Upgrade Personal Loans

What we love about the Upgrade personal loan

Upgrade loans stand out because of their consumer-friendly features, such as credit monitoring tools, low minimum credit score requirements, and competitive interest rate offers.

Upgrade's personal loans are designed to appeal to borrowers with a wide range of incomes and credit scores. Interest rates and fees are competitive when compared to similar lenders. What sets Upgrade apart from the competition is that it offers interest rate discounts to borrowers who agree to send funds directly to creditors when applying for a debt consolidation loan. It is also one of the few lenders that provide joint, co-signed, and secured loans. 

The loans have comparable rates and fees to other online lenders targeting similar audiences. Still, Upgrade differentiates itself with features like rate discounts for setting up auto payments or having payments sent directly to creditors on debt consolidation loans. Upgrade is also one of few lenders to offer joint, secured, and co-signed personal loans.

Finally, we love that it offers a hardship program for borrowers who experience financial hardship. If you have an Upgrade loan and you lose your job, for example, you could qualify for a temporary reduction of your monthly payment or even a loan modification that extends the term of your loan.

What could Upgrade loans do better?

An Upgrade loan is a great deal if you have good credit and qualify for low interest rates and origination fees. Not so much if you have poor credit and you only qualify for high interest rates and expensive origination fees.

For all its flexibility, Upgrade only offers limited repayment terms. This means you have fewer options if you would prefer a longer or shorter repayment plan. This shouldn't be a dealbreaker for borrowers since you can repay a loan early without worrying about a penalty fee.

Another issue to consider with Upgrade is the high origination fees. Charging an origination fee is common among personal loans, but Upgrade can be more expensive than most if your credit is not great.

Upgrade's backstory

Upgrade's founders are Renaud LaPlanche and Soul Htite. Sound familiar? If you've taken out a loan in the past several years, they should. That's because LaPlanche and Htite were both co-founders of LendingClub, America's largest loan marketplace.

LendingClub arranged over 28 billion dollars in loans to over 1.5 million customers. Htite also founded one of China's largest marketplace lending platforms, Dianrong.

In other words, both founders have a lot of experience and a good track record in the online lending business.

But unlike their previous ventures, Upgrade loans is not a marketplace that connects borrowers to lenders. It's a direct lender in partnership with Cross River Bank.

Upgrade's loan application process

• Go to Upgrade's home page. Enter the desired loan amount and the reason you want to borrow. Then, click "Check your Rate."
• Provide some basic information about yourself.
• Create your account with your email address, review the documents, and provide your electronic signature to agree. Then, click "Check my rates."

After these steps, Upgrade will provide the rates for which you qualify, or you will receive a message notifying you that your application has been denied.

If you are denied, you will receive an adverse action notice explaining why. If you are approved and want to go ahead with the offer, you will select it.

You will then need to provide additional information, officially agree to the terms, allow a hard credit inquiry on your credit report, and provide your bank account information.

The Verdict

If you have fair to good credit, Upgrade loans may be the best option available. However, Upgrade personal loans may not provide the best option for borrowers with bad credit or excellent credit. If you have bad credit, you could be hit with rates of up to 35.99%. But if you have excellent credit, you may be able to find better deals with other lenders.

Upgrade has competitive APRs and a fast and easy application process. Their credit history monitoring tools provide a convenient complement to an intuitive application process. Their commitment to educating and improving the credit scores of rejected applicants is admirable. Having the option of applying for a credit card with the same company is also a bonus. The customizable loan features and discount opportunities make Upgrade a good option for borrowers with less than perfect credit who have a strong monthly cash flow and are looking for a good APR.

The only concern is that the origination fee can be expensive. If you can live with the origination fee and can afford the monthly payments, Upgrade is definitely worth considering. This lender provides a wide range of loan amounts and competitive rates -- even if you have less than perfect credit.