Personal loans for excellent credit are a great way to get money to pay for things that are more difficult to finance.
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When you have a credit score of 740 or higher, you have a wealth of loan options to choose from. As you might expect, personal loans for excellent credit come with much better terms. However, it might also depend on the age of your credit. Some borrowers have reported that lenders still give them bad credit loans or higher interest rates if their credit history is less than five to 10 years old.
The Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit
- Lightstream
- SoFi
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- Discover Personal Loans
Lightstream
SunTrust Bank’s Lightstream division has made a big name for itself in the tiny home industry and among Tesla buyers. As one of the best personal loans for excellent credit, it promises to reward high credit scores with low interest rates and low monthly payments. The main downside is that you cannot currently prequalify, so all applications lead to hard pulls of your credit.
Interest Rates: Borrowers can expect to pay anywhere from 4.49% to 20.49%. For the most part, the shorter the loan term and the smaller the loan amount, the lower the interest rate.
Loan Amount: Unlike most personal loan offerings, you can borrow as much as $100,000. Its minimum lending amount is $5,000.
Loan Term: Borrowers have anywhere from two to seven years to pay off the loan. There are no prepayment fees.
Fees: Lightstream has virtually no fees, including no late fee and no origination fee.
SoFi
SoFi is another lending institution that has built a name for itself as one of the best personal loans for excellent credit among tiny home buyers and builders. Some borrowers say it is even more difficult to qualify for, but at least you can prequalify. Whether you are approved or not, this prequalification has no effect on your credit score.
Interest Rates: Borrowers pay slightly higher interest rates at SoFi, at 5.99% to 20.69%.
Loan Amount: Like Lightstream, SoFi has an unusually high loan amount of $5,000 to $100,000.
Loan Term: Like Lightstream, SoFi offers anywhere from two to seven years to repay its loans.
Fees: It has no late fees and no origination fee.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
Marcus by Goldman Sachs has existed for 150 years. Despite being a more traditional bank, it does have competitive personal loans for excellent credit worth looking into. Borrowers say the main downside to choosing this option is that it can take days to fund a loan. Most other personal loan lenders fund loans within 24 hours.
Interest Rates: Interest rates are decent and range from 6.99% to 19.99%.
Loan Amount: The loan amounts are more in line with typical personal loan offerings. Borrowers can borrow anywhere from $3,500 to $40,000.
Loan Term: Buyers must repay within three to six years, but there are no prepayment fees.
Fees: There are also no late fees and no origination fees.
Discover Loans
It is worth noting that while the minimum credit score for this loan is 660, the average score of borrowers is a whopping 750. As one of the best personal loans for excellent credit, it is also more fine-tuned for debt consolidation than other options. The one downside is that it has the lowest loan amount offering on the list.
Interest Rates: Interests are similar to Marcus by Goldman Sachs. They range from 6.99% to 24.99%.
Loan Amount: You can borrow as low as $2,500, which is great for people who don’t want to take out hefty debt. However, the loan amount tops out at $35,000.
Loan Term: The repayment terms are more flexible than Marcus by Goldman Sachs. Borrowers have three to seven years to repay.
Fees: There is no origination fee, but there is a late fee of $39.
Summary of the Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit
- If you want to finance a tiny home, consider Lightstream and SoFi.
- Discover Personal Loans are best for people looking to consolidate credit card loans or other types of debt.
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs is great for any purpose under $40,000.
Quick Questions regarding Personal Loans for Excellent Credit
There is no established definition of excellent credit. Every lender sets its own standards. Some do use 720 as the marker, but 740 is a much better goal to aim for.
If you don’t have excellent credit, there are still personal loan options available to you. However, the credit limits are lower and the interest rates are higher than with personal loans for excellent credit.
You can use a personal loan to pay for any expense not forbidden by the lender. Some do set restrictions, such as using the funds to start a business. Always read the fine print.
If your credit less than excellent be sure to read our guide to the Best Personal Loans for 2021 here.
