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Upgrade Personal Loans Review

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Upgrade is a lending company based in San Francisco, California. It is an online lending platform that offers consumers free credit monitoring and access to personal loans of up to $50,000.

The company’s co-founder and CEO Renaud Laplanche is the former head of LendingClub, an online lending company that has lent more than $28 billion to over 2 million borrowers since 2007.
 
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How is Upgrade rated?

Breakdown

0.0/5
Flexibility
0.0/5
Interest Rates
0.0/5
Discounts & Fees
0.0/5
Customer Service and Reputation

Overall Rating: 3.1 / 5 (Very good)

Although Upgrade is a young company, it is already making waves in the online personal loan market thanks to its competitive offerings and streamlined application process. Unlike most personal lending companies, Upgrade focuses on a borrower’s cash flow rather than income, which means people with a lower salary may qualify for a bigger loan based on cash flow.

Upgrade is an overall good choice for borrowers searching for quick access to personal loans with reasonable rates and flexible loan options. 

Upgrade Loan Specifics

Loan Specifics - 4 / 5

Upgrade loans have a flexible price range, ranging from $1,000 to $50,000, and have a fixed term length of 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, or 84 months. They take only minutes to tell customers if they were approved or not for the loan they applied for. If approved, the amount will be directly deposited into a customer's bank account in 24 hours (after clearing verifications).

There are a few things Upgrade loans cannot be used for, including post-secondary education, investments, illegal activities, or gambling of any kind.

Loan Uses

Debt/Credit Card Consolidation
Buy Home
Major Purchase
Home Improvement
Medical Expenses
Wedding
Moving/Relocation
Vacation
Start Business
Education
Taxes
Loan Minimum
$1,000.00
Loan Maximum
$50,000
Term Length
24, 36, 48, 60, 72, or 84 months. 
Direct Deposit
Yes
Pay Creditors Directly
No
Decision Time
Undisclosed
Disbursement Time
Within 1 business day†
Credit Insurance
No
Unemployment Protection
No

Representative Loan Sample

Personal loans made through Upgrade feature Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) of 9.99%-35.99%. All personal loans have a 1.85% to 9.99% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Lowest rates require Autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly. Loans feature repayment terms of 24 to 84 months. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 36-month term and a 17.59% APR (which includes a 13.94% yearly interest rate and a 5% one-time origination fee), you would receive $9,500 in your account and would have a required monthly payment of $341.48. Over the life of the loan, your payments would total $12,293.46. The APR on your loan may be higher or lower and your loan offers may not have multiple term lengths available. Actual rate depends on credit score, credit usage history, loan term, and other factors. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. There is no fee or penalty for repaying a loan early. 

Upgrade Qualification

Qualifications & Flexibility - 3.5 / 5

Upgrade does a soft credit check first to get customers rates they qualify for. Then, once the customer applies for an specific loan, they do a hard credit pull on their score. Upgrade loans require a minimum FICO score of 620, but applicants should keep in mind that Upgrade also looks at how much money they have left at the end of the month after expenses. This means applicants with lower scores might be approved for better rates if they have enough cash flow.

Applicants must have at least $1,000 left to be approved for a loan.
Minimum FICO Score
620
Personal Income Considered
Yes
Education Requirements
none
Debt to Income Ratio
40% maximum debt-to-income ratio excluding mortgage
Verify Bank Account
Yes
U.S. Citizen
Yes
Hard Credit Pull
Yes

Upgrade Cost of Loan

Costs, Interest Rates, Discounts & Fees - 4 / 5

Upgrade offers loans within a 9.99%-35.99% APR range. A customer's actual rate will depend on their credit score, credit usage and history, loan term, and other factors.

The best rates are only available for applicants with excellent scores and who authorize automatic payments.

They charge an origination fee of 1.85 to 9.99%, and will charge customers a $10 fee for any failed electronic or check payment attempts.

If you miss your payment with Upgrade, they will charge up to $10.
APR Range
8.49%- 35.97%
Origination Fee
1.85 to 9.99%
Missed Payment Penalty
Up to $10 if your payment is not received in full within 15 calendar days of your payment due date

Other Fees

Application Fee
Pre Payment Penalty
Administration Fee
Returned Check Fee
Check Processing Fee

Upgrade Reputation

Customer Service and Reputation - 3.5 / 5

Upgrade is a BBB-accredited business and has an outstanding A+ rating and 868 customer reviews with them.

