Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

If you have excellent credit, the credit world is your oyster. You’re a lender’s dream customer, and why not? You’ve worked hard to build and maintain your credit, and you know you’re a trustworthy borrower. And now, you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Maybe you want to take that cross-country trip in a shiny new RV you’ve always dreamt of. Or, maybe you want to secure your future financial security by putting some money into some rental units.

No matter what you need funds for, a personal loan can be your one-size-fits-all solution. And with excellent credit, you’ll have a wide variety of lenders and loan offers to choose from. Use  Benzinga’s list of the best personal loans for excellent credit to get started now.

Quick Look: The Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

• Best for Quick Funding: Figure
• Best for Physicians: Doc2Doc Lending
• Best for No Origination Fees: SoFi
• Best for Emergency Loans: Avant
• Best for $0 Origination Fee: LightStream
• Best for Excellent Credit Score: Marcus

The Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

The list of things you can use personal loans for is nearly endless. Personal loans can be a great way to generate income in the future — you can fund your small business or invest in career development. Personal loans are often used to cover large expenses like home renovations or repairs. They are also a popular option for debt consolidation and credit card refinancing. Whatever your financial need, the wide variety of lenders and loan comparison services coupled with your great credit guarantee you can find the perfect loan.

Figure

Figure offers personal loans in an all-online format that allows you to get started as quickly as possible. The firm offers competitive rates and quality customer service throughout the process, and they even offer gift cards to customers who refer friends and family to their personal loans department.

Plus, Figure also offers:

• Financing up to $50,000
• Multiple fixed-term options
• Low fees
• Quick funding

Consider Figure when you want to take out a personal loan to addressing an emergent situation. There’s less waiting around, and you can even earn a bit of that money back through referrals.

Doc2Doc Lending

Doc2Doc Lending provides personal loans to physicians at competitive rates. You can apply online right now to get loans that were made by doctors for doctors. Plus, you can learn more about the platform’s proprietary algorithm and how it helps you.

Plus, several medical professionals can apply, such as doctors, dentists, residents, and many more. And, you can choose from a few loan types, including in-practice loans, in-training loans, and J-1 visa loans.

SoFi

Sofi has long prided itself on helping consumers refinance debt, get out of debt and manage their finances in an all-in-one setup. When you look for personal loans through SoFi, you can choose terms from 2 to 7 years, pay no late fees, origination fees, etc.

SoFi also makes personal loans easy with:

• A powerful mobile app
• Unemployment protection
• No collateral required
• U.S.-based customer service associates

You don’t need to become a member to relish in some of the benefits that target borrowers, and you can open other accounts with SoFi at any time. Because you’re not paying fees, you have more money to pursue other financial goals.

Avant

Avant is another lender known for fast funding and low fees. When you apply with Avant, you can complete the entire process online, pay a low origination fee, never worry about a prepayment fee and manage your loan online. The website is easy to view even on a mobile device, and you can avail yourself of:

• No collateral, unsecured financing
• An online loan eligibility calculator
• Loans that could be as high as $35,000
• A range of loan terms that suit your situation

With a great customer service team and available funding for any number of situations, you can turn to Avant in an emergency, get the money you need and deal with repayment after the fact.

LightStream

LightStream, like many of its competitors, offers:

• No collateral loans
• No late fees
• The possibility of same-day funding
• An online application
• A quality mobile app

There are no monthly service fees and no origination fees when you borrow with LightStream. Plus, the company is highly rated by both Benzinga and the BBB. As the best of the $0 origination fee loan programs, you can choose from a vast range of terms and loan values. Also, it’s easy to reach out to the customer service team for more information on your application, loan balance or repayment.

Marcus

Marcus is the personal banking arm of Goldman Sachs, and it offers you the opportunity to obtain a personal loan for everyone, with terms and values that suit most situations. You can even get an APR discount just for setting up autopay.

Marcus also offers:

• No fee, unsecured loans
• A soft credit check to pre-qualify
• Customer support availability every day of the week

Origination fees are competitive, but it can take a little time to get your loan funded. There are several repayment plans to choose from, no collateral is needed and you can even defer a payment after making your first year’s worth of payments on-time.

Types of Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

You can typically count on a few things to remain true for most personal loans. They’re usually a lump sum payment that you repay with a set installment plan. When you receive your loan offers, each will come with a specific set of terms, rates and fee structure. These will depend on several things, including the unique lender standards and your own credit history. 

With your well-established credit, you should have your pick of personal loan offers. You’ll likely have to decide between a secured or unsecured loan or a fixed or variable interest rate. What you choose will depend on what best suits your unique financial needs.  

