Review: How (and Why) I Opened Up a Wells Fargo Personal Line of Credit

This article was written by a former LendEDU employee.

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Recently, I decided to apply for a Wells Fargo Personal Line of Credit. I’d been thinking about opening a line of credit for about a year, and since I’ve been a Wells Fargo customer since 2006, I decided the bank would be a good place to start my search.

You can use a personal line of credit for anything from debt consolidation to home improvement to paying off credit card debt. Personally, I opened up my line of credit to supplement my emergency fund. Hopefully, I won’t end up using it, but it is comforting to know the cash is there if I need it.

For current Wells Fargo customers, the application process is pretty straightforward and can be completed online. I was approved the day after applying, and from start-to-finish, the entire process took just a few days.

Here’s how it works:

• Submit Your Application
• Accept Your Offer
• Finalize the Process
• Access the Line of Credit

Step #1: Submit Your Application

To get started, go to wellsfargo.com and choose Personal Lines of Credit from the Personal dropdown—or simply click here.

Next, click Apply Now and you will be redirected to the online application in the same window. Current Wells Fargo banking customers can pre-fill their application.

By clicking Yes, you will be prompted to sign-in to your account. However, if you are not a current customer you won’t be able to apply online.

Next, you will need to provide a few pieces of info:

• Whether you want an individual or joint line of credit
• Your basic personal information
• Your contact information
• Your employment details
• Your financial status (current debts and savings, etc.)

In addition to performing a credit pull from Experian, Wells Fargo uses your application information to determine your eligibility and borrowing amount.

As you proceed through the application process you will be asked how much cash you would like access to through your line of credit. As you will see on the Wells Fargo website, you can apply for between $3,000 and $100,000. I requested a $30,000 line of credit.

From here, you will need to accept the terms and conditions and review the relevant disclosures. Finally, you will be able to submit your application.

If you have questions along the way you can call Wells Fargo directly at 1-888-667-5250 from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM Monday through Friday, and 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

Step #2: LoanTracker and Offer Acceptance

Immediately after applying, I received an email from Wells Fargo, which stated that they had received my application.

The next day I received another email from Wells Fargo letting me know that my “Application Approved with Modified Terms.” I was then prompted to log in to Wells Fargo’s LoanTracker program with my Wells Fargo username and password to view the modified terms.

Wells Fargo approved me for a 13% interest rate on a $10,000 line of credit—$20,000 less than I originally applied for.

While I have an excellent credit score, I am currently working to repay a meaningful amount of student loan debt. because of this, my debt-to-income ratio likely didn’t meet the qualifications for me to get access to a $30,000 line of credit.

>> Read More: Best Debt Consolidation Loans

I decide to accept the modified terms online, and shortly after I received another email from Wells Fargo letting me know that my application was conditionally approved.

Step #3: Completing The Process

As the last step, I once again signed into my Wells Fargo LoanTracker account with my online username and password. I was prompted to review the terms and conditions again, as seen above.

From here, Wells Fargo actually showed me my credit score, and I was prompted to read and agree to the disclosures, terms, and conditions.

For reference, Wells Fargo pulled my credit using Experian FICO Score 9, returning a 795. Interestingly, this is 20 to 25 points higher than the scores reported in my Credit Karma account from Transunion and Equifax, respectively.

Immediately after completing the process online I received a final email letting me know that my line of credit was now open and that it would be available to view online in one to five days.

The email also made it clear that if I needed to access the line of credit immediately, I could contact a Wells Fargo banker.

Step #4: Accessing the Line of Credit

A couple of days later the line of credit did appear in my account online. I tested it out by quickly transferring funds back and forth from my line of credit to my checking account. The transfers and subsequent payments posted instantly and were available immediately.

While I don’t plan on using that cash anytime soon, I think having quick access to it is worth the $25 annual fee Wells Fargo charges to keep your line of credit open.

In fact, as I pay down more of my student loan debt and my debt-to-income ratio improves in the future, I will likely end up applying for an increase in my credit limit.

>> Read More: Wells Fargo personal loans review