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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 Do We Rate Upgrade?

Breakdown

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

Our 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 7.99%-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. Personal loans issued by Upgrade's bank partners. Information on Upgrade's bank partners can be found at https://www.upgrade.com/bank-partners/.

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 7.99%-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
7.99%- 35.99%
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 7.99%-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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ggracian17
5/9/2022
This is my second time receiving a personal loan from them. My first time was back in 2020 for 5,000 and just recently again now in 2022. I had no issues. I paid off the debts relatively fast on both loans. The interest rate was not terrible either.
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C. M
5/8/2022
It was a very easy process applying for the loan. After submitting my application my loan was approved pretty quickly. Before applying I compared Upgrade’s loan terms and interest rates with competitors and found that Upgrade was the best overall! Very happy with the process and would recommend Upgrade to others seeking a personal loan.
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Miriam S
5/7/2022
This is the easiest and fastest loan I have ever received. The whole process was easy, the rates are low and I was able to consolidate all of my bills. I was able to pay off my car that had a really high interest rate. Even though the economy is in bad shape and prices are higher than ever, I'm able to get by because I no longer have dozens of bills to pay on every month. I'm so grateful for this loan and recommend this company to anybody that needs a loan.
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mfratter1972
5/6/2022
This was the fastest, easiest, most user-friendly loan in the market, without question. In fact, it was so pleasant that I thought maybe it was like a joke or scam, because I thought there was just no way securing a $30k loan could be done without spending days or weeks gathering up 1099s, bank statements, P/L papers, IRS forms and spending hours getting the right light to take a picture of your DL. Bravo Upgrade. Job, well done. I will never go anywhere else to get a personal/business loan. Upgrade is King!
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rrwa1403
5/2/2022
These loan will rates are very reasonable and the turnaround time to receive your funds is within 2-3 days when all of your paperwork is in order. I like it because the payments are automatically taken out of your account.
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K
KASIE C
4/24/2022
This made getting my credit cards paid off so much easier. It takes care of them and it isn't any extra in interest I would be paying anyway. I am able to get them paid off in the foreseeable distance. It is very easy to make additional payments so I can get it paid off much sooner. I am so glad I made this decision I can make plans and get out of debt.
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T
Tj C
4/19/2022
I loved how easy the process was. I was kept informed throughout the whole process. Great customer service & great urgency. I don’t have anything negative to say about UpGrade. Very prompt & very professional
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E
EL
4/19/2022
Upgrade was through, and I get extremely safe proving any personal information to them. Their security is unsurpassed
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tspickell
4/19/2022
I am a nurse. I injured my shoulder and am receiving temporary worker's compensation payments. I have worked for the company for several years and expect to return. I SPECIFICALLY ASKED if this worker's compensation would be and appropriate income source, BEFORE spending 3 hours filling out paperwork and responding to multiple phone calls and e-mails. The loan was denied due to my income source. Very poorly informed representatives. Very poor customer service.
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mawnpawev
4/18/2022
so far i like your co. i like the way u do business.
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Our Partner

Personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000

  • Loan APR range: 7.99% - 35.99%¹
  • 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
  • No obligation and no impact to your credit score when you check your rate
  • Dedicated to serving since 2016
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