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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
What We’re Hearing From Our Readers
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Customer Comments

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Loretta H
8/30/2021
In my opinion, Upgrade is nothing but a 5-star company in lending. The process is simple, short, and quick. In less than 48 hrs the funds are in your account. This is a hassle-free company. I would recommend anyone to first start with Upgrade before wasting your time, energy with any other lender out there.
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Antonio P
8/27/2021
Thank you, the process did not feel over burdened, forceful, or as if I had to question anything. I felt comfortable and very impressed with how fast this loan was reviewed and approved. This is the third loan I have applied for, this was the easiest and quickest I had been through by far. Thank you so much.
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C
Camille R
8/26/2021
So far Upgrade has been good to me. It did take about a month to get my personal loan approved. There was a lot of me having to contact them and then being told they needed additional documents- initially, I was going to just give up but then I spoke to another Rep that was very helpful- I wish I could remember his name- but he did explain that they were short staffed and asked if I could just be patient. I knew this to be true because I spoke to him 2 days in a row...that usually doesn't happen in a call center. Besides the extremely long hold times and it taking so long to be approved, I'm satisfied that Upgrade has given me a chance to rebuild my credit.
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A
A M
8/25/2021
I have nothing but good things to say about the upgrade process! The application process was short and sweet; I was approved the same day. I was approved for a personal loan and a line of credit. My experience was excellent, and the customer service was great. As a result, I will continue to utilize their services again. Thank you!
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A
A M
8/25/2021
I have nothing but good things to say about the upgrade process! The application process was short and sweet; I was approved the same day. I was approved for a personal loan and a line of credit. My experience was excellent, and the customer service was great. As a result, I will continue to utilize their services again. Thank you!
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williamsc2828
8/23/2021
When I read other reviews, they stated that it was a quick turnaround. It was not a quick turnaround for me. It took about three weeks.
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kemper.combs
8/21/2021
I submitted an application on Thursday, was approved on Friday and received my funds on the same day. It was a fairly simple, no-hassle process.
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sourabhsen.ss
8/20/2021
Upgrade is not what they market themselves to be. They tell you that you are pre-approved and that you will get your loan $$$$ in a week, that is definitely not the case. I had to call them 4 times and when I threatened to withdraw my application and go to competitor they finally swung into action. Their call center is absolutely unhelpful staffed with people who don’t know anything to say except “your application is in process” and it takes average of 45mins to even speak to a real person. I did get my loan from a third party as Upgrade is a broker/middleman/aggregator nothing more. They are great in marketing but horrible in execution. In this day and age totally unacceptable. God only... Read More
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gorlandoglowalker
8/20/2021
I put my application in the next morning I got approved &got my funds 2days later great company thank you upgrade for helping me
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jperrinut
8/20/2021
This is not an actual loan company. They are a fraud. My “loan” has been in review for nearly a month. This is a scam to collect, steal, and sell your personal information.
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Personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000

  • Loan APR range: 7.99% - 35.99%¹
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  • Transparent terms and absolutely no prepayment penalties
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