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Bankrate Reviews

9.2

bestfor-icon Large selection of comparison tools

angelawatson
Written by Angela Mae

About Bankrate | Read More

9

LS Score

10

Credibility

8

Support

10

Accessibility

Visit Site
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Contact Information Contact Information drop-down-btn
  • (855) 733-0700
  • Headquarters: 1675 Broadway, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10019-5820
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Bankrate Personal Loans Review

Bankrate is an established comparison site with a solid online reputation and over 4 decades of industry experience. It is not a direct lender, meaning you won’t be able to apply for a personal loan through them. However, Bankrate has intuitive comparison tools that make it easy to shop around for a personal loan that best suits your needs.

Bankrate Personal Loans Highlight

7.80-35.99%

APR. Fixed Rate

$1K-$100K

Loan Amount

24-84 Months

Repayment terms

Yes

Soft Credit Pull

Marketplace

Lender Type

Yes

Other Fees

Varies

Origination Fee

Varies

Prepayment Fee

Pros & Cons

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  • con-icon Deals with trustworthy lenders
  • con-icon Wide range of personal loans to check out
  • con-icon Easy to use comparison tool
  • con-icon More than four decades of experience
  • con-icon Not a direct lender
  • con-icon No live chat

Loan Purpose

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  • Business Loans
  • Car
  • Credit Card Refinance
  • Debt Consolidation
  • Home Improvement
  • Major Purchase
  • Medical Expenses
  • Household Expenses
  • Mortgage
  • Relocation
  • Student Loan Refinance
  • Car Bike Loans
  • Vacation
  • Wedding
  • Other

Loan Type

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  • Secured Personal Loans
  • Unsecured Personal Loans
  • Fixed-Rate Personal Loans
  • Variable-Rate Personal Loans
  • Co-singer / Joint loans
View rates

Bankrate Personal Loans Terms & Requirements

Like most marketplaces, Bankrate’s personal loans have different repayment terms, interest rates, and eligibility requirements based on the lender. In general, these personal loans are unsecured – you don’t have to use collateral to get financing. To qualify, you must typically also be 18 years old and a US citizen (or permanent resident).

Some lenders in the network accept cosigners, which can help if you have poor credit or a high debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The better your credit score and income, the more competitive your rates and terms tend to be.

How to Apply

Bankrate isn’t a direct lender, so the application process may be different depending on the lender you ultimately choose. With that in mind, using the personal loan comparison tool is straightforward.

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Bankrate personal loan apply

Start by considering what type of personal loan you need, the amount, and the purpose of the funds. Use a personal loan calculator to figure out an estimate of how much you’ll need to pay every month. Don’t forget to include any origination fees or pre-payment penalties.

Bankrate’s network includes lenders that work with borrowers with nearly any credit score and profile. That includes those with limited or poor credit history, as well as those with good credit.

Your credit score and other factors, such as income and debt-to-income ratio (DTI), will determine what types of loans you qualify for, and at what rates. If you have spotty credit or don’t qualify on your own, consider applying with a co-signer.

Bankrate has a pre-qualification process that takes only a few minutes to complete. By pre-qualifying, you can get an idea of which rates are available without hurting your credit score.

Once you’ve selected a lender, head over to their page to finish the application process. Although documentation vary, be ready with the following information:

  • Government ID (ex. driver’s license or state-issued ID)
  • Social Security Number
  • Income verification (ex. tax returns, pay stubs, or an offer of employment)
  • Bank statements
  • Proof of residency (ex. utility bills or renter’s agreement)

Time to funding depends on the lender. Some lenders offer same-day or next-day funds, while others take 1 to 2 weeks.

Qualification Requirements

  • 18 years or older
  • Be a US citizen, permanent US resident, or have a relevant visa
  • Minimum credit score, income, and debt-to-income ratio (varies by lender)
  • Proof of income or employment
  • Valid bank account

Required Information

Every lender has its own requirements, which will be indicated in the individual application form or on the lender’s website. This typically includes personal and financial information (ex. Social Security Number, employment, income, and bank account information).

Even though applying for a loan will require a hard inquiry, it’s also a good idea to check your credit report beforehand. Doing this can boost your approval odds or give you an idea of whether you need a co-signer.

Application Steps & Time Frames

  • Figure out how much you need and why. Factor in any hidden fees, such as origination fees.
  • Check your credit score. Review your credit report for any errors that might be bringing it down.
  • Go through Bankrate’s online pre-qualification process to see what’s available without affecting your credit score.
  • Review and compare the different loan rates and terms.
  • Choose a lender and complete the application on their page. Be prepared with any relevant personal or financial documents.
  • Wait for approval and funds disbursement.

