Best Egg® Personal Loans Review

Best Egg Personal Loans

Personal Loans from Best Egg are best for high income borrowers who have good credit.

Potential borrowers should also know that the company charges a origination fee of 0.99% to 5.99% on loans.

If you don’t mind the fee, and can meet the qualifications, Best Egg can be a solid choice. However, before you apply consider other options.

SoFi beats out Best Egg personal loans with no loan origination fee

Best Egg's main competitor is SoFi, a company that also specializes in online personal loans.

SoFi doesn't charge a loan origination fee, which means you could save 0.99-5.99% of your loan value.

To put that into context, on a $10,000 loan you would save $99 if you qualified for the low-loan origination fee.

You'd save $599 by choosing SoFi if Best Egg was charging the highest loan origination fee.

SoFi also offers higher loan amounts (maximum $100,000, compared to Best Egg's $50,000 max).

Lending Club is another option worth considering.

Still interested in learning more about Best Egg?

Keep reading for more information about Best Eggs, its strengths and weaknesses, and what you can expect when you apply for a personal loan.

The Strengths

Best Egg personal loans are a good choice for people with high incomes who quickly need a loan

Do you earn $100,000 per year or more?

Is your FICO credit score 700 or higher?

If you're nodding your head ‘yes' to all three of these questions then you're a perfect candidate for a Best Egg personal loan.

If not, there are plenty of other options where bad credit isn't an issue.

Best Egg will offer you a loan between $2,000-$35,000.

If you make $150,000 you can qualify for a loan of $50,000.

You might be offered an interest rate of 5.99% (its best APR).

And you'll probably get charged a loan origination fee somewhere close to the low end of the spectrum (0.99%).

If you are approved that day, the money will be in your bank account tomorrow.

The Weaknesses

Best Egg personal loans aren't great for people who don't have high incomes or credit scores.

If you're not earning a high salary, you're not going to get approved. For reference, if you don't make $100,000 and don't have a credit score of 700+ you might want to look somewhere else.

Sure, you can get affordable rates, but you can also get clobbered if you don't meet the ideal terms.

Best Egg personal loans can come with an APR is as high as 29.99%, depending on what you're looking for and your credit background.

You'll also be charged a relatively high loan origination fee (up to 5.99%).

About The Company

Best Egg might be pretty new but its performance is already impressive

Best Egg is a personal loan provider that's been making a lot of waves in recent years. It was started up in 2014 by a team of former Barclays execs. Since then, Best Egg has funded over $5 billion in personal loans.

Its parent company Marlette Funding was nominated for providing the "Top Consumer Lending Platform" at the 2017 LendIt Industry Awards (LendIt is an annual industry conference).

How the Services Work

All applications through Best Egg personal loans are submitted online.

You enter your basic information on the online application as well as your individual and household income.

Then you are asked to indicate how much you would like to borrow.

Best Egg then runs what's called a "soft" credit check on you. That means the company gets a look at your credit score, but it doesn't impact your credit rating.

If you qualify, Best Egg gives you two options: either a three year or five year loan period.

But if you can pay it off earlier then the loan period there's no penalty.

That's great because it means you can reduce your principle as well as the total interest you pay.

People love Best Egg personal loans because it's fast and easy

It's a trustworthy loan provider. Best Egg has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Out of 332 customer reviews on Consumer Affairs, 298 were five-star.

Most of the positive reviews mention how easy and fast it was to get a loan from Best Egg.

Carol from Clute, TX described "an extremely easy online application and fast results."

Stephanie of Gloucester, VA talks about how Best Egg was there for her during a family illness.

"Best Egg provided a quick and easy process for me to get the money I needed to take care of my child."

People hate Best Egg personal loans because they can't qualify

Several bad reviews for Best Egg on Consumer Affairs talk about disappointment in not getting approved.

People receive a letter indicating that they've been pre-approved for a Best Egg personal loan at a particular APR.

Then when they follow-up and apply they either get denied based on their credit review or they are offered different loan terms.

Best Egg does a good job of replying to negative reviews.

The company explains that the pre-approval process is only based on credit scores.

When you apply you provide some new information (like annual income) that makes the company change the offer.

Everyone wants to know how Best Egg approvals happen so quickly

A loan within a day seems too good to be true, but it is true – Best Egg personal loans aren't peer-to-peer loans.

If you're not familiar, MoneySmarts offers a great breakdown of the pitfalls of peer-to-peer lending.

Best Egg uses one bank – Cross River Bank of New Jersey – to finance all of its loans.

That means the company doesn't have to find an investor every time someone applies for a loan.

