U.S. Bank Personal Loans: 2024 Review
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.
- 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
With a wide range of loan amounts and terms — plus fast funding — U.S. Bank is a strong option for customers, but non-customers may find better loans elsewhere.
Pros
- Option to pre-qualify with a soft credit check.
- Wide variety of repayment term options.
- Rate discount for autopay.
- Joint loan option.
Cons
- Available in a limited number of states.
- Loan features differ for non-customers.
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
Editor’s note: U.S. Bank did not respond to our most recent request for details regarding its personal loan product. We reviewed its website and attempted to contact company representatives, but some of the information presented here may not be recently updated. Due to the lack of verifiable information, NerdWallet did not give U.S. Bank’s personal loan a star rating.
U.S. Bank offers personal loans to both customers and non-customers, though customers have access to larger loan amounts and longer repayment terms.
Financing is available in 26 states, and borrowers can see if they qualify with a soft credit check, which won't hurt your credit score.
U.S. Bank also offers a separate small-dollar loan called the Simple Loan.
» MORE: Best bank loans
Table of Contents
U.S. Bank personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | Not disclosed. |
APR | 8.74% - 24.99%. |
Loan amount |
|
Repayment terms |
|
Time to fund after approval |
|
Loan availability | Loans not available in AL, AK, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MS, NH, NJ, NY, OK, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WV and Washington, D.C. |
Where U.S. Bank personal loans stand out
Rate discount for autopay: Existing customers who make automatic payments from any personal checking or savings account can qualify for a rate discount of 0.5 percentage points. A rate discount means you’ll pay less interest on your loan.
Offers joint loans: Applicants can apply for a joint loan by adding a co-borrower to their personal loan application. Adding a co-borrower with a higher credit score could help you qualify for a lower rate or higher loan amount.
Quick funding: Once they’ve signed the loan agreement, current customers may receive the funds in their U.S. Bank account within hours, according to the lender. If you want funds sent to an external account, you may need to wait up to four business days.
Wide range of repayment terms: Current customers can choose from seven repayment terms, ranging from one to seven years. If you choose a shorter term, you’ll pay less in interest, while a longer term means lower monthly payments.
Where U.S. Bank personal loans fall short
Loan product varies by customer status: Unlike some other banks, U.S. Bank’s personal loan is available to non-customers, but the loan itself varies significantly. As a non-customer, you can only apply for loan amounts up to $25,000 and terms up to five years. Sending funds to an external account will also take longer.
How to use U.S. Bank personal loans
U.S. Bank loans can be used for a variety of reasons, such as debt consolidation, emergency expenses, vacations, weddings, home improvement projects, moving and vehicle financing.
Regulatory action against U.S. Bank
In July 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an order against U.S. Bank for unlawful practices that violated federal laws, including the Truth in Lending Act.
According to the CFPB, the bank implemented a financially incentivized sales goal, which led employees to open credit cards, lines of credit and deposit accounts for consumers without their knowledge or permission. These actions then resulted in fees and hits to those people’s credit reports.
The CFPB ordered U.S. Bank to stop the practice, develop a remediation plan for affected consumers and pay a fine of $37.5 million.
U.S. Bank personal loan customer reviews
As of September 2024, U.S. Bank has 1.2 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Consumer reviews were critical of a number of the bank’s services, largely related to customer service timeliness. The lender’s mobile app received 4.7 stars across 434,000 reviews on Google Play and 4.8 stars across 1.7 million reviews on the Apple App Store.
Do you qualify for a U.S. Bank personal loan?
To be eligible to apply for a U.S. Bank personal loan, you must meet the following requirements:
Be 18 years or older.
Provide a Social Security number.
Provide a home address and employment information.
The lender doesn’t disclose many of its qualification requirements on its website, but the majority of credit card and loan customers have a credit score above 660, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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 a U.S. Bank personal loan
Here are the steps to apply for a U.S. Bank loan.
Pre-qualify on U.S. Bank’s website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow and what the funds are for, as well as some personal information like your annual income and whether you rent or own your home. Then, the lender will ask for your contact information before you can preview loan offers. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.
Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you accept a loan offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This step could require more documents, like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. U.S. Bank will do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Make a plan to repay the loan. U.S. Bank reports payment to the three main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and 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 U.S. Bank with 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.
Discover and LightStream are two similar lenders that accept borrowers with good to excellent credit (690 credit score or higher) and can fund loans the same or next day after approval.
Discover
» MORE: Read our review of Discover
Minimum credit score | 660. |
APR | 7.99% - 24.99%. |
Fees | Late fee: $39. |
Loan amount | $2,500 to $40,000. |
Repayment terms | 3 to 7 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 1 business day. |
Loan availability | Loans available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories. |
LightStream
» MORE: Read our review of LightStream
Minimum credit score | 660. |
APR | 6.99% - 25.29%. |
Fees | No fees. |
Loan amount | $5,000 to $100,000. |
Repayment terms |
|
Time to fund after approval | Same-day funding. |
Loan availability | Loans available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
Ready to apply? Select "See my rates" below to compare rates for different lenders on NerdWallet.
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.