State Availability

- Available in all states

Bankrate Debt Relief Review

Bankrate is a marketplace acting as a comparison service for debt consolidation and other loans. While it does not directly provide the loans, Bankrate offers information on potential solutions and third-party providers that can assist with debt relief. By comparing these services, Bankrate can help you make the best financial decision based on your situation.

Bankrate Debt Relief Highlight

$1K

Minimum Debt Amount

$1K-$100K

Loan Amount

7.80-35.99%

APR. Fixed Rate

12-84 months

Repayment terms

Yes

Soft Credit Pull

Marketplace

Lender Type

Yes

Other Fees

Varies

Origination Fee

Varies

Prepayment Fee

Pros & Cons

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  • con-icon Personalized comparison tool
  • con-icon Helpful for comparing loans from many reputable lenders
  • con-icon Prequalification provides an overview of eligible loans and their terms
  • con-icon Options available for those with limited credit history
  • con-icon You must create an account before you can compare your loan options
  • con-icon Loan terms vary depending on the lender
  • con-icon Specific fees depend on the lender

Debt Relief Product Types

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  • Debt consolidation loans
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Bankrate Debt Relief Terms & Requirements

Bankrate is a marketplace offering debt relief through various third-party debt consolidation lenders. Each lender has individual terms and requirements, meaning there are a range of options to choose from. The prequalification questionnaire will help narrow your choices, offering loan options based on your circumstances. The terms of each loan are competitive, with offers available for everyone, including those with limited credit history.

How to Apply

Since Bankrate is not a direct lender, the application procedure may vary depending on the lender you ultimately select. Keeping this in consideration, utilizing the personal loan comparison tool is easy and straightforward.

How much to borrow
Step 1

Select the requested amount

What type of loan
Step 2

Select loan purpose

Select credit score
Step 3

Select your credit score

Gross annual income
Step 4

Select your gross annual income

  1.  Start by selecting the requested loan amount 
  2.  Choose the loan purpose
  3.  Select your current credit score 
  4.  Select your employment status
  5.  Select your gross annual income
  6.  Continue by filling more personal details
  7.  Provide information about your debt and credit history.
  8.  Review the terms of the loan and click on the “Apply” button.

Qualification Requirements

Bankrate offers loan options from third-party lenders, so the exact requirements for a debt consolidation loan depend on your chosen lender. For example, some lenders require higher credit scores, while others accept applications from borrowers with a limited credit history. Some loan providers will require US citizenship, and others are available to residents in most but not all states. Bankrate gathers information through its prequalification questionnaire and will provide you with the loan options available to you based on the requirements you have met.

Required Information

To compare loans through Bankrate, you can complete the online prequalification questionnaire. During this process, you will need to provide the following information:

  • How much you want to borrow
  • The type of loan you need
  • Your credit score
  • Employment status
  • Your pre-tax annual income
  • Home address
  • Do you own or rent your home?
  • Your monthly housing payment
  • Name and date of birth
  • Email address and phone number
  • The last four digits of your Social Security number

Application Steps & Time Frames

After completing the prequalification questionnaire, you can compare the eligible options and apply for a loan with the selected lender. The prequalification process with Bankrate is straightforward, though the complexity of the subsequent application will depend on the lender you choose. The timing of the application process will also vary based on the lender.

State Availability

- Available in all states

Bankrate Mortgages Review

Bankrate is an online platform that helps people compare different financial services before choosing one. In particular, it offers free resources and comparison tools on home purchase, home equity, and mortgage refinancing. It also has a mortgage calculator for people that can help them figure out the exact loan type and amount they need.

When it comes to comparing lenders for mortgage loans and related products, Bankrate provides a near-instant overview of what they offer. This typically includes the name of the company, the average APR (and if it’s fixed), any upfront costs, loan term, and an estimate of the monthly payment. Simply comparing lenders does not require an application.

Bankrate Mortgages Highlight

6.46-6.99%

APR. Fixed Rate

Varies by lender

Repayment terms

Yes

Soft Credit Pull

Marketplace

Lender Type

Varies by lender

Underwriting Fee

Yes

Other Fees

Varies by lender

Origination Fee

Varies by lender

Prepayment Fee

1-4 Weeks

Funding Time

1427381

NMLS

Mortgage Refinance

6.38-7.93%

APR. Fixed Rate

Home Equity

6.24-10.11%

APR. Fixed Rate

$5K-$600K

Mortgage Amount

Pros & Cons

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  • con-icon Comprehensive online marketplace with many lenders to compare
  • con-icon Simple application process
  • con-icon Up-to-date information on mortgage rates and lenders available
  • con-icon Website can be tricky to navigate and find specific information about mortgage loans
  • con-icon Loan rates, terms, and eligibility vary widely across lenders – specifics aren’t always available
  • con-icon Doesn’t contain all home loan types – ex. Jumbo loans

Mortgage Type

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  • Mortgage Purchase
  • Mortgage Refinance
  • Fixed
  • Adjustable
  • Home Improvement
  • Home Equity Loan
  • Home Equity Line of Credit
  • FHA
  • USDA
  • VA
  • Jumbo
View rates

Bankrate Mortgages Terms & Requirements

Since Bankrate is mainly a comparison platform, it doesn’t offer direct loans. Instead, it has a large network of lenders it can help connect you with and compare. Some lenders specialize in different loan types – ex. FHA or refinanced loans. Lenders also have different terms and requirements, based on things like the loan type and amount.

