LendingPoint Personal Loans: 2023 Review
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Our Take
4.5
LendingPoint personal loans are funded quickly and may be available to borrowers with fair credit for a midsize expense or home improvement project.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Soft credit check to pre-qualify.
- Fast funding.
- Offers mobile app to manage loan payments.
- Option to change your payment date.
- Free credit score access.
Cons
- May charge an origination fee.
- Reports payments to two of the three major credit bureaus.
- No joint, co-signed or secured loans.
- No large loans.
Compare to Other Lenders
Full Review of LendingPoint
LendingPoint personal loans have the makings of a solid financing option: Rates are reasonable, funding is faster than average and you can pre-qualify to check your rate before applying.
But this is a no-frills product. Loan amounts are lower than many of its competitors, the lender doesn’t allow co-applicants or collateral on an application, and it reports payments to two of the three major credit bureaus.
All told, LendingPoint has most of what you would want in a personal loan, but good-credit borrowers (690 or higher credit score) may qualify with a lender that offers more.
Table of Contents
LendingPoint personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | 660. |
APR | 7.99% - 35.99%. |
Fees | Origination: 0% to 10%. |
Loan amount | $2,000 to $36,500. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | Same or next-day. |
Loan availability | Loans aren't available in NV or WV. |
- Disclosure from LendingPoint
Applications submitted on this website may be funded by one of several lenders, including: FinWise Bank, a Utah-chartered bank, Member FDIC; Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC; Midland States Bank, Member FDIC; and LendingPoint, a licensed lender in certain states. Loan approval is not guaranteed. Actual loan offers and loan amounts, terms and annual percentage rates ("APR") may vary based upon LendingPoint's proprietary scoring and underwriting system's review of your credit, financial condition, other factors, and supporting documents or information you provide. Origination or other fees up to 10% may apply depending upon your state of residence. Upon final underwriting approval to fund a loan, said funds are often sent via ACH the next non-holiday business day. Loans are offered from $2,000 to $36,500, at rates ranging from 7.99% to 35.99% APR, with terms from 24 to 72 months. Minimum loan amounts apply in Georgia, $3,500; Colorado, $3,001; and Hawaii, $2,000. For a well-qualified customer, a requested loan of $10,000 serviced by LendingPoint over a period of 48 months that has an APR of 26.59% with an origination fee of 10% may have a payment of $340.52 per month. (Actual terms and rate depend on credit history, income, and other factors.) The total amount due under the loan terms provided is $16,345.12 and the disbursal amount is $10,000. In the example provided, the total financed amount is increased to receive the full requested loan amount after the origination fee is deducted. The total amount due is the total amount of the loan you will have paid after you have made all payments as scheduled.
Where LendingPoint personal loans stand out
Fast funding: LendingPoint says it takes minutes to complete an application, and the lender can make an approval decision in seconds. If you're approved before noon Eastern time, LendingPoint may send funds the same day; otherwise, funding is the next day. Same-day funding is as good as it gets on a personal loan. Next- or two-day funding is common, but same-day is rare.
» MORE: Fast personal loans
Mobile app and credit-building features: Borrowers can pre-qualify and manage personal loan payments on LendingPoint’s mobile app. The lender also provides credit score monitoring and budgeting assistance. These features are somewhat common, but not guaranteed, with other lenders.
» COMPARE: See your bad-credit loan options
Soft credit check with pre-qualification: Like most online lenders, LendingPoint lets borrowers pre-qualify to check their loan offers, including potential loan amount and annual percentage rate, before applying. This process doesn’t affect your credit score, so it’s a low-risk way to shop for a personal loan.
Option to change your payment date: LendingPoint doesn’t let borrowers choose their payment due date before signing a loan agreement, but customers can change it after closing the loan, then once per year after that. Payment flexibility is helpful if you have a change in income and expenses, such as a new job with a different payday.
Ability to refinance: Borrowers can use a LendingPoint loan to refinance a loan from LendingPoint or another lender. This feature comes in handy if you boost your credit so much that you qualify for a lower rate with LendingPoint or another lender.
Hardship plan: LendingPoint says it has a customer service team dedicated to helping borrowers through hardships. The lender also offers programs including reduced payments over time, a lowered rate or extended repayment term. Most lenders are vague about their hardship programs and tell borrowers to call for help.
