Can You Pay Off Lightstream Loan Early

Where Lightstream Falls Short

Hard credit check: LightStreams loan calculator displays example rates based on your desired loan purpose and loan amount, but the lender only offers a hard pull to applications that originate on its website. However, it uses a soft credit check to pre-qualify applicants through NerdWallet.

No direct payment to creditors: Unlike other lenders, LightStream doesn’t send payments directly to creditors when you consolidate debts with a loan. Instead, borrowers have to keep track of their own repayments.

Limited customer service options: Applicants who have questions are directed to an email form on LightStreams website. According to the lender, once you become a customer, you are provided a phone number to contact customer service.

How To Consolidate Or Refinance High

By far, the most common uses for personal loans are debt consolidation or credit card refinancing. Borrowers who struggle with high-interest debt, such as revolving credit card balances, may consider opening a debt consolidation loan to save money on interest or pay off debt faster.

Find out how much you can save using MagnifyMoneys debt consolidation calculator.

Getting Stuck With A High Apr Loan

Personal loan APRs can be upwards of 36%, which makes it quite expensive to borrow money. For example, the $10,000 loan used in the example above would cost you $6,489 in interest over the course of 36 months if you borrowed it at 36% APR.

The solution: Shop around for your best possible APR before committing to a loan. If youre only getting personal loan offers with high APRs, consider working on improving your credit score before applying again.

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What Lightstream Customers Are Saying

LightStream is owned by Truist Bank, which is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating. You can read their reviews and see their customer review rating on the Truist Bank BBB page.

The BBB website also offers a handful of LightStream reviews that dont cast an all-too favorable light on the lender, giving it a 1.07 out of five stars. Many of the negative reviews are complaints about being denied and for poor customer service, while those who are happy with their experience rave about the ease and quickness of the entire process.

If you turn to TrustPilot, reviews are slightly better , but there are currently only eight posted reviews.

Pros Of Lightstream Loans

• No fees: You wont pay an origination fee, pre-payment fee, or late fees.
• Broad repayment terms: LightStream loans range from 24 to 144 months, making LightStream the only major personal loan lender with loan terms longer than 84 months.
• Rate Beat program:If you get approved for another loan that has a lower APR than LightStreams, they will beat that rate by at least 0.10%. This ensures youre getting the lowest rate available.
• Same-day funding: If you apply and get approved before 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, your loan may fund the same day.
• Generous autopay discount:LightStreams 0.50% discount for using autopay is better than discounts offered by competing lenders.

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Making Early Or Extra Payments

You can make a one-time payment from your Member Center, by check, or over the phone.

Unless you specify otherwise,one-time payments go toward your current monthly payment first, and any additional amount beyond that goes toward your principal balance. So if youve already made your full monthly payment before your due date, additional paymentsare principal only payments.

Keep in mind that if you make early payments that dont fully cover your next upcoming payment amount, youll still be responsible for your full monthly payment. If youre on autopay, your full monthly amount will still be withdrawn from your linked account as scheduled.

If your loan is on track and you want an extra payment to go toward principal immediately, you can indicate that when you make the payment. You can also fully prepay your loan anytime.If you choose to pay off your loan early, you wont owe any more interest, and your monthly payments will end. SeePaying off your loanfor instructions. Take note that some payment options might not be available for these principal and payoff payments.

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How Much Does Lendingpoint Personal Loan Cost

As an online lender, LendingPoint offers loan funding within 24 hours of a successful application to borrowers. Any fee charged is meager and bearable.

The origination fee of LendingPoint is only 6%. When compared to online lenders offering similar services, this charge is on the lower side.

There are no fees associated with repaying a LendingPoint personal loan early. Borrowers will pay an annual percentage rate between 9.9% to 35,99%.

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Vehicle Loans At Lightstream

LightStreams vehicle loans offer a simple solution to help you drive the car you want with no down payment required. And whether you are purchasing from an individual or dealer, or if youre refinancing your current vehicle, there are no vehicle restrictions. So no matter the make, model, year, or mileage, or if the vehicle is new, used, or leased, LightStream can help.

LightStream deposits funds directly into your checking account, which gives you a leg up as a buyer. Being a cash buyer can give you more power to negotiate a better deal, not to mention save you time in the entire car-buying process.

What Credit Score Do You Need For A Lightstream Personal Loan

With LightStream, you’ll need to have a minimum credit score of 660 to qualify for a loan. This minimum is on par with other personal loan lenders who target consumers with good credit scores. For comparison, the lowest credit score SoFi will accept is 680, and Payoff’s minimum is 640.

