Achieve Personal Loans: 2023 Review
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Our Take
4.5
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.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Multiple rate discounts.
- Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
- Option to pre-qualify with a soft credit check.
- Joint loan option.
Cons
- Charges origination fee.
- No mobile app to manage loan.
- High minimum loan amount.
Compare to Other Lenders
Full Review of Achieve Personal Loans
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 and good credit scores (from 630 to 719). Its average borrowers have good credit and strong household income.
Achieve has an online application, but unlike other online lenders, the process is finalized by email or by phone. With a $5,000 minimum loan amount, Achieve may not be right for people looking to cover small expenses or consolidate a couple of thousand dollars of debt.
Table of Contents
Achieve personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | 620. |
APR | 7.99% - 29.99%. |
Fees | Origination: 1.99% to 6.99%. |
Loan amount | $5,000 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 1 to 3 business days. |
Loan availability | Loans aren't available in CO, CT, HI, KS, ME, ND, VT, WV, WI and WY. |
- Disclosure from Achieve
All loans available through Achieve Personal Loans (NMLS ID #227977) are originated by Cross River Bank (a New Jersey state chartered commercial bank) or Pathward, N.A. (Equal Housing Lenders) and may not be available in all states. All loan and rate terms are subject to eligibility restrictions, application review, credit score, loan amount, loan term, lender approval, and credit usage and history. Minimum loan amounts vary due to state-specific legal restrictions – please call an Achieve Personal Loans consultant for further details. Loan amounts generally range from $5,000 to $50,000 including origination fees, and are offered based on loan purpose and underwriting conditions. Repayment periods range from 24 to 60 months. APRs range from 7.99% to 29.99% APR and include applicable origination fees. 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 7.99% APR loan, a borrower will need excellent credit, a loan amount for $12,000.00 or less, and a term of 24 months. Loan origination fees vary from 1.99% to 6.99%. Adding a co-borrower with sufficient income; using at least 85% of the loan proceeds to directly pay off qualifying existing debt; or showing proof of sufficient retirement savings, could also help you qualify for lower rates. Average interest savings for personal loans range from 0% - 6% based on closed loans that qualified for one or more of our rate discounts in July 2022. †Times noted are estimates and can vary for a loan request from Achieve Personal Loans (NMLS #227977). Same day approvals assume that a fully completed application with all required supporting documentation is provided early enough on a day that our offices are open. Achieve Personal Loans consultants are available Monday–Friday 6AM to 8PM MST and Saturday–Sunday 7AM to 4PM MST.
Where Achieve personal loans stand out
Multiple ways to get rate discounts. Achieve offers three ways to get a rate discount for qualifying borrowers:
Joint loan discount: Achieve can take up to 6 percentage points off your rate if you add a co-borrower to your application. Both joint loan applicants must meet Achieve’s minimum loan requirements.
Retirement savings discount: Achieve borrowers with sufficient retirement savings can reduce their interest rate by up to 5 percentage points. Borrowers must show proof of funds in a 401(k), individual retirement account (IRA), Roth IRA or thrift savings plan. Your retirement savings aren't used to secure this loan.
Direct pay discount: Borrowers using their Achieve loan for debt consolidation can reduce their rate by up to 4 percentage points if the loan proceeds are sent directly to their creditors. To qualify for the full discount, borrowers must have at least 85% of the Achieve funds sent to another creditor.
» COMPARE: Best debt consolidation loans
Fast approval and funding. Most Achieve customers receive a loan decision the same day they apply. Once a borrower is approved, the lender can send the funds within three days.
Pre-qualify with a soft credit pull. Achieve allows borrowers to pre-qualify to preview potential offers — including loan amounts, rates and monthly payments — before making a decision. There is only a soft credit pull to prequalify, so your credit score won’t be impacted.
Option to choose and change your payment date. 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.
Where Achieve personal loans fall short
Origination fee. Achieve charges an origination fee. According to the lender’s website, most borrowers are charged 4.99% of the loan amount. Many banks and some online lenders offer loans without origination fees.
