across 2 accounts.

  • Acceptable income sources: Full-time or part-time job, self-employment, alimony, retirement, child support, Social Security payments or disability benefits.

    • Average credit score: 710.

    • Average annual income: $135,000.

    • Average loan amount: $24,000.

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 an Achieve personal loan

Here are the steps to apply for an Achieve loan.

  1. Pre-qualify on Achieve’s website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow and what the funds are for, as well as some personal information like your name, birthdate and email address. The lender will also ask about your income — plus your co-applicant’s income if you’re applying for a joint loan — and whether you own your home. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage, so your credit won’t be affected. If you meet Achieve’s requirements, the lender will show your potential loan amount, rate, repayment term and monthly payment amount.

  2. Compare loan offers and formally apply. Compare Achieve personal loan offers with pre-qualified offers from other lenders to find the best deal. If you accept a loan from Achieve, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This could require documents, like W-2s, pay stubs, tax documents and bank statements, to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. Achieve will also do a hard pull of your Experian credit report when you apply, which will cause your credit score to dip.

  3. Receive loan proceeds. Achieve says it will make an approval decision within an hour after receiving an application. Funds are typically disbursed by the next business day, and the lender deducts the origination fee from the loan amount before sending the money. If you’ve chosen to send funds directly to another creditor for debt consolidation, the creditor should receive the money within two to three business days.

  4. Stay on top of your loan payments. Achieve reports payment to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.

Compare Achieve 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 Achieve, Happy Money and Best Egg are both strong debt consolidation lenders and accept borrowers with fair or good credit scores.

Happy Money

Minimum credit score

640.

APR

11.72% - 17.99%.

Fees

Origination fee: Up to 7%.

Loan amount

$5,000 to $40,000.

Repayment terms

2 to 5 years.

Time to fund after approval

3 business days.

Loan availability

Loans not available in IA, MA or NV.

Best Egg

Minimum credit score

600.

APR

7.99% - 35.99%.

Fees

Origination: 0.99% to 9.99%.

Loan amount

$2,000 to $50,000.

Repayment terms

3 to 5 years.

Time to fund after approval

1 business day.

Loan availability

Loans not available in IA, VT, WV and Washington D.C.

How we rate Achieve 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

Star rating

Affordability

Customer experience

Underwriting and eligibility

Loan flexibility

Application process

Overall

  • Affordability (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.

    Discretionary

    A 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.

Ready to apply? Select the button below and head to the Achieve website to pre-qualify.

on Achieve's website

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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.

NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.

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