Axos Bank Personal Loans: 2024 Review

Axos Bank personal loans are available to borrowers with excellent credit, but they come with an origination fee and no co-sign or joint loan options.
Jackie Veling
By
Last updated on August 30, 2023
Edited by
✅ Fact checked and reviewed
Kim Lowe
Edited by
✅ Fact checked and reviewed

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Our Take

3.5

NerdWallet rating
The Nerdy headline:

Axos Bank loans are an option for excellent-credit borrowers, including those looking to refinance an existing personal loan.

Jump to:Full Review
Axos Bank Personal Loan
Axos Bank Personal Loan

Est. APR
11.29-21.34%
Loan amount
$7,000 - $50,000
Min. credit score
730
on NerdWallet

Pros

  • Option to pre-qualify with a soft credit check.
  • Can fund loans within one week.
  • Option to change your payment date.
  • Rate discount for opening a deposit account.

Cons

  • Origination fee.
  • No co-sign or joint loan option.
  • No direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
  • Limited customer support availability.
  • Reports payments to only two of the three major credit bureaus.
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Full Review

Axos Bank is an online bank that offers personal loans for borrowers with excellent credit (credit score of 720 or higher). You can apply for a loan on Axos’ website and receive funding in one to three days after approval.

Axos lets you pre-qualify and use its loan to refinance an existing personal loan, but it charges an origination fee and there are no co-signed or joint loan options.

» MORE: Best bank loans

Table of Contents

Axos personal loans at a glance

Minimum credit score

730.

APR

11.29% - 21.34%.

Fees

  • Origination fee: 1% to 2%.

  • Late fee: 5% of loan payment.

Loan amount

$7,000 to $50,000.

Repayment terms

3 to 6 years.

Time to fund after approval

1 to 3 days.

Loan availability

Loans available in 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Where Axos personal loans stand out

Soft credit check: Axos lets borrowers pre-qualify for a personal loan with a soft credit check. This means you can view your potential loan terms, including what interest rate you may receive, without affecting your credit score. Though many online lenders offer this feature, not all banks do.

Fund loans within three days: According to Axos, approved borrowers should receive their loan funds in one to three days. Borrowers who set up an Axos deposit account can receive funds via ACH the same day they sign the loan documents. Though other lenders may go a step further and guarantee same- or next-day funding for all, Axos’ funding timeline is likely still fast enough to meet most borrowers’ needs.

Refinance options: Borrowers can use an Axos loan to refinance an existing personal loan from Axos or another lender. If you qualify for a lower rate, refinancing can help you save money and pay off the debt faster.

Rate discount available: According to Axos, if you open an Axos deposit account while applying for a personal loan, you’ll receive a rate discount of 0.5 percentage points, which lowers the amount of interest you’ll pay on the loan.

Where Axos personal loans fall short

Charges origination fee: The lender charges an origination fee of 1% to 2% of the loan amount, which is subtracted before you receive the funds. Origination fees are rare among banks and add to the overall cost of your loan.

No co-sign or joint loan option: Axos borrowers cannot add a co-signer or co-borrower to their application. These options can help borrowers qualify and receive a lower rate or higher loan amount.

Reports to only two credit bureaus: Axos only reports your payment history to two of the major credit bureaus – Experian and Equifax, but not TransUnion. Showing a history of on-time payments can help build credit and access lower interest rates in the future. If your credit report is pulled from TransUnion, your payment history with Axos won’t be reflected.

Do you qualify for an Axos personal loan?

To apply for an Axos personal loan, you must:

  • Be 18 years or older.

  • Have a Social Security number.

  • Provide a driver's license or state-issued ID.

  • Provide proof of income.

Here are Axos’ minimum requirements to qualify for a loan:

  • Minimum credit score: 730.

  • Minimum monthly income: $2,000. 

  • Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 49.99%.

  • Minimum credit history: 3 years and 5 accounts.

Here are details about Axos’ average borrower, according to the lender:

  • Average credit score: 783.

  • Average gross annual income: $103,000.

  • Average debt-to-income ratio: 35%.

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 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. Axos will request proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, and may request proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.

How to apply for an Axos personal loan

Here are the steps to apply for an Axos loan.

  1. Pre-qualify on Axos’ website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow, what the funds are for, and the desired repayment term, as well as some personal information like your name, birthdate and contact information. Then, the lender will ask for information about your income, employment, and whether you own your home before you can preview loan offers. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.

  2. Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you accept a loan offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This could require more documents, like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements, to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. Axos will also do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.

  3. Stay on top of your loan payments. Axos reports payments to two of the three main credit bureaus (Equifax and Experian, but not TransUnion), so on-time payments will help build your credit, 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.

Check rates on NerdWallet

Compare Axos to other lenders

Personal loan 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.

Similar to Axos, LightStream and Discover are online banks that also accept borrowers with good to excellent credit (690 credit score or higher).

Axos vs. LightStream

LightStream offers no fees, larger loan amounts and a wider range of repayment terms compared to Axos. LightStream can fund most loans in one business day. Its minimum credit score requirement is 660, which may make it easier to get approved compared to Axos.

Axos vs. Discover

Discover also accepts borrowers with a 660 minimum credit score. You can pre-qualify with a soft credit check, and there’s no origination fee. Discover is an especially good option for borrowers looking to consolidate debts, since it sends the loan funds directly to your creditors.

How we rate Axos 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

Transparency

Loan flexibility

Customer experience

Overall

  • 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.

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Methodology

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.

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