Avant Review – Loans With No Credit Score Requirements
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While there are some great features such as getting to change your payment date and not being assessed a late fee until you’re ten days past due, the interest rates are high.
8/10
Cost
8/10
Features
8.5/10
Ease of use
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Services
8.5/10
When you need a loan — and fast — sometimes an online personal loan is your best option. With a super-simple pre-qualification application and fast funding, Avant is a good choice. They are a trusted name in the personal loans space.
Since Avant doesn’t have a credit score requirement for applicants, it means that even if you have poor credit or none at all, you may be approved. Successful loan repayment can help you boost your credit since Avant reports payments to all three credit bureaus.
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What is Avant?
At first glance, Avant might seem like an online bank, but it’s actually a FinTech company that partners with banks to provide financial services to people with low or no credit. Founded in 2012 to help people start or improve their credit scores, Avant now offers three products: unsecured personal loans, credit cards, and mobile banking.
In just a decade, Avant has served more than 2 million customers. Avant’s headquarters is in Chicago, and its financial partners can service loans in most (but not all) states.
The solutions to simplify your everyday financial tasks.
- Personal Loans: Borrow $2,000-$35,000* for things like a medical bill, a home project, or an unexpected expense.
- Credit Cards: Get closer to your financial goals with clear and transparent credit limits from $300-$3,000.
How does Avant work?
Getting a debt consolidation loan with Avant is simple. You fill out a pre-qualification loan application and submit it for a soft credit check. Assuming you qualify, you will be given some loan options from which to choose.
Here’s the pre-qualification form. It doesn’t take long to fill out; you just need to enter your personal info.
You’ll start with your name and address. Then, fill out details about your monthly housing costs.
In the next section, you will fill out your date of birth and contact information. You will also create a password and provide your Social Security number.
Next, you’ll answer some questions about your job and income. You’ll also explain why you’re applying for the loan and the amount you’d like. Then, use the dropdown menu to select your credit score range. If you have a promotional code, you can add it here.
The last question just asks how you heard about Avant. After you answer that, click the box after reading the various agreements (linked in blue text). Finally, click the blue box and wait a few minutes for your loan offers to appear.
Assuming you’re approved, you’ll get a screen like this one. The minimum loan amount is shown, but you can choose the amount you want from the dropdown bar.
You can play around with the amounts from the dropdown menu to see the fee and APR. I found that the more you borrow, the higher the APR. In the next section, I’ll list a few amounts with their respective rates.
How much does Avant cost?
The loan amount and your credit score play a large factor in the overall cost of Avant personal loans. Other factors include your state of residence and income.
Avant charges the following fees:
- Administration fee of up to 9.99%
- APR of 9.95% to 35.99%
- Late fee of $25 if an amount is not paid within 10 days after its due date
- Dishonored payment fee of $15
The solutions to simplify your everyday financial tasks.
- Personal Loans: Borrow $2,000-$35,000* for things like a medical bill, a home project, or an unexpected expense.
- Credit Cards: Get closer to your financial goals with clear and transparent credit limits from $300-$3,000.
Avant features
Several features make Avant stand out from the competition.
Loans up to $35,000
Once you prequalify, you are given a selection of loan amounts, ranging from $2,000 to $35,000. You may not qualify for the entire range of loan amounts, but if you qualify for $20,000, you may choose a lower amount if you’d like.
Fast funding
Most Avant loans are funded within four business days. Loan applications processed before 4:30 pm CST are typically funded the next business day. Your bank’s policies or other issues outside of Avant’s control could cause a delay.
Also, remember that “next business day” is not the same as “next day.” A loan approved Thursday morning may not be received until Monday if Friday is a federal holiday.
No hard credit prequalification
When you have your personal data ready, filling out the prequalification form will take just a few minutes. Even when you consider the minute or two you need to wait, it takes less than 10 minutes to know whether or not you can continue with your loan application. Since there is no hard pull of your credit data, there’s no harm in filling it out if you’re seriously interested in a loan.
Available to people with a low credit score
While Avant doesn’t have a minimum credit score requirement, it states that the average borrower has a credit score between 600 and 700. Even with a lower credit score, you can submit your information to see if you qualify. When applying, you need to select the range your credit is in, such as poor, average, or good.
Select your monthly payment date
After you complete your application, Avant will set your monthly payment date. You can change it to fit into your bill payment schedule. You’re allowed two changes during the loan's life.
Customer service
You can contact customer service via your account dashboard, an 800 number, or via email. To reach Avant customer support, call 800-712-5407 or email support@avant.com.
Who is Avant best for?
Since there’s no harm in seeing if you pre-qualify, Avant loans can be a good option for people who fall into two main groups: those with lower credit scores and those who need to consolidate debt.
Borrowers with a fair credit score. Young people who are just starting out on their own, financially speaking, will benefit from Avant loans because most lenders have higher eligibility requirements. This is because you have no credit history to show your track record of borrowing and repaying a loan. Also, on-time payments help build your credit score.
Borrowers who want to consolidate high-interest loans. Avant’s average loan term of three years, plus no prepayment fee, makes it an excellent loan option for consolidating debt. The most important thing to know when putting together your own loan consolidation plan is to be sure that the average interest rate of your other debt is higher than that of your new loan.
Say you have three credit cards with interest rates of 25%, 22%, and 15%. As long as your new loan APR is under 20%, you’ll be ahead financially. You can use your Avant loan to pay off your three credit cards. Then, you only need to make monthly payments to one online lender at a much lower interest rate!
