Best Egg Debt Consolidation Review

Best Egg promotes its model as a way to secure your nest egg with quick and efficient online financing. It offers debt consolidation loans between $2,000-$50,000 with terms of 36-60 months.

The company began in 2014 as an online personal finance company, and expanded to offer credit cards, a variety of loan types and financial literacy and management tools.

It touts itself as “a financial platform that provides simple solutions to help people with limited savings confidently navigate their everyday financial life.” By the end of 2022, it had $24 billion in personal loan originations and 2.7 million accounts. That included 1.3 million new accounts and $7.5 billion in personal loan origination in 2022.

Snapshot:

• Type of Debt Relief – Debt consolidation loan
• Eligibility and Requirements – Minimum credit score of 640
• Fees – 8.99% to 35.99% APR; 0.99% to 8.99% origination fee; $15 late payment fee
• Credit Score Impact – Soft inquiry to check rate; hard inquiry takes place when you pick an offer and may lower your credit score for a short while.
• Consumer Reviews – Positive

How Best Egg’s Program Works

Head to Best Egg’s website to check your rate. The preapproval process runs a soft credit pull to make sure your credit profile is a good match. This doesn’t mean you’ll be approved for a loan, but it does let you compare rates and evaluate your options.

Best Egg will ask questions about the loan, such as the amount you need and your reasons for needing it (i.e., debt consolidation). It will also ask about employment status, income, and monthly rent or mortgage amount. You must provide personal information such as name, address, date of birth, along with your driver’s license or other identifying documents. You will also have to provide proof of employment and income.

Once Best Egg provides you with loan offers, if you chose one, there will be a hard pull on your credit report, even if you decide not to borrow or aren’t approved.

Best Egg borrowers can opt for direct pay, which sends the loan money directly to competitors upon approval.

About half of approved applicants get their loan money the next business day. Most applicants, once their information is verified, get their loan in 1-3 business days.

Best Egg  is not a bank, but a subsidiary of Best Egg Inc., formerly Marlette Holdings Inc., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Best Egg’s loans are issued by either Cross River Bank or Blue Ridge Bank.

Best Egg Eligibility and Requirements

Best Egg’s loans are for borrowers with credit scores above 640. You’ll also need a debt-to-income ratio of 30% or lower, which means your monthly debt payments are 30% or less of your monthly income.

Best Egg also points out that on-time payments are one of the biggest factors in a good credit score and are also a factor in their application process. If you have a history of on-time payments to your creditors, you’re more likely to be approved.

Not all applicants qualify for Best Egg’s lowest rate, 8.99%. Applicants need a credit score of at least 700, along with an annual income of $100,000 or more to get the best rate.

Those who have a Best Egg loan can apply for a second one, but the overall amount borrowed can’t be more than $100,000.

Best Egg’s loan minimum is $2,000, but some states have higher minimum requirements. They are:

Massachusetts: $6,500

Ohio: $5,000

Georgia: $3,000

Residents of Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia and U.S. territories are not eligible for Best Egg loans.

Fees for Best Egg’s Services

APRs range from 8.99%-35.99%. Best Egg also charges an origination fee of 0.99% to 8.99% of the loan amount, which comes out of the loan before the money is delivered.

Length of loan term will affect your APR, and loans with terms of four years or more have a minimum 4.99% origination fee.

Most Best Egg customers use autopay, which automatically takes monthly payments from a bank account. Unlike many of its competitors, though, Best Egg does not have an interest discount for enrolling in autopay.

Pros and Cons of Debt Consolidation with Best Egg

Best Egg has a good reputation for getting money to approved applicants quickly. Customer service is also reliable and attentive, according to reviewers. The company’s restrictive loan terms and high origination fee, however, may not be for all lenders, particularly those with low income or a low credit score.

Pros of Best Egg

• Fast financing
• Soft pull won’t hurt credit score
• Competitive interest rates
• No prepayment penalty
• Payment directly to creditors

Cons of Best Egg

• Origination fees ranging from 0.99% to 8.99%
• Minimum 4.99% origination fee for longer-term loans
• Expensive for borrowers with low income, credit score
• No autopay discount

Is Best Egg Right for Me?

Best Egg promotes itself as a company that offers solutions for people with limited savings. No matter what your savings, its debt consolidation loan is best for borrowers with fair to excellent credit and a higher income.

If you’re in the process of rebuilding your credit profile, Best Egg may not work for you, since it requires a credit score of 640 to qualify, and 700 or above, with an income of $100,000 or more, for the best rate.