Where LendingPoint personal loans fall short
Charges an origination fee: LendingPoint may charge an origination fee up to 10%. Lenders typically deduct this fee from your loan proceeds, effectively shrinking your loan by a few hundred or thousand dollars. LendingPoint lets borrowers choose to increase their loan size to include the fee or to reduce the loan amount and take the fee out upfront. This fee is somewhat common with lenders that target fair- and bad-credit borrowers (credit scores below 690). If your loan amount is reduced, be sure it is enough to cover your expense.
Reports payments to two of three credit bureaus: LendingPoint reports payments to Experian and TransUnion, but not Equifax. This means if you pay off your LendingPoint loan and apply for credit with a lender that checks Equifax, that lender may not reward good payment behavior with a lower rate. Most lenders report payments to all three credit bureaus.
No joint or co-signed loans: Borrowers can’t get a co-signed loan with LendingPoint, nor can they add a co-borrower to apply for a joint personal loan. Either option gives a lender more information to consider on a loan application. Adding someone with better credit and income may help you qualify or get a lower rate.
» MORE: Best co-signed loans
No secured loans: LendingPoint doesn’t offer secured personal loans, which can be easier to qualify for or have lower rates. Some online lenders let borrowers use a vehicle to secure a personal loan, while banks and credit unions offer savings-secured loans.
» MORE: Secured personal loans
No large loans: LendingPoint loan amounts are up to $36,500, while competitors offer loans up to $50,000 or even $100,000. Smaller loan amounts mean LendingPoint isn’t ideal for a large home improvement project or purchase like a boat or RV.
» MORE: Compare home improvement loans
Do you qualify for a LendingPoint personal loan?
You don’t need outstanding credit and income to qualify for a LendingPoint personal loan, but LendingPoint seeks a customer with average or better credit and consistent income.
To apply for a LendingPoint personal loan, you must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old in most states. You also need a Social Security number and a personal bank account.
Here’s what LendingPoint says you need to qualify for a personal loan:
Minimum credit score: 660. LendingPoint uses FICO version 9 and VantageScore version 3.
Minimum credit history: Six months.
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 50%, not including mortgage payments.
Minimum income: $35,000. This lender accepts income from employment, alimony, retirement, child support and Social Security, but not a partner’s income.
Here are details about LendingPoint’s average borrower, according to the lender.
Average credit score: 698.
Average annual income: $80,000.
Average loan amount: $10,750.
Average loan term: 51 months.
Most common reasons for borrowing: Debt consolidation and home improvement.
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 would 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 to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
Gather your documents. LendingPoint may require documents that prove your income, which can be a W-2, pay stub or tax documents, as well as proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.
How to apply for a LendingPoint personal loan
Here are the steps to apply for a LendingPoint loan.
Pre-qualify on LendingPoint’s website. Enter the loan purpose and amount on LendingPoint’s website. You’ll be taken to an application page that asks for your name, address, birth date and income. You’ll also enter the last four digits of your Social Security number, but there’s no hard credit check at this stage.
Preview loan offers and choose one. LendingPoint will show qualified borrowers up to 12 offers and may allow you to customize your repayment term and loan amount. You’ll see the expected monthly payment with each loan offer.
Apply. Once you choose a loan offer, 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. LendingPoint will also do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Make a plan to repay the loan. Though LendingPoint reports to two of the three major credit bureaus, on-time payments can still build your credit score, while 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 LendingPoint with 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.
Upgrade and Best Egg both offer solid personal loans to borrowers with fair credit. Unlike LendingPoint, both lenders report payments to all three credit bureaus.
Upgrade vs. LendingPoint
Upgrade offers a standout personal loan for borrowers looking to consolidate high-interest debts. Unlike LendingPoint, Upgrade will directly pay your other creditors when you get a debt consolidation loan, and may even discount your rate for using the feature.
» MORE: Compare debt consolidation loans
Upgrade accepts borrowers with bad credit scores (629 or lower). Upgrade’s rates and fees are similar to LendingPoint’s, but Upgrade offers loans up to $50,000 and provides secured and joint personal loans.
» MORE: Upgrade personal loan review
Best Egg Vs. LendingPoint
Best Egg personal loans are for borrowers with fair or good credit and work well for debt consolidation and home improvement financing. Unlike LendingPoint, Best Egg allows borrowers to get a secured personal loan by using fixtures permanently attached to your home as collateral.
Best Egg’s funding time may be slower than LendingPoint — the lender says it takes one to three days after approval to fund a loan — but Best Egg offers loans up to $50,000 and sends funds directly to creditors on debt consolidation loans.
» MORE: Best Egg personal loan review
How we rate LendingPoint 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 |
- 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.
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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.