Who shouldn’t use Avant?
For people with a good credit history and access to cash via their credit cards or a bank loan, Avant is not a good option. Your credit card APR is probably comparable between the origination fee and interest rates. You could just as easily save time and put the expense on your credit card.
The solutions to simplify your everyday financial tasks.
- Personal Loans: Borrow $2,000-$35,000* for things like a medical bill, a home project, or an unexpected expense.
- Credit Cards: Get closer to your financial goals with clear and transparent credit limits from $300-$3,000.
Pros and cons
Avant offers a solid product, but how does it stack up overall? Here’s a look at the pros and cons of Avant personal loans.
Pros
- You can get a loan with fair credit. While Avant doesn’t list a minimum credit score, they do say they serve people with fair credit. Their average borrower has a credit score between 600 and 700.
- Funds may be available as early as the next business day. For loans that are approved before 4:30 pm CST, the funds could be deposited in your bank on the next business day.
- You can pre-qualify without impacting your credit score. Avant will only do a soft credit check to pre-qualify you for a loan, so there’s no negative impact on your credit score. Should you decide to apply, your credit will be checked. This may temporarily impact your credit score by a few points, but successful repayment of your loan will improve your credit.
- No prepayment fee. Paying off your loan early will save you money because there’s no prepayment fee. Be warned that even if you make an extra payment, your next payment is still due the next month. Extra payments do not affect the date of your next one.
Cons
- The APR is high. Personal loans have high APR rates, but Avant has some of the highest rates at both ends of the spectrum.
- There’s an origination fee. Avant charges up to 9.99% of the loan amount as an administration fee. Not only is this higher than some lenders, you need to remember it comes off the top of your loan. Let’s say you want a $5,000 loan and the administration fee is $250. That fee will be deducted from the $5,000, leaving you with $4,750.
- Late and dishonoured fee. Besides the origination fee, there are other fees that can bite into your savings. In case of a default in payment for more than 10 days, you pay a late fee of $25 and there is a dishonoured payment fee of $15.
- You can only apply online. There’s no way to apply via phone or mail, which is a hindrance to some. Luckily the application process doesn’t take very long.
Avant vs. competitors
There are many companies with all kinds of loan offers and terms available. To ensure you’re getting a deal that works for you, comparing a few lenders is important. Here’s how Avant stacks up against Rocket Loans and Upgrade.
Company | Loan amount | APR | Origination fee |
Avant | $2,000 to $35,000 | 9.95% to 35.99% | Up to 9.99% |
Rocket Loans | $2,000 to $45,000 | 9.11% to 29.99% | Up to 9% |
Upgrade | $1,000 to $50,000 | 8.49% to 35.99% | 1.85% to 9.99% |
Rocket Loans
Rocket Loans offers better rates and fees for someone who meets the minimum credit score requirement. Even the term length is the same or longer than Avant. Loans from Rocket Loans can be used to consolidate high-interest debt, home upgrades, autos, or emergency expenses.
Some loans may be funded the same day if the application is processed and approved by 1 p.m. EST. Borrowers who sign up for autopay are eligible for a discount on their APR.
Upgrade
With Upgrade, you have the potential to get a larger loan with the lowest interest rates. Of course, your FICO credit score, state, income, and desired loan amount comprise a large portion of your APR and repayment terms.
There is no minimum credit score requirement, making this an ideal loan for those with bad credit. However, for smaller loan amounts, you must have your account on auto-pay or pay a slightly higher interest rate.
FAQs
What can I use an Avant personal loan for?
Most borrowers use their loans for consolidating high-interest debt, home repairs, or other emergencies that arise. Since the APR is relatively high, and the loan terms short, you shouldn’t take out a loan that’s larger than you need.
Does Avant report to the credit bureaus?
Yes, Avant reports payments, both on-time ones, and late ones, to the three credit bureaus on a monthly basis.
How will taking out an Avant loan affect my credit score?
Making payments early or on the due date will be reflected on your credit history and have a positive impact on your credit score. If you currently have bad credit, you may see your credit score rise after several months of on-time payments. Let’s say you are delinquent on some old debts and use your Avant loan to pay them off. With the old debts paid in full, you can begin repairing your credit with timely payments on your Avant loan. Of course, the opposite is true, too. Late payments negatively affect your credit score.
The solutions to simplify your everyday financial tasks.
- Personal Loans: Borrow $2,000-$35,000* for things like a medical bill, a home project, or an unexpected expense.
- Credit Cards: Get closer to your financial goals with clear and transparent credit limits from $300-$3,000.
The bottom line
I appreciate how Avant does a soft pull of your credit to pre-qualify you. This way, even if you don’t qualify, you haven’t caused a useless “inquiry” on your credit history. I also loved how quickly and easily filling out the form and getting an answer was. It only took me five minutes.
While there are some great features, such as changing your payment date and not being assessed a late fee until you’re ten days past due, the interest rates are high. This and the administration fee make it an expensive loan option. You should explore other options for a short-term loan if you have any available.
Shop around for the best loan in the absence of money with lower interest rates. Your credit history, state of residence, and income all factor into the rates you are given. Even if your sister lives in the same city as you and has a similar income, your respective credit scores could be the reason one of you gets a lower rate than the other. As always, do your due diligence so you know all of the terms of your loan before you agree to it.
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Writer
Charlotte Edwards is an educator-turned-freelance writer based in Beijing, China. She writes personal finance and parenting content for both digital and print publications around the world.
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