High minimum loan amount. Achieve has a minimum loan amount of $5,000, which makes it a better choice for major expenses or consolidating large amounts of debt. Consider other lenders if you need a smaller personal loan.
No mobile app. Achieve doesn’t have a mobile app, which can make it less convenient for borrowers who prefer managing their loan from their phones.
» MORE: Best online personal loans
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.
Here are Achieve’s minimum requirements to qualify for a loan. (Meeting these requirements doesn't guarantee approval.)
Minimum credit score: 620.
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 45%, excluding mortgage.
Minimum income: None.
Minimum credit history: Three years and two accounts.
Not actively delinquent on debt.
No bankruptcy in the last 24 months.
Here are details about Achieve’s average borrower, according to the lender.
Average credit score: 700.
Average annual income: $110,000.
Average loan amount: $22,000.
Average loan term: Three years.
Most common loan purpose: Debt consolidation and credit card refinancing.
Before you apply
Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.
Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what annual percentage rate (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. Achieve may ask for pay stubs as proof of income, and other documents proving your employment status, identity 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.
Pre-qualify on Achieve’s website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow, what the funds are for and whether you own your home. Then, the lender will ask for personal information like name, birthday, phone number and email address. You’ll also be asked to submit information about your income and employment before you can preview loan offers. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.
Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you submit the online application, the process continues over email or by phone with an Achieve loan consultant. This stage could require more documents, like pay stubs and bank statements to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. The loan consultant can also help you choose between loan offers, find rate discounts and set payment dates. There is a hard credit check with a formal application, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Stay on top of your loan payments. Achieve reports payment to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax 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
Compare Achieve with other lenders to decide whether it offers the right personal loan for you. Lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh your options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR and most affordable monthly payments.
Achieve vs. Happy Money
Like Achieve, Happy Money offers personal loans to fair- and good-credit borrowers. Happy Money specializes in credit card consolidation and provides borrowers with financial health insights, including personality assessments and a free monthly credit score update. Both Happy Money and Achieve also charge origination fees, but Achieve offers joint loans and rate discounts that can lower the overall cost of your loan.
» MORE: Read our review of Happy Money
Achieve vs. Best Egg
Best Egg and Achieve are both good options for debt consolidation, although Best Egg has higher origination fees and no rate discounts. Best Egg personal loans start at $2,000, and unlike Achieve, Best Egg offers secured personal loans. Best Egg’s funding time may also be faster than Achieve’s.
» MORE: Read our review of Best Egg
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 | |
Underwriting | |
Loan flexibility | |
Transparency | |
Customer experience | |
Overall |
- Personal Loan Review Category Definitions
Affordability (30%) An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.
Underwriting and eligibility (25%) The lender reviews borrowers credit reports and credit history, and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan, before making a final application decision.
Loan flexibility (20%) A flexible loan is one that lets users customize terms and payments. That means offering a wide range of repayment term options, allowing the borrower to change their payment date, offering loans in most states and funding it quickly.
Customer experience (15%) A good customer experience can include a fully online application process, financial education on the lender’s website and a customer service team that’s available most of the time and can be reached multiple ways.
Transparency (10%) A transparent lender makes information about the loan easy to find on its website, including rates, terms and loan amounts. Transparency also means allowing users to pre-qualify online to preview potential loan offers and reporting payment information with the major credit bureaus.
Ready to apply? Select the button below and head to the Achieve website to pre-qualify.
Find the Best Personal Loan
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points from each lender 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.
Frequently asked questions
- What credit score is needed for an Achieve loan?
A minimum FICO score of 620 is required for Achieve personal loan borrowers. However, the average Achieve borrower has a score of 700.
- How long does it take Achieve to approve a loan?
Achieve has same-day approval for qualifying applicants who have submitted an online application and have talked to a dedicated Achieve loan consultant. Funds can be deposited within one to three days.