Secured Loans

A secured loan is backed by collateral. Your excellent credit score will likely mean you see offers for both secured and unsecured loans, but secured loans are common for large loan amount requests. 

Your collateral could be an asset like your house or your car. Some lenders offer loans backed by your bank account balance as well. 

Be sure you are financially able to meet the repayment terms. Not following through could hurt your impeccable credit and lead to a collateral seizure. 

Unsecured Loans

An unsecured loan is one that is backed only by your creditworthiness. Because you have such stellar credit, lenders will likely feel more comfortable lending to you than someone with less impressive credit. So you may see a solid number of unsecured loan offers if you’re looking to borrow a relatively low amount.

An unsecured loan is less personally risky to you, though your credit score will of course be negatively affected if you don’t meet the loan repayment terms.

Fixed-Rate vs. Variable-Rate Loans

Fixed and variable describe the interest rate assigned to your loan. A fixed loan is desirable to many because you can calculate the exact amount of interest you’ll pay. You’ll know how much a loan will cost you in the end to the last penny.

Of course, a lender needs to profit from a loan — a fixed rate may be higher than a variable rate to ensure this. It could also mean higher monthly payments. In the end, these are small downsides for most, as a variable rate loan can cost you more money in the end.

A variable loan has its shining moments, too. If you’re starting a business and need to keep as much spending power as possible now, you may opt for lower monthly payments. Or, maybe you’re helping your adult child get a loan by co-signing, and they are strapped for cash in the present but don’t mind paying more over time.

Because your offers depend on your credit, you should be able to get the kind of loan you’d prefer. You’ll select from your offers based on what you need the personal loan for and what makes the most sense for you financially.

Personal Loan Requirements and Criteria

You can find out specific personal loan approval requirements from individual lenders, but you can generally count on the following to be looked over during the application process:

• Your FICO credit score
• Debt-to-income ratio
• Delinquencies or negative remarks on your credit report
• Credit utilization (your credit balance vs. your credit limit)
• Open accounts with a positive standing (payments being made on time and the like)

You know you have awesome credit, so there shouldn’t be much for you to worry about. To save you the hassle of flipping between lender websites, use a free loan comparison service like Credible. You can conveniently view your offers from every lender you prequalify with.

Personal Loan Considerations

We know we don’t need to tell you this, but it’s always worth saying: Be sure you can meet the terms of the loans before you agree to them. 

Some lenders offer loans without origination fees or prepayment fees. With the low-interest rate your high credit score is likely to net, you can spend as little as possible on the loan if you look for these types of lenders. 

When perusing loans online, it's best to use a vetted personal loan provider like SmarterLoan.com. Even if you’re the savviest internet user, you can run into sophisticated scammers looking to prey on borrowers.

You can also rely on a loan comparison service like Even to avoid untrustworthy loan providers. By only working with reliable lenders, they protect their users from the prying eyes and sticky fingers of loan sharks and cyber crooks alike. 

Personal Loans vs. Credit Cards

When should you use a personal loan versus a credit card? It depends on what you need a line of credit for. If you have a large expense to pay for, a personal loan is probably best. This is because you are paid in a single lump sum. You’ll repay it with an installment plan, with fixed monthly payments over a set period of time being the standard structure. 

Credit cards typically offer lower credit limits than personal loans, so they’re better for smaller purchases. They also tend to have higher interest rates than interest loans, so it's best to keep lower balances that you can easily pay down every month.

Also, personal loans close when repaid — you can’t reuse your balance as you make payments. With credit cards, your available credit is restored as you pay on your balance. This feature of credit cards makes them great for small or recurring charges. 

Personal loans are perfect for debt consolidation. Payoff is a lender who tailors their loans to this exact use. You can pay off your debtors with the loan, rolling multiple payments into 1 streamlined payment. It can save you money over time with a lower interest rate Also, consolidating your debt with a personal loan will mean your overall credit limit increases and your credit utilization lowers, further boosting your already excellent credit.

Get Extra Cash Fast

No matter the reason you’re in the market for a personal loan, your high credit score will give you an edge. Whether you’re looking to streamline your debt, make investments or pay for something special like a wedding, a personal loan can provide the funding you need.

Use Benzinga’s list to source out the best lenders offering personal loans. Use our loan comparisons services to see all your offers side-by-side and reach out to one of our lenders to get started today.

You’ve earned your excellent credit — put it to work and get fast funding for whatever you need. 

Frequently Asked Questions