How Upstart Personal Loans Work
Upstart offers unsecured personal loans, which are loans that don’t require any collateral, such as a house or car. These personal loans can be used for a variety of purposes and often have solid interest rates.
You can use an Upstart personal loan for many purposes, like debt consolidation and moving expenses, but check with the lender to see if your expense qualifies for a loan.
One of Upstart’s main distinctions is its underwriting process, which is the task of deciding who gets a loan and how much to charge in interest. Like any lender, Upstart considers credit scores as part of the process. But it also considers employment history and education history, such as where you went to school and your area of study.
While this could be an advantage for people with lots of college experience, it may work against borrowers without that experience.
If you accept your loan by 5 p.m. ET, Upstart will deposit loan funds into your designated bank account on the next business day. It may take a little longer if you’re using funds for education purposes or to pay off your credit card.
Email or call customer support Monday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
What Do You Need To Qualify For Upstart Auto Refinance
Upstart Auto Refinance does not have or does not disclose a minimum annual income eligibility requirement. Upstart Auto Refinance only considers borrowers who are employed.
The Military Lending Act prohibits lenders from charging service members more than 36% APR on credit extended to covered borrowers. Active duty service members and their covered dependents are eligible to apply for a loan via Upstart Auto Refinance. Their rates fall within the limits of The Military Lending Act.
U.S. citizens are, of course, eligible for the services offered by Upstart Auto Refinance. Permanent resident / green card holders are also eligible to apply.
To qualify, applicants may need to provide the following documentation:
- Proof of insurance
- Proof of citizenship or residence permit
Where To Find Upstart Alternatives
Upstart is a decent choice for borrowers with fair credit who are looking to borrow just a small amount. If youre able to qualify for an Upstart personal loan with a low origination fee, it may be a great lender for you.
But if you have good or excellent credit and you want to borrow a larger amount, you should look elsewhere.
Compare your offer from Upstart with quotes from a couple of lenders from our list of the best personal loans. That way you can know youre getting the best deal for your situation.
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Lenders That Allow Refinancing
Some lenders allow you to refinance loans from other lenders, but not their own loans. Other lenders let you use the proceeds of a personal loan for any reason, including refinancing.
These are some lenders with the best rates and their refinance policies.
Lender |
|
---|---|
From Upgrade or another lender. |
5.94% – 35.47% |
From Discover or another lender. |
5.99% – 24.99% |
From Wells Fargo or another lender. |
5.74% – 19.99% |
at Best Egg |
How Upstart Personal Loans Compare

Upstart |
*While Avant does not charge an origination fee, it does charge an administration fee of up to 4.75%.
Both Avant and Upstart allow borrowers with poor credit to get approved. For borrowers who meet Upstart’s minimum credit score requirement of 600, this lender could have an advantage with a wider range of interest rates and higher loan amounts.
While Upstart has a clearly defined minimum credit score of 600 to apply for a loan, LendingClub is a little vaguer on requirements. Upstart has lower starting interest rates, but LendingClub has lower origination fees.
Upstart offers loans of up to $50,000, while Avant’s loans top out at $35,000. Interest rates start lower at Upstart, ranging from 7.86% to 35.99% APR, as opposed to Avant’s interest rates ranging from 9.95% to 35.99%.
However, Avant’s maximum origination fee is lower than Upstart’s, topping out at 4.75% as opposed to Upstart’s maximum of 8%.
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Can You Renegotiate Your Current Personal Loan Instead Of Refinancing
Yes. If you find that youre having trouble making payments on your loan, your lender may consider renegotiating your personal loan terms to give you a better deal, especially if youre in good standing with them. This process, called loan modification, essentially draws up a new contract to replace your old one.
When you ask to renegotiate a personal loan, you can request to lower your monthly payment, interest rate or principal balance, or a combination of the three. By making your loan more affordable for you, your lender hopes to reduce the chances of you defaulting on your debt.
Modifying an existing loan usually doesnt come with any fees, and you can put in multiple requests over the lifetime of your loan. However, each lender will have its own eligibility criteria when considering borrowers for loan modification, including meeting a minimum credit score and having a monthly income. This means that not everyone will qualify.
Similarly, you may be able to negotiate a lower interest rate on your credit card, especially on accounts youve had for several years, as you can leverage your on-time payment history and strong credit score.