You can find your credit report for free on annualcreditreport.com from any of the three major credit bureaus weekly through April 20, 2022. While this report won’t give you your credit score, it will show you information about your credit and payment history, which lenders use to decide whether to give you a loan. Reviewing your credit report can help you know what you need to improve.

You can find your score at no cost on your credit card statement or online account. You can also pay for it from a credit reporting agency.

There are other requirements as well, including:

• Several years of credit history
• A good credit mix, including a combination of credit card use, and consumer debt like an auto loan or a mortgage
• Few or no payment delinquencies on your credit report
• Other assets, including liquid savings, investments, and retirement savings
• A stable income that will comfortably cover any other expenses and the new loan

LightStream will conduct a hard credit inquiry once you accept the loan offer, which will likely affect your credit score. A hard inquiry gives a lender a complete look at your credit history, but may negatively affect your credit score.

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Lightstream Personal Loans: 2022 Review

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list ofour partnersandhere’s how we make money.

Lightstream Reviews & Transparency

Category Rating: 82%

• Better Business Bureau: LightStreams parent bank Truist has an A+ rating from the BBB but is not accredited. Truist is the result of themerger of SunTrust Bank and BB& T.

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The CFPBs database has about 250 complaints about SunTrust Banks personal loans. Some reasons for complaints include trouble making payments and required payment amounts being higher than expected. Truist only has 3 personal loan complaints so far. BB& T has over 70.

• WalletHub: LightStream has a WalletHub user rating of 3.1/5 .

• Transparency: LightStream is transparent about their personal loan terms, which you can see on their website. However, they could be clearer about their minimum credit score and income requirements. The good news is that LightStream offers $100 to anyone who receives a loan from them and is not completely satisfied. Thats a unique benefit and a nice touch.

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Who Is Eligible For Lightstream Auto Loans

Anyone can apply for a LightStream auto loan. The loan provider does not have any limits or personal restrictions on the type of vehicle you purchase. There is also no application fee.

LightStream does not explicitly state any minimum income or minimum credit score requirements. However, it does state on the loan application that you must have good credit to apply. The company defines a person with good credit as having:

• Several years of credit history
• A credit history with a variety of account types
• Good payment history with few, if any, delinquencies
• An ability to save
• A stable and sufficient income

Consumers with a good or excellent credit history will typically be approved by the company, while those with bad or poor credit history are more likely to be turned down.

How Lightstream Compares

Although rates are specific to borrowers, LightStream’s interest rates are lower than those offered by competitors. Here’s how it stacks up against the competition.

LightStream and SoFi have quite a few similarities: Both offer loan amounts between $5,000 and $100,000, and they don’t require any fees. However, SoFi loans require a higher minimum credit score and also have higher minimum interest rates than LightStream.

SoFi stands out with its unemployment protection program. If you lose your job through no fault of your own and you’re approved for the program, SoFi will put your loans into forbearance, suspending your monthly payments.

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How We Rate Lightstream

We give LightStream a score of 6.5 out of 10.0. The loan provider offers low rates for consumers and large loan amounts since it is part of an established and reputable bank. However, the company has many negative reviews across consumer websites like the BBB and Trustpilot. Note that this number is low in comparison to the number of consumers the lender serves.

• Suntrust merged with BB& T in 2019 to become Truist Bank. Truist now controls LightStream and is one of the reasons the loan provider can offer competitive rates and long term lengths.

Who Is Lendingpoint Personal Loan Best For

A LendingPoint personal loan is a good option for persons with fair or average credit score ratings. It is a fast and reliable way of securing much-needed funds even when you dont have collateral.

People who desire manageable annual percentage rates will enjoy working with LendingPoint. Borrowers who use LendingPoint personal loans have the option of changing their repayment option from weekly to monthly and vice-versa once every year.

LendingPoint offers loans for consolidating debt. And does not have a penalty for people who choose to pay off their loan early.

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Lightstream Auto Loan Details

A LightStream auto loan will allow you to purchase a new or used car or refinance your current auto loan. The online lender directly deposits funds into your account, allowing you to better negotiate with a private seller or dealership.