As a result, approvals can be almost immediate.

As we mentioned earlier, SoFi is probably a better bet than both of these companies since it has no loan origination fees.

And SoFi is also your only option if you want to borrow more than $50,000.

FAQS

• How much can I borrow?

  Best Egg personal loans start at $2,000.

  You can get up to $35,000 if you have an annual income of $100,000.

  If your annual income is $150,000, you can get up to $50,000.

• What can I use the money for?

  You can use Best Egg loans for whatever you want, such as travel, education, home improvement, or even a vacation.

• Is Best Egg legitimate and safe?

  Yes. The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

  The Cross River Bank is a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, and a member of the FDIC.

• Can I defer a payment?

  No, but the penalty for a late payment is only $15.

  That's quite low compared to what other lenders charge.

• Are the loans secured or unsecured?

  Best Egg offers unsecured loans. You don't need collateral.

• Do rates increase over time?

  No, the rate is fixed over the loan term.

• Does Best Egg need my credit score in order to give me a loan? Is it a soft pull or a hard pull?

  Best Egg does a soft pull for your initial application.

  Then if you decide to go ahead with the application you'll get a hard pull, which will impact your credit score.

• What kind of credit score do I need to get approved?

  You need to have a minimum credit score of 640.

  But to get a good interest rate you should have a score of 700 or higher.

• What is Best Egg's BBB accreditation?

  A+. The BBB gives the company 4.81 stars out of 5 based on its customer reviews.

• Can I have two loans at the same time?

  Yes, you can have a maximum of two loans with Best Egg.

  But you won't be able to get that second loan until you have had your first loan with Best Egg for at least six months issue-free.

• Can I make additional payments on my loan?

  Yes, you can make payments in addition to the set monthly payments.

  This is good because it means you can reduce your principle as well as the total interest you pay over the loan period.

• What documentation does Best Egg need in order to approve my request for a loan?

  It can ask for documentation in the form of personal identification to prove you are who you say you are.

  This is a way to prevent identity theft.

• What is the maximum loan that Best Egg gives?

  For people with an income of $100,000, you can get a maximum loan of $35,000.

  If you make $150,000, you can ask for up to $50,000.

• How is Best Egg different from other lenders in the market?

  Best Egg is different because it does all of its lending online.

• Does Best Egg offer services in all states?

  No, Best Egg does not lend to people in the states of Iowa, Vermont or West Virginia.

  There are also some different rules that apply in different states.

  In Massachusetts, the minimum amount you can borrow from Best Egg is $6,000.

  In Ohio, the minimum is $5,000. In Georgia, the minimum is $3,000.

• How long is the whole process of applying?

  Usually, you can apply and get approved on the same day.

  You usually get your funds deposited into your account the next business day.

• How long will I have to wait to find out if I am approved?

  Approval is usually the same day once you have gone through the online application process.

• Will the money be deposited straight into my bank account?

  Yes, it will be directly deposited, often the next business day.

• What could be the reasons for not being approved for a loan?

  If you have a credit score under 640 you will not get a loan from Best Egg. If you have an income less than $60,000 there is a good chance you won't get approved.

• Is there a fixed interest rate or is it determined based on my standing credit score and history?

  The interest rate for your Best Egg personal loan will be determined based on your credit score, credit history, and income. The rate will be between 5.99-29.99%.

• Can I be denied a loan after being pre-approved?

  Yes, "pre-approval" was only based on your credit score. When you apply Best Egg will also ask you for your income. You might not qualify at all, or it could offer you different terms.

• Would Best Egg be considered a peer-to-peer lending company?

  No, all loans through Best Egg are financed entirely by The Cross River Bank.

• I received a ‘pre-approval' mail from Best Egg. Does it mean I am approved officially and will get the money shortly?

  No, you need to go through the application process. The information you provide (for example, your income) could change the offer.

• Is my private information safe with Best Egg?

  The reality is no information is entirely safe. On the company's Privacy Policy page, Best Egg states that it takes many steps to safeguard customer information. But it "cannot guarantee" these security measures.

• Can I pay off my loan before the end of the fixed term?

  Yes, there is no penalty for paying off your loan quicker than the 3- or 5-year term. This is great because that also reduces the amount of total interest you pay.

• How is Best Egg's reputation amongst the lending community?

  Very strong. The parent company was nominated for providing the Best Lending Platform at the 2017 LendIt industry conference.

Have you gotten a personal loan from Best Egg?

How has it worked out for you?

Any great tips (or nightmares) to share with the rest of us?

Let us know in the comments below!