Simply qualifying doesn’t guarantee a decent rate. Those on the lower end of the credit spectrum can expect to pay higher rates, which can exceed 30%. This may be higher than the rate you’re already paying on your credit cards.

Best Egg also stresses that credit score isn’t the only thing it looks at – income, amount of debt, credit history and unspecified “other factors” also play a part.

If you can qualify for the lower interest rates, then Best Egg can be a reliable option that saves you money.

Here are some examples of what to expect with a Best Egg loan.

• A 5‐year $10,000 loan with 9.99% APR would have 60 scheduled monthly payments of $201.81.
• A 3‐year $5,000 loan with 5.99% APR would have 36 scheduled monthly payments of $150.57.

You can plug some numbers into Best Egg’s personal loan calculator for a more comprehensive look at your options.

Best Egg Reputation and Consumer Reviews

Best Egg has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.87 rating out of more than 2,200 reviews with the BBB. It also has a 4.6-star Trust Pilot rating, with more than 8,000 reviews, 88% of which are 5-star.

A theme among positive reviews is Best Egg’s fast and efficient application process. Best Egg really can have your money in your account as soon as the next business day if there are no hiccups with the application process and information has been provided accurately. Borrowers who needed customers service during the process rave in reviews about how helpful and friendly the company’s representatives are.

Some customers complained of getting an offer for a higher interest rate than they’d expected, even though they have a high credit score. Negative reviews also complained about getting “pre-screened” offers that touted great terms, but then getting terms that are much less favorable.

Best Egg is only available for United States residents, which some customers were not made aware of before finishing the application. Other applicants also complained about the process dragging on, with the need for more documentation before they were ultimately denied.

Alternatives to Best Egg Debt Consolidation Loan

If you don’t qualify for a Best Egg debt consolidation loan, or the offer has a rate that doesn’t meet your needs, another company may be a better fit.

Some other online debt consolidation loan options are:

• Avant is more flexible than Best Egg for applicants who may not have great credit. Avant accepts a credit score as low as 580 to apply, though most Avant borrowers have credit scores between 600 and 700. Loans range from $2,000 to $35,000, with APRs of 9.95%-35.99% for terms of 12-60 months. Fees include an “administrative fee” of up to 4.75% when the loan is approved, and a $25 late payment fee.
• Discover has APRs a little lower than Best Egg, at 6.99%-24.99%, with loan amounts are $2,500-$40,000, and repayment terms of 36-84 months. Discover doesn’t specify a credit score, but applicants with scores lower than 640 may qualify. It also has a “buyer’s remorse” option that allows a borrower to return the loan money within 30 days of receiving it with no interest charged.
• Lending Club is another option for borrowers with a lower credit score. Applicants with scores as low as 600 can apply, but they must have a 40% or less debt-to-income ratio. Loan amounts range from $1,000-$40,000 for terms of either 36 or 60 months. APR is similar to Best Egg, at 9.57%-36%, but the maximum 3.6% origination fee is lower than Best Egg’s. The better the borrower’s credit score, the lower the origination fee and APR.
• LightStream is a good option for borrowers with good or better credit who are looking for better terms than Best Egg. LightStream offers debt consolidation loans up to $100,000 for borrowers with a credit score of 680 or higher. Assets like savings or a retirement account work in your favor when applying. Rates are capped at 25.49%. A downside is that there is no prequalification option, so if you want to see if you qualify it will count as a hard credit pull.

Alternatives to Debt Consolidation Loans

If you want to consolidate or eliminate credit card, medical or student loan debt without borrowing more money, there are options besides loans.

Some of the best ways to get debt under control are:

Credit Counseling

Counselors at nonprofit credit counseling agencies are required to offer advice that’s in your best interest, rather than sell you a product. During a credit counseling session, a counselor will review your finances, help you create a budget and discuss the best options for reducing your debt.

Debt Management Plan

Debt management is a program offered by nonprofit credit counseling agencies that is designed to help consumers manage their expenses and reduce their debt. Debt management programs are not loans and are open to all borrowers regardless of credit score. The counselor works with your creditors to reduce the interest you owe and waive costly penalties and late fees. It makes debt payments less expensive, and debt is paid off in 3-5 years.

Nonprofit Debt Settlement

Nonprofit debt settlement, also known as credit card forgiveness or Less Than Full Balance, may be a good option for people with a lot of unsecured debt and limited income. It’s offered by nonprofit credit counseling agencies as an alternative to traditional for-profit debt settlement. With nonprofit debt settlement, there is no negotiation. You agree to pay 50%-60% of your debt balance in equal payments over 36 months. You don’t pay any interest during the repayment period. Because it’s a new program, not all card companies or nonprofit credit counseling agencies offer it.