Heres a closer look at what LightStream offers with its loans:

Your LightStream auto loan terms will depend on several factors, including:

• Loan purpose
• Your credit profile
• Payment method selected

The loan provider also offers its Loan Experience Guarantee. If youre not satisfied with your experience after getting a loan, LightStream will send you $100 if you complete a questionnaire about how it can improve. This guarantee expires 30 days after you receive your auto loan.

How We Make Money

The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.

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Interest Rates On Student Loans Vs Personal Loans

Interest rates for personal loans can sometimes be lower than interest rates on private student loans , but not always. The only time you’ll actually save money by using a personal loan to pay off your student loans is if you’re definitely receiving a lower interest rate on the loan.

Some lenders have tools you can use to estimate what loans you qualify for and what your interest rate is likely to be. Prosper Personal Loan, for example, has a rate tool that can show you how much you’ll qualify for, what your monthly payments will look like and how much you’ll pay in interest, all without hurting your credit score. This can help you get a preview of what’s to come if you do decide to submit an application.

• 5% of monthly payment amount or $15, whichever is greater

Terms apply.

Terms Of Use For The Personal Loan

Every lender has its own set of terms when it comes to how the funds from a personal loan can be used. For example, while some lenders will allow you to use a personal loan toward small business expenses, others will not, and you’ll have to apply for a small business loan instead.

Many lenders actually have terms that prohibit the use of a personal loan for paying off student loan debt. If you aren’t sure if a particular lender will allow you to use the funds for this purpose, you should be up front about your intentions to avoid breaching the lender’s terms of use. If you use the money for a prohibited purpose, you could be held responsible for paying back the full amount immediately.

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Shop Around For The Best Rates

Yes, LightStream only caters to people with excellent credit. If that sounds like you, then great. But remember that its best to compare rate offers from multiple lenders before choosing one, no matter how good your credit score is.

This is especially important if you want to take out a personal loan in a higher-risk category. Because LightStream varies interest rates based on the type of loan in addition to your credit and income qualifications, make sure theyre on par with other loan terms youve been offered.

Top Questions People Ask Us

A debt consolidation loan allows you to move one or more of your existing debt into one place to make it more manageable. Customers typically move their credit card, store card or other forms of loans.

The APR makes it easy to compare different loan products across the market.

The representative APR is the rate a provider reasonably expects most applicants to receive. It’s not a guarantee – your personal APR could be higher or lower than the advertised, representative APR.

The APR you receive may vary from the advertised rate. This is the representative rate which we expect most people who apply to get.

The rate you are offered will be a personalised rate based on your current individual circumstances, including credit information held about you by credit reference agencies, the loan amount you borrow and length of time you borrow for.

We offer a Fast Checker quotation tool which enables you to find out how likely you are to be accepted without impacting your credit score. All you need to do is provide a few details. Find out more by clicking our Fast Checker tool

Yes. A credit check will be completed to help us make a decision on your loan application. Please read our decision explained leaflet for more information on how we assess your application.

Yes you can, however, before applying for a debt consolidation loan you should review your options to make sure that the loan which you are considering is right for you

Still have questions about loans?

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Loan Amounts And Interest Rates

At LightStream, personal loan amounts range from $5,000 to $100,000, and can be repaid in a span of 24 months to 12 years, depending on the loan amount and purpose. There are no prepayment penalties for paying off your loan early.

While good credit is required with this lender, the low interest rates are hard to beat. Lightstream loans start at 2.49% APR, but other competing lenders with similar credit requirements have higher APRs. For example, SoFi’s lowest rate is 4.78% APR, and and Marcus’ minimum is 6.99%.

LightStream may offer a rate 0.10% lower than what’s offered to you by a competing lender. To take advantage, you must show evidence that you were approved for another loan with the same terms offered by LightStream on the same day for a lower rate.

Key Terms To Know About Personal Loans

Annual percentage rate is the interest rate on your loan plus all fees, calculated on an annual basis and expressed as a percentage. Use the to compare loan costs from multiple lenders.

An origination fee is a one-time, upfront fee that some lenders charge for processing a loan. The fee can range from 1% to 10% of the loan amount, and lenders typically deduct it from your loan proceeds.

The debt-to-income ratio divides your total monthly debt payments by your gross monthly income, giving you a percentage. Lenders use DTI along with credit history and other factors to evaluate a borrower’s financial ability to repay a loan.

Lenders that offer pre-qualification typically do so using a soft credit check, which allows you to see rates and terms you qualify for without affecting your credit score. If you accept the loan offer, the lender will perform a hard check to confirm your information. Hard checks knock a few points off your credit score.

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