Bank of America Personal Loan Alternatives

Bank of America offers a small-dollar loan, but borrowers seeking large personal loans have options with other lenders.

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

Updated · 1 min read
Profile photo of Amrita Jayakumar
Written by Amrita Jayakumar
Writer
Profile photo of Kim Lowe
Edited by Kim Lowe
Lead Assigning Editor

Bank of America doesn’t offer large unsecured personal loans. For customers with a Bank of America checking account for at least one year, the bank provides Balance Assist loans which are short-term, small-dollar loans of up to $500 for a flat fee.

If you're looking for a larger personal loan, consider options at other banks, online lenders and credit unions.

Personal loan alternatives to Bank of America

Banks

Citibank, Wells Fargo and PNC are some banks that offer personal loans. You typically have to be a bank customer, and there are minimum credit and income requirements to qualify for a loan.

Snapshot of a typical bank-issued personal loan:

  • Credit scores accepted: Good to excellent (above 689).

  • APR range: 6% to 36%.

  • Loan amounts: $1,000 to $100,000.

Online lenders

Online lenders cater to all credit profiles and most give you estimated rates without a hard inquiry on your credit. It pays to shop around because each company has its own formula to set your interest rate. NerdWallet’s comparison tool lets you check rates at multiple online lenders without affecting your credit.

Snapshot of a typical online personal loan:

  • Credit scores accepted: Bad to excellent (above 500).

  • APR range: 6% to 36%.

  • Loan amounts: $1,000 to $100,000.

See if you pre-qualify for a personal loan — without affecting your credit score.
Just answer a few questions to get personalized rates from our lending partners.

Compare personal loans

Here are three online lenders to consider as alternatives to Bank of America. NerdWallet recommends pre-qualifying for multiple loans.

Upstart
Lightstream
SoFi
NerdWallet rating 
NerdWallet rating 
NerdWallet rating 
Est. APR

7.80-35.99%

Est. APR

6.99-25.29%

Est. APR

8.99-29.99%

Loan term

3 to 7 years

Loan term

2 to 7 years

Loan term

2 to 7 years

Loan amount

$1,000-$50,000

Loan amount

$5,000-$100,000

Loan amount

$5,000-$100,000

Min. credit score

None

Min. credit score

660

Min. credit score

None

Credit unions

Most credit unions offer personal loans at lower rates than traditional banks and online lenders. Credit unions don’t require good credit scores to qualify but you’ll need to become a member before applying. Your local credit union is a good first choice for a personal loan.

Snapshot of a typical credit union personal loan:

  • Credit scores accepted: Bad to excellent.

  • APR range: Average 10.83% at federal credit unions for a three-year loan.

  • Loan amounts: $250 to $50,000.

Other Bank of America loans

Bank of America offers other types of loans, including:

Comparing options? See if you pre-qualify for a personal loan - without affecting your credit score
Just answer a few questions to get personalized rate estimates from multiple lenders.

on NerdWallet

Get more smart money moves – straight to your inbox
Sign up and we’ll send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money.