Upstart Pays Off Your Old Loan
Once everything is official, well send a check to your old lender to pay off your old auto loan for you. You wont have to handle any of these payments yourself. If we send your lender any overpayment , your lender is obligated to refund that money to youtypically in the form of a check.
Youll know that your old loan is paid off when you log in or contact your lender and see a $0 balance.
Important: Make sure that you keep paying your old auto loan until you see that its entirely paid off. The last thing you want to have happen is to be hit with a late fee and a negative mark on your credit during the hand-off.
After weve paid off your old auto loan, well transfer your cars title in collaboration with your states Department of Motor Vehicles. Depending on what state you live in, Upstart may hold on to your title until your car loan is paid off, or you might get the title in the mail. The title transfer process can take up to 60 days, although youll start repayment through Upstart before then.
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Other Key Things To Know About Refinancing & Credit
Since refinancing a personal loan will hurt your credit temporarily, it’s best to avoid doing it right before you’re going to make a big financial commitment that requires a credit pull, like buying a car or a house. But if you’re not in that situation, refinancing can be a huge help not only to your credit, but also to your finances overall.
When you refinance a personal loan, you move the debt to another lender with a lower interest rate. That helps you pay off the loan sooner and thus get debt-free faster, which is fantastic for your credit. In addition, having a lower interest rate makes it easier to ensure that your payments are on time, which is vital for improving your credit score. Plus, if you use a single loan or credit card to refinance multiple personal loans, the fact that you’ll have fewer open accounts with balances can give your score a boost.
Fast Rate Checks And Funding
In addition to distinguishing itself from other lenders with its unique underwriting, Upstart uses automation to verify applicant information.
While some companies may take a few business days to review your information, Upstart approves about 70% of applications with a fully automated processâmeaning no human involvement is required.
If you accept your loan offer before 5 p.m. Eastern time during a business day, Upstart will initiate the loan disbursement the next business day. Upstart says about 99% of its personal loans get sent to applicants the next business day. If you plan on using the money for educational expenses, however, there’s an additional three-day waiting period.
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What Can Personal Loans Through Upstart Be Used For
- Debt consolidation: Are you juggling multiple credit cards with high interest? Consolidate into one payment with a fixed-rate loan.
- Special purchases: Use a personal loan to finance a new car, wedding, vacation, piece of art/jewelry, etc.
- Personal expenses: Secure funds for a move, medical procedure, tax penalty, funeral arrangements, etc.
- Education: Pay tuition for college, grad school, trade school, etc. or refinance/consolidate student loans.
How Refinancing Your Personal Loan Can Affect Your Credit
When initially applying to refinance a personal loan, lenders will typically allow you to see if you prequalify, which will not impact your credit score. However, if you choose to proceed with the loan, youll be subject to a hard credit inquiry, which will temporarily put a slight dent in your credit score.
This may lower your chances of getting approved for a new line of credit right after refinancing your personal loan. However, as you continue to pay down on your debt , your credit score can eventually bounce back.
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How Does Refinancing Your Car Work
The auto loan refinancing process is straightforward, once you understand how refinancing works. When you refinance your car, you replace your original car loan with new loan terms. You use the money from the new loan to pay the remaining balance on your first loan. Then, you start making payments on the new loan.
In most cases, you can get approved for an auto refinancing loan online in minutes. If you decide to accept the loan terms, youll undergo a hard credit inquiry before signing some legal documents. Then, your lender will pay off your original loan, update your title, and begin collecting your monthly payments.
Switch To Paying Off Your Upstart Powered Loan

After Upstart pays off your old loan, youll start making payments on your new loan. Your first payment will be due 30 days after the date that we originate your loan. We plan it like this to give you enough time for your old loan balance to settle so that you shouldnt have to make two loan payments in one month.
We like to keep things flexible, so we offer you a few ways to make your payments. Its always a good idea to sign up for automatic payments for any loan so that you dont have to remember to make your payments manually. But, you can always choose to make manual payments if that works better for you. We also offer the option to make twice-monthly payments, either manually or via autopay, so that you can plan your payments around your paychecks.
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Where Upstart Falls Short
Limited repayment terms: Borrowers can choose a three- or five-year repayment term. Those same terms are offered by a few other online lenders, but theyre inflexible compared with lenders with as many as five or six repayment term options. The more repayment terms you have to choose from, the more control you have over monthly payments and overall interest costs.
Origination fee: Some lenders that use Upstarts online lending platform charge an origination fee, which isnt uncommon with personal loans, but the fee cuts into your total loan amount. Upstarts fee can range from 0% to 8% of the loan amount.
No mobile app to manage a loan: Some online lenders have mobile apps where borrowers can make loan payments, view their payment history and see their latest credit score. Upstart doesnt offer these features.
No co-signed, joint or secured loan options: Adding a co-signer, co-borrower or securing a loan can help borrowers who may not otherwise qualify get a reasonable rate on a personal loan. Upstart offers unsecured loans only.
Can I Apply For A Second Loan
If you have already received a loan on Upstart, in order to be eligible for another loan, you must:
If you have finished paying off an existing Upstart loan and made on-time monthly payments for the 6 previous consecutive months, you are able to apply for a second loan after your most recent payment is cleared . If you have finished paying off an existing Upstart loan and any of the 6 most recent monthly payments were not on time or you paid off the loan before reaching 6 monthly payments, there is a 60 day cooling off period before reapplying.
If any payment is still processing on your existing loan, Upstart is unable to approve a new loan application. The pending payment counts as your sixth most recent payment and must process successfully before the new loan application can be approved, if all other requirements have been met.
To create a second application we require you to use a different email address than what you may have previously used on another application. To apply for a second loan, check your rate here!
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Upstart Personal Loan Review
Upstart is an online lending platform founded by former Google employees, Anna Counselman, David Girouard, and Paul Gu. It offers debt consolidation loans with a unique way of determining a borrowers risk.
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Upstart has radically changed the market for personal loan by taking the loan process out of any personal hands. Upstart instead uses artificial intelligence to look at over 1600 data points, which include education level, area of study, and employment history along with more standard qualifications like and income.
These loans can be used for consolidating debt, specifically credit card debt.
Upstart claims its model can approve more borrowers at lower rates than traditional lenders like banks and . It operates off the notion that traditional lenders are too strict and cut off a lot of borrowers who actually would repay a loan.
According to a 2019 Upstart study, four in five Americans have never defaulted on a credit product, but less than half have access to prime credit.
Below, well go over the specifics of an Upstart debt consolidation loan and help you figure out if you qualify.
Snapshot:
- Funds by next business day
- Users can choose a custom payment date
Apply For An Upstart Personal Loan
You can apply for a personal loan through Upstart in just a few simple steps:
Pre-qualifying can give you an estimate of what youll pay, but your actual rate after formally applying may vary slightly from your initial quote.
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This Personal Loan Is Right For You If:
If you want to borrow a lower amount of money or have a limited credit history, Upstart personal loans are worth a look. Upstart will consider other positives, such as a college degree when evaluating your application.
However, it’s worth shopping around to see if you qualify for a personal loan that does not charge an origination fee — or even if a 0% intro APR balance transfer card might be a better fit. And if your credit score is good or excellent, you may find a better deal elsewhere.
And remember, if you don’t find an interest rate and terms you like, you can always take the time to build your credit score. Low-interest personal loans are worth the time and effort it takes to give your credit score a boost.
Is Upstart Right For You
2 Approval numbers compare the 2020 loan approval rate by the Upstart model and a hypothetical traditional credit decision model. The APR calculation compares the two models based on the average APR offered to borrowers up to the same approval rate. The hypothetical traditional model used in Upstarts analyses was developed in connection with the CFPB No Action Letter access-to-credit testing program, is trained on Upstart platform data, uses logistic regression and considers traditional application and credit file variables.
3 Neither Upstart nor its bank partners have a minimum educational attainment requirement in order to be eligible for a loan.
4 The majority of borrowers on the Upstart platform are able to complete the application process automatically without providing additional supporting documents, however final approval is conditioned upon passing the hard credit inquiry. Loan processing may be subject to longer wait times if additional documentation is required for review.
5 If you accept your loan by 5pm EST , your funds will be sent on the next business day. Loans used to fund education related expenses are subject to a 3 business day wait period between loan acceptance and funding in accordance with federal law.
Images are not actual customers, but their stories are real.
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