American Express Personal Loans: 2024 Review
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- 35+ personal loans reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
- 20+ years of combined experience covering personal loans and financial topics.
- Objective, comprehensive star rating system assessing 20+ categories and 70+ data points.
- Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
Our Take
4.0
American Express personal loans are a convenient choice for preapproved cardholders but lack some consumer-friendly features.
Pros
- Low APRs.
- No origination fee.
- Fast funding.
- Free credit score access.
Cons
- Exclusive to preapproved cardholders.
- No rate discount.
- No co-signed, joint or secured loan options.
Lender | Est. APR | Loan amount | Min. credit score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 BEST PERSONAL LOAN OVERALL | 8.99-
29.99% | $5,000-
$100,000 | None | Visit Lenderon SoFi's website on SoFi's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
 Visit Lenderon LightStream's website on LightStream's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 6.99-
25.29% | $5,000-
$100,000 | 660 | Visit Lenderon LightStream's website on LightStream's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
7.99-
24.99% | $2,500-
$40,000 | 660 | Visit Lenderon Discover's website on Discover's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
7.80-
35.99% | $1,000-
$50,000 | None | Visit Lenderon Upstart's website on Upstart's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
9.99-
35.99% | $1,000-
$50,000 | 580 | Visit Lenderon Upgrade's website on Upgrade's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
Full Review
American Express personal loans are available only to preapproved cardholders.
Though American Express lacks some consumer-friendly features, like a mobile app for personal loans or weekend customer service hours, it may be a convenient and inexpensive option for existing cardholders. Qualifying borrowers can use the loan funds in many ways, including consolidating credit card debt. However, borrowers can’t use an American Express loan to pay down an American Express credit card.
Table of contents
American Express personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | None. |
APR | 5.91% - 19.97%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $3,500 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 1 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 1 business day. |
Loan availability | Loans available in all 50 states. |
Where American Express personal loans stand out
Low APRs: American Express personal loans have some of the lowest annual percentage rates across personal loans. Since APR represents the cost of borrowing, it's one of the most important features to consider on personal loans.
No origination fee: American Express personal loans do not have an origination fee. These fees are more common among online lenders and typically range from 1% to 10% of the loan amount.
Fast funding: American Express can disburse funds within one business day once you sign the loan documents.
Free credit score access: American Express offers MyCredit Guide, which shows your FICO credit score and Experian credit report for free, alerts you to potential identity theft and provides recommendations about how to help your credit. You can also use the tool to see how paying down debt will affect your score.
Where American Express personal loans fall short
Exclusive to preapproved cardholders: You must be an existing American Express Card member in good standing to apply for a personal loan. The lender often notifies you if you are preapproved for a loan, or you can check by logging in to your American Express account.
No rate discount: American Express doesn’t offer any discounts on the annual percentage rate. Other lenders let borrowers save a fraction of a percentage point off their APR by signing up for automatic payments or authorizing the lender to send funds directly to creditors on debt consolidation loans.
No co-signed, joint or secured loan options: American Express offers only unsecured personal loans to individual borrowers. It doesn’t let you add a co-signer, apply with a co-borrower or secure the loan with collateral to potentially qualify for a lower rate or higher loan amount.
» MORE: Best co-signed personal loans
How to use American Express personal loans
You can use an American Express personal loan for:
Home improvement projects.
Debt consolidation.
Emergencies.
Medical and dental bills.
Vacations.
Weddings.
Funerals.
Moving.
Other large expenses.
American Express prohibits the use of its personal loans for:
College expenses.
Real estate.
Business expenses.
Investing.
Vehicle purchases (other than down payments).
Paying down American Express credit cards.
Illegal activities.
American Express personal loan customer reviews
American Express was ranked highest among personal loan lenders in overall customer satisfaction for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to J.D. Power’s annual Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study. The study was conducted with over 4,000 participants who weighed in on various factors such as the experience obtaining a loan and the ease of doing business with the lender.
However, as of September 2024, the lender is rated 1.5 stars out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Many of the reviews focused on negative experiences with the company’s credit cards but some also mentioned customer service interactions.
Do you qualify for an American Express personal loan?
To be eligible for an American Express personal loan, you must be a preapproved cardholder. According to the lender, preapproval is based on several factors, including creditworthiness.
American Express’ borrowing requirements
Minimum credit score: None.
Must be at least 18 years old.
Must be a U.S. citizen or resident.
Must have preapproval and an active American Express card.
Before you apply
Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.
Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.
Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments impact your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses in order to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
Gather your documents. Most lenders require proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, as well as proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.
How to apply for an American Express personal loan
Here are the steps to apply for an American Express loan.
Check for a preapproval offer. You can see if you’re preapproved by logging in to your American Express account. You’ll be able to view how much you can borrow and your potential interest rate.
Submit your application. To accept a preapproved offer, you need to submit a formal personal loan application. You will be asked to enter your desired loan amount and repayment term, as well as some personal and financial information. American Express says it can provide an approval decision within seconds.
Stay on top of your loan payments. American Express reports payments to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion), so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.
Compare American Express to other lenders
Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh other options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.
Achieve and Reach offer similar loan amounts and repayment terms to American Express, but they have different rates, fees and loan requirements.
Achieve
» MORE: Read our review of Achieve
Minimum credit score | 640. |
APR | 8.99% - 29.99%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $5,000 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 1 business day. |
Loan availability | Loans not available in CO, CT, HI, IA, KS, ME, ND, VT, WV, WI and WY. |
Reach
» MORE: Read our review of Reach
Minimum credit score | 660. |
APR | 5.99% - 35.99%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $3,500 to $40,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | Same day. |
Loan availability | Loans not available in CO, CT, ME, NV, NH, OR, TN, UT, and VT. |
How we rate American Express personal loans
NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:
Category | Star rating |
|---|---|
Affordability | |
Customer experience | |
Underwriting and eligibility | |
Loan flexibility | |
Application process | |
Overall |
- Category definitions
Affordability (25%)
An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.
Customer experience (20%)
A good customer experience includes allowing borrowers to choose and change their repayment date, a fully online application process, a mobile app to manage the loan and a customer service team with wide availability.
Underwriting and eligibility (20%)
The lender reviews borrowers’ credit reports and credit history and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan. It offers loans in most states and doesn’t restrict eligibility by requiring a pre-existing relationship.
Application process (20%)
Borrowers can pre-qualify to check their potential rate, loan amount, repayment term and APR without affecting their credit score. They can easily find answers to questions about the personal loan on the lender’s website. The application process is fast enough to allow funding within a couple of days or less.
Loan flexibility (15%)
A flexible loan is one that offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment term options. It includes common features like additional loan types and direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.
Discretionary
A lender’s star rating can be reduced if the lender is sued by a state or federal regulator for unfair consumer practices or has been accused by a reputable source of suspicious business practices.
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Find the Best Personal Loan
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.
Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