Terms include 10, 15, 20, and 30-year fixed rate mortgage loans, as well as 3, 5, 7, and 10-year ARM loans.

Overall, the terms and requirements are comparable to what’s standard in the industry. You’ll need to navigate to the specific lender to get complete and up-to-date information on their offerings, though.

How to Apply

In order to get a quote estimate and get matched with potential lenders, head over to Bankrate’s main website and choose the loan product you want. In this case, it’d be for a home purchase, home refinance, or home equity. The application process is slightly different depending on which option you choose.

For the home purchase option, start by choosing the home type you’re looking for (ex. purchase or refinance). From there, choose your filters for:

  • Mortgage type
  • Zip code
  • Purchase price
  • Down payment (percentage)
  • Credit score
  • Loan term
  • Etc.

This will give you a list of possible home lenders to choose from. Select the one that best meets your requirements, based on the basic information provided (ex. loan term, APR, and upfront costs). Bankrate will then direct you to the bulk of the online application, which requires more specifics, such as:

  • Property type (ex. townhome, condominium, single-family home…)
  • How you’ll use the property (ex. primary home or rental property)
  • Whether it’s your first time buying property
  • Where you’re at in the homebuying process (ex. offer pending or researching options)
  • Whether you’d like to work with a local real estate (choosing yes requires more info)
  • Estimated purchase price for the property
  • Estimated down payment and credit score
  • Military and employment status
  • Whether you’ve had a recent foreclosure or bankruptcy
  • Your gross annual income

This process only takes a few minutes to complete. Once it’s done, you’ll get to choose between seeing additional quotes or only the original one. At this point, provide your basic contact information so Bankrate can connect you with the best lenders in their network.

Once you’ve chosen an offer, proceed to that lender’s application process and go from there. The time to approval and funding vary based on the lender.

Qualification Requirements

The exact requirements depend on the lender, as well as the home loan type. Here’s what you can generally expect:

Conventional loan:

  • 620+ credit score
  • 3% to 5% down payment (private mortgage insurance required for anything less than 20%)
  • 43% maximum DTI

VA loan:

  • No down payment or minimum credit score
  • 41% maximum DTI
  • Must be an eligible military member, veteran, or surviving military spouse
  • Funding fee

FHA loan:

  • 580+ credit score
  • 3.5% down payment (PMI required if less than 20% down)
  • 43% to 57% maximum DTI (depending on other factors)

USDA loan:

  • No minimum credit score or down payment
  • No mortgage insurance
  • Funding and other fees
  • 41% maximum DTI
  • Must be located in an eligible location
  • Income limitations apply

Required Information

When filling out Bankrate’s initial online application, be prepared to provide the following:

  • Full name and contact information
  • Estimated income and credit score
  • Employment details

Applying for a home loan or other form of financing may require additional information or documents, such as:

  • Loan amount and type
  • Property type
  • Proof of employment (ex. letter of employment)
  • Proof of income (ex. pay stubs)
  • Government-issued ID
  • Down payment
  • Credit score and report (with individual lender’s hard inquiry)

Application Steps & Time Frames

  • Bankrate’s application process only takes about 5 or 10 minutes to complete. You can receive a quote nearly immediately.
  • The time to funding varies by lender, but the average time to close on a mortgage in the USA is 51 days.

State Availability

- Available in all states

angelawatson
Written by Angela Mae

Angela Mae is a personal finance writer specializing in loans, debt management, investing, retirement planning, and financial literacy. She comes from a journalistic background and pulls from hands-on experience and deep-dive research to breathe life into her stories. Her goal is to help others achieve financial stability and independence. When not writing, she can be found traveling, honing her yoga skills, hiking, or exploring new means of healthy, sustainable living.

faq-icon

FAQ’s

Does Bankrate offer traditional banking services?

Bankrate is a lender comparison marketplace and source of personal finance information. It’s not a bank or direct lender. You can learn about different banking services, such as savings accounts, on Bankrate. However, it’s not possible to open an account through them.

What types of home loans does Bankrate let you compare?

Bankrate lets you compare the different rates and terms on a variety of financial products. This includes credit cards, personal loans, home equity loans, home refinance loans, and more. It also lets you compare insurance, high-yield savings accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs).

How does Bankrate make money?