It also has an excellent 4.8 out of 5 Trustpilot score, and only 4 complaints on the CFPB. This is noteworthy considering Upgrade was founded only recently, in 2016.
Type of Institution
Peer to Peer
Year Founded
2016
BBB Rating
A+
Trust Pilot Rating
4.8 out of 5
Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) Complaints
4
Date Collected
2020-03-25

Disclaimer

Personal loans made through Upgrade feature Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) of 9.99%-35.99%. All personal loans have a 1.85% to 9.99% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Lowest rates require Autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly. Loans feature repayment terms of 24 to 84 months. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 36-month term and a 17.59% APR (which includes a 13.94% yearly interest rate and a 5% one-time origination fee), you would receive $9,500 in your account and would have a required monthly payment of $341.48. Over the life of the loan, your payments would total $12,293.46. The APR on your loan may be higher or lower and your loan offers may not have multiple term lengths available. Actual rate depends on credit score, credit usage history, loan term, and other factors. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. There is no fee or penalty for repaying a loan early. 

† Accept your loan offer and your funds will be sent to your bank or designated account within one (1) business day of clearing necessary verifications. Availability of the funds is dependent on how quickly your bank processes the transaction. From the time of approval, funds sent directly to you should be available within one (1) business day. Funds sent directly to pay off your creditors may take up to 2 weeks to clear, depending on the creditor.
Headquarters Address
275 Battery Street, 23rd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94111
Homepage URL
https://www.upgrade.com
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Customer Comments

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Louis P
3/8/2018
UPGRADE PERSONAL LOANS? WORSE COMPANY EVER DEALT WITH!!!!! STAY CLEAR!!!! So do yourself a great favor, and do not even think about dealing with these antiquated, backwoods, indecisive MORONS that call themselves a business. I’m not normally so harsh, but these chimpanzees? DESERVE EVERY WORD I WRITE AMD MORE!!!! Words cannot possibly express Upgrades lack of honor, lack of commitment and most importantly, lack of any sign of intelligent life. 2 1/2 weeks of asking for documents. 35 plus documents sent. Called me TWICE and told me LOAN WAS APPROVED to “be on the lookout” for an email. No email arrived. Can you imagine how horrible it would be, how it messes with ones psyche, to... Read More
97 People found this helpful.
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R
Rigo q
9/16/2018
my experience was quite different from the other comments... I was approved in matter of minutes... I also received my money in a matter of 4 days... It really help with my debt consolidation I'm thankful for the service
85 People found this helpful.
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J
James M
8/14/2018
BORROWERS BEWARE how they work, when I went to their website and filled out the application I was given the impression that I was pre-approved they did a hard pull on my credit and I was given a contract of what my payments would be. They took all of my personal information including asking me to prove my identity by taking a picture with my identification in hand in the picture and send it to them through my phone they also asked for my banking information (routing number and account number) If you're looking to receive a loan and all you need is a loan to pay off your credit cards and other nagging bills FORGET GETTING A LOAN THROUGH THEM. They might be good for those with a good... Read More
79 People found this helpful.
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J
james g
1/24/2018
I spilled out the application through Credit Karma and received an email from upgrade saying that I was approved for my $2,500 loan. They gave me the interest rates and the monthly payment etc etc. They asked me for my bank routing number and account number so that they could deposit my loan. Been 3 weeks now no emails no phone calls they won't return my calls and no deposit I think I got scammed beware
64 People found this helpful.
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Melissa A
7/6/2018
Applied fora loan. Uploaded all the requested documentation. Took a hard hit. And nothing. No decline. No approval. Big waste of time. Don't bother. Plus they are so weird about protecting information a wife cannot even ask what documents need sent in when a husband is applying. Ridiculous when no information was sensitive at all that was asked. Simply trying to do some footwork for him as requested. Terrible disappointment when you are in a time crunch situation. No word is the worst. Get it together Upgrade!
50 People found this helpful.
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J
Julius B
10/1/2018
My loan was processed very quickly. The staff I spoke with, were very professional.
44 People found this helpful.
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Karla A
10/9/2018
I had no issues with this company. I applied was approved and had my money within 4-5 days. The only thing I question is being approved for $10,000 and not receiving that amount when all of the forms stated $10,000.
40 People found this helpful.
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F
F.A
2/15/2018
The advertised four day process has turned into 30 day process. The loan was approved and sent back to review status twice. Loan specialist Katy is now M.I.A.
37 People found this helpful.
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C
Carlos R
10/8/2018
Amazing opportunity, very easy step on line, nice service and quick and easy direct deposit. Thanks UpGrade
34 People found this helpful.
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M
Mz J
5/21/2018
Do NOT apply with Upgrade you will be wasting your time and taking hard hit on our credit. I applied on 5/18/18 I had all documents uploaded, returned a call to Alexis on 5/21/18 and was told loan was being DECLINED because I did not cash my work checks. Ask her supervisor Alahandra if she could explain. Her answer was if I didn't cash my check they can't verify my income. The name is Upgrade but there was nothing UPGRADE about their service
30 People found this helpful.
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Personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000

  • Loan APR range: 9.99%- 35.99%
  • Fast Funding. Money is sent to your bank account within a day of clearing any verifications
  • Transparent terms and absolutely no prepayment penalties
  • Access to free credit monitoring, alerts, and features to help you understand your credit
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