Best Personal Loans for Excellent Credit

If your credit score is between 740 and 850, that’s often considered great to excellent credit. Some lenders with more stringent underwriting requirements may reserve an “excellent” designation for scores above 800, but as long as you’re at or above 740, your credit is in terrific shape.

Borrowers with scores that high have plenty of options when it comes to finding financing. Having so many loans and lenders to choose from can make decision-making more difficult. Simplify your search with these three best personal loans for excellent credit.

3 best personal loans for excellent credit

When we review personal loans and the lenders that issue them, we measure several metrics to find the top picks. We compare these lenders’ APRs and loan limits, as well as the borrowing experience they provide to customers.

The three personal loan lenders we recommend stand out for providing convenience, fast funding, and competitive perks for borrowers with excellent credit. If you’re in the market for a personal loan, look no further than these top picks:

Lender	Rates (APR)
Credible1	7.49% – 35.99%
LightStream	7.49% – 25.49%

Credible – Best marketplace

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LendEDU rating: 5.0 out of 5

• Multiple loan options in one place
• Streamlines the application and comparison process
• Borrow up to $200,000

Credible is a leading personal loan marketplace that presents a wide array of loan options from different lenders. It simplifies the application process, allowing borrowers to compare rates and terms for multiple loans with a single two-minute form. 

Browsing the Credible marketplace won’t harm your credit. Your excellent score will remain untouched with no hard inquiries while you shop for a loan. If you find a loan offer you like, you’ll click through to that lender’s website and complete a full application there.

Submitting an application on a lender’s site requires a hard credit pull. Review all your loan offers, and only apply when you’re sure you’ve found the right match.

LightStream – Best for excellent credit

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LendEDU rating: 4.8 out of 5

• Competitive rates for excellent credit
• Flexible loan terms
• Rate Beat Program

LightStream offers best-in-class rates for individuals with excellent credit. Even LightStream’s highest possible APR is several percentage points below what you’ll find with other lenders—as much as 10 points lower, in some cases.

Its loan terms are versatile, too, ranging from 24 to 144 months. Even better, it offers a Rate Beat Program, where it agrees to beat qualifying interest rate offers, ensuring that excellent-credit borrowers get the most competitive rates.

LightStream takes its superior lending experience a step further by offering same-day funding when you sign your documents and complete the verification process by 2:30 p.m. Eastern. However, LightStream doesn’t allow prequalification with a soft credit check, so we think this lender is best for borrowers who are confident they’ll be approved and that LightStream is the best match for them.

How excellent credit affects personal loan approval 

Having excellent credit gives you nearly open access to financing. Your higher credit score means you’re more likely to get approved and qualify for better interest rates, more flexible terms, and larger loan limits.

As credit scores decrease, borrowing becomes more difficult—and more expensive. In the image below, borrowers with credit scores in the darkest blue can net the best loan offers, and those with scores in the lightest blue often can’t get approved at reasonable rates.

To better illustrate how credit scores affect personal loans, take a look at the average personal loan APRs from July 2023:

Credit range	Avg. APR
720 – 850	11.30%
690 – 719	15.60%
630 – 689	22.30%
300 – 629	25.20%

Excellent credit scores earned the lowest average APR, at just 11.30%. For borrowers with scores at or below 629, the average rate more than doubled.

Excellent credit improves your personal approval odds, but approval isn’t guaranteed. Every lender sets its own underwriting criteria, and many consider the totality of your financial history and current resources. 

Your score still plays a large role in whether you’re approved, so preserving your credit is paramount. Resist the urge to borrow money just because you can, and leverage the loans you take out wisely. Excellent credit can take years to build but mere months to lose.

How to identify the best personal loans for excellent credit

We’re of the opinion that all borrowers should be picky when it comes to choosing a personal loan, but that’s far easier to do when you have excellent credit. As you compare loan offers, consider how each one will affect your short-term cash flow and long-term goals.

Check how each offer measures up on these points:

• APR: Where can you get the lowest APR? Which lenders offer ways to decrease your APR even further? Is there a chance that your APR could increase—if you no longer want to use autopay, for example?
• Terms: How much say do you have over your repayment terms? Do the available term options work with your monthly budget?
• Loan amount: Can you borrow as much as you need? How would a different loan amount affect your monthly payments and total borrowing cost?
• Fees: Will you be responsible for additional charges, such as late fees or origination fees? What loan offers could you get from lenders that don’t assess these fees?
• Funding times: Which lenders offer the most streamlined applications and shortest times from approval to disbursement?
• Exclusive benefits: What perks does each lender offer that others don’t?

Minimizing your APR and loan fees, while optimizing your monthly payment and loan terms, is crucial to securing the best, lowest-cost personal loan. But if you have excellent credit, you may not see much variation in APR or terms between loan offers.

That’s where perks and benefits come in. If you’ve prequalified with multiple lenders and your loan offers are roughly the same, each lender’s overall borrowing experience may be the tiebreaker.

SoFi’s career coaching and estate planning benefits might make it a clear winner. Or perhaps LightStream’s Rate Beat Program and Loan Experience Guarantee tip the scales in its favor. 

When it comes down to it, the best personal loan is the one that’s best for you. Weigh cost-related factors, such as APR and repayment terms, first. Then, prioritize loans based on unique features that elevate your individual loan experience.

How to apply for an excellent-credit personal loan

Before you apply for a personal loan, check your rates with at least three lenders. After prequalifying, you’ll share more details about your financial situation and submit verification documents for final approval. Here’s how the process works:

1. Enter your identifying and financial information. A full loan application requires more details than prequalification. Here, you’ll share your full Social Security number, employer’s name, salary information, and more.
2. Upload your documents. This could include your most recent pay stubs or bank statements, a government-issued photo ID, or details from your ID, such as your driver’s license number and expiration.
3. Agree to a credit check. To extend a formal loan offer, most lenders require your consent to a hard credit pull. You won’t be able to move forward with the application process without this step.
4. Get a decision. Most of our top lenders can give you a credit decision almost instantly, but this can take longer if your lender requests additional verification. 
5. Sign your loan agreement. If you’re approved, your lender will send you documents outlining your repayment structure and its disbursement procedures. Read this agreement, and if all looks good, sign to accept your loan.
6. Get your funds. After you sign your loan agreement and your lender finalizes your application, you should get your funds within a matter of days. The earlier in the day you finish your application, the sooner you’ll get your loan proceeds.

Most personal loan applications only take a few minutes to complete. It’s the verification and disbursement steps that often require more time. Still, from application to funding, getting a personal loan shouldn’t take longer than a couple of business days.

You can speed up the process by checking your lender’s documentation requirements ahead of time and having those records ready before you apply.

FAQ

Could a personal loan hurt an excellent credit score?

A personal loan may affect an excellent credit score. When you apply for a loan, the lender performs a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can lower your score by a few points. New financing also decreases the average age of your accounts, which can result in a credit score dip. 

How you manage the loan could also harm or help your score. Late or missed payments will lower your score, and on-time payments can improve your score over time.

Is a personal loan the best financing option for excellent credit?

Whether a personal loan is the best financing option for excellent credit depends on your circumstances. In general, you want to choose financing with the lowest possible interest rate, a high enough borrowing limit, and affordable terms.

Before making a decision, compare financing tools, including home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and 401(k) loans. They all have unique pros and cons, but you may find one of these more suitable than a personal loan.

Recap: Best personal loans for excellent credit

Lender	Rates (APR)
Credible	7.49% – 35.99%
LightStream	7.49% – 25.49%