The main way Bankrate makes money is through sponsored services and products, as well as advertising revenue.

Customer Support

Bankrate doesn’t offer a lot of customer support since it serves more as a resource than anything else. It also doesn’t appear to have standard business hours or a dedicated customer service team. It is possible to get in touch with the company via phone, online form, or social media, though.

When you apply for a loan through a lender, you will have access to that lender’s customer support team.

Bankrate Phone Support: (855) 733-0700

Bankrate address: Headquarters: 1675 Broadway, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10019-5820

Privacy & Security

Bankrate doesn’t ask for or collect a lot of personal data from its users. However, it does use strong encryption technology to keep any shared information safe.

Its partner lenders are reputable and also have their own privacy and security measures in place. Even so, it’s a good idea to review and verify any external lender’s policies before dealing with them. After all, every lender is different.

In Conclusion

With over 40 years in the industry, Bankrate is a well-established authority in the personal finance space. Since its inception, it has been helping everyday consumers throughout the journey to financial literacy and success.

Bankrate has many loan and credit card comparison tools, calculators, and financial literacy content online. The marketplace specializes in consumer loans, including home, personal, and student loans. But it also has insurance, retirement, banking services, and investing information.

Bankrate is a reliable resource for those who want to get a loan or learn about personal finance but aren’t sure where to start. Its comparison tools also make it easier to find the best loan product for you, regardless of your credit score.

Brand Disclaimer

Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. Bankrate.com is compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on their site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories, except where prohibited by law for mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. Other factors, such as proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range, can also impact how and where products appear on the Bankrate site. Bankrate strives to provide a wide range of offers, but does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.

Mortgage
Important information about our Mortgage Rate Tables: The above mortgage loan information is provided to, or obtained by, Bankrate. Some lenders provide their mortgage loan terms to Bankrate for advertising purposes and Bankrate receives compensation from those advertisers (our “Advertisers”). Other lenders’ terms are gathered by Bankrate through its own research of available mortgage loan terms and that information is displayed in our rate table for applicable criteria. In the above table, an Advertiser listing can be identified and distinguished from other listings because it includes a “Next” button that can be used to click-through to the Advertiser’s own website or a phone number for the Advertiser.

Availability of Advertised Terms: Each Advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its own advertised terms. Bankrate cannot guaranty the accuracy or availability of any loan term shown above. However, Bankrate attempts to verify the accuracy and availability of the advertised terms through its quality assurance process and requires Advertisers to agree to our Terms and Conditions and to adhere to our Quality Control Program.

Loan Terms for Bankrate.com Customers: Advertisers may have different loan terms on their own website from those advertised through Bankrate.com. To receive the Bankrate.com rate, you must identify yourself to the Advertiser as a Bankrate.com customer. This will typically be done by phone so you should look for the Advertiser’s phone number when you click-through to their website. In addition, credit unions may require membership.

Loans Above $424,100 May Have Different Loan Terms: If you are seeking a loan for more than $424,100, lenders in certain locations may be able to provide terms that are different from those shown in the table above. You should confirm your terms with the lender for your requested loan amount.

Taxes and Insurance Excluded from Loan Terms: The loan terms (APR and Payment examples) shown above do not include amounts for taxes or insurance premiums. Your monthly payment amount will be greater if taxes and insurance premiums are included.

Consumer Satisfaction: If you have used Bankrate.com and have not received the advertised loan terms or otherwise been dissatisfied with your experience with any Advertiser, we want to hear from you.

Savings
These rates are updated weekly. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, some of whom have paid for a link to their own Web site, where you can find additional information. Bank and thrift deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Credit union deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Bankrate.com rates banks, thrifts and credit unions through proprietary Safe & Sound star rating system. Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary from branch to branch.

Home Equity
These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, some of whom have paid for a link to their own website, where you can find additional information. Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary from branch to branch.

Personal Loans
Many lenders have different rates on their own Websites than those posted on Bankrate.com. In order to get the Bankrate.com rate, please identify yourself as a Bankrate.com customer. The rates above were collected by Bankrate.com on the dates specified. Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary from branch to branch. Rate/APR and terms may vary based on the creditworthiness of the individual and the extent to which the loan differs from the one used for Bankrate.com quotes. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and brokers, some of whom have paid for a link to their own Web site, where you can find additional information.

Student Loans
These rates are updated weekly. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, some of whom have paid for a link to their own Web site, where you can find additional information. Bank and thrift deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Credit union deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Bankrate.com rates banks, thrifts and credit unions through proprietary Safe & Sound star rating system. Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary from branch to branch.

Auto Loans
These rates are updated weekly. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, some of whom have paid for a link to their own Web site, where you can find additional information. Bankrate.com rates banks, thrifts and credit unions through proprietary Safe & Sound star rating system. Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary from branch to branch.