Best Bank Loans

If you have good or excellent credit and you're already a customer, U.S. Bank is a particularly good choice for a personal loan. The bank offers two rate reduction options, more than most: a 0.50% discount for signing up for autopay, and a full 1% discount if your credit score is over 800. 

You can still apply if you're not currently a U.S. Bank customer, and it may be worth it if you have excellent credit considering the hefty interest rate discount. You will face extra limitations, however: You'll have a reduced loan limit of $25,000 and you can only extend your loan out to five years (versus a $50,000 cap and a seven-year term length option for customers). Perhaps most annoyingly of all, you'll need to actually go to a U.S. Bank branch to close the loan. Current customers get the option to do this online from the comfort of their homes.  

• Credit score of 660 or higher (higher for non-customers)
• Age of majority in your state
• Resident of a state where U.S. Bank operates
• Valid Social Security number

If you're looking to consolidate all of your finances under one umbrella, TD Bank may be a good choice because it also offers plenty of investment options. Although anyone can get started investing with TD Bank, its full suite of services is best suited for those with at least $750,000 in assets.

TD Bank’s loans come with great rates, and benefits like a natural disaster assistance program through which you can get refunded for any eligible late fees charged and put your loan into deferment for 90 days.

The downside is TD Bank personal loans aren't widely available across the country. In addition, you'll need to qualify on your own merit because you can't add any co-signers or co-borrowers to the loan.

• U.S. citizen
• At least 18 years old
• Only available in 16 states (mainly in the eastern U.S.) and the District of Columbia

If you get an invitation to apply for an Amex loan in the mail and you actually do need to borrow money, consider yourself lucky. You're only eligible to apply if you receive such a notice, but if you do, you'd be hard-pressed to find a lender offering a lower rate.

An Amex personal loan also comes with built-in protections if you become a victim of a natural disaster or lose your job. The company doesn't disclose exactly what these protections are, but other companies offer things like forbearance programs and assistance in finding a new job. 

• At least 18 years old
• U.S. citizen or resident
• Must be an Amex cardmember with an online account

Many people prefer working with credit unions because they're community-focused nonprofit organizations, but they generally have strict membership requirements. Not so with PenFed; anyone is eligible to join. You can even apply for the loan first and wait to see if you're approved before becoming a member. 

If you do take out the loan, you'll need to formally join the credit union by opening a savings account and keeping $5 in it. That's not a huge deal, but it can be annoying if you won't be using it regularly. PenFed also offers a member discount program where you can save money on purchases with 24 different companies, ranging from FTD flower delivery to Travelers auto insurance.

• Recommended credit score of 650 or higher
• Available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia

Citibank highlights the main benefit of opting for a bank personal loan as opposed to any other lender: It can be incredibly fast. You can expect a loan decision within 60 seconds of submitting the application, according to Citi. After that, you can get a same-day deposit into your account (checks take a bit longer, up to five days). 

The downside is that Citibank assumes you're serious about the loan. There's no option to pre-qualify to see your rates and approval odds. You can only submit a full, complete application, which also requires a hard credit check that can temporarily knock a few points off your credit score. You'll also need to be equally serious about paying it back because if you miss payments, Citibank may take an unusual step and increase your interest rate. That commonly happens with credit cards, but it's relatively rare for loans.  

• Annual income of $10,500 or more
• Available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
• Must have a Citibank bank account that's been open for at least one year 
• Credit score not disclosed, but you must "satisfy Citi's creditworthiness criteria"
• No more than one other open Citi personal loan, and only if it's been at least six months since you took out the previous loan

Good rates aside, Discover is one of the few lenders that offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind. As long as you return all funds to Discover, the company won't charge any interest. (Note that if Discover sent the funds to your creditors for a debt consolidation loan, you’d be responsible for repaying the money if you want a refund.) In addition, Discover allows you to refinance your loan with them again if you think you'd qualify for better rates in the future. 

Since Discover also offers credit cards, there's one big downside: You can't use a Discover personal loan to consolidate any debt from a Discover card. You also can't apply with someone else on the loan, so you'll need to meet the qualification requirements entirely on your own. 

• Recommended credit score of 660 or higher
• Annual income of $25,000 or more

Wells Fargo has the second-largest footprint in the U.S., with over 4,500 branch locations. That means you're never too far away from a branch, and indeed, you will need to already be a customer in order to apply for a Wells Fargo personal loan online. The company offers a rate reduction if you enroll your Wells Fargo checking account in autopay, ranging from 0.25% for most everyday checking accounts or 0.50% for premium-level checking accounts. 

There is a big elephant in the room with Wells Fargo, however: The company doesn't have the greatest reputation, even for a large bank. Since 2017, personal loan customers have lodged over 820 formal complaints against Wells Fargo with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has also taken numerous enforcement actions against Wells Fargo over the years for illegal practices.

• Must be a current customer of Wells Fargo
• Available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia

Unlike PenFed, you'll already need to be a USAA member to apply for a personal loan, and membership is much more limited: only current and former military members and their families can join. Another big downside is that USAA doesn't offer a pre-qualification option to check your rates first. You'll need to submit a full application, even if you're not yet sure USAA will be your best loan option. 

However, USAA does offer quite a few loan choices, and you can even refinance the same USAA personal loan with the bank later if you'd like to change your loan terms. Depending on which loan term length you're looking at, there are also important loan minimums to keep in mind:

• 12–36 months: $2,500 minimum
• 48 months: $5,000 minimum
• 60 months: $10,000 minimum
• 72 months: $15,000 minimum
• 84 months: $20,000 minimum

• Must be a current member of USAA
• Available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia