Achieve Personal Loans Review

Our take on Achieve

Achieve earns 4.5 out of 5 stars thanks to its exceptionally low advertised rates — the lowest among all Credible partner lenders — and multiple rate discounts. Borrowers may qualify for a rate discount by applying with a co-borrower, using the loan for debt consolidation, or showing they have sufficient retirement assets. 

However, Achieve isn't best if you need to borrow less than $5,000 or more than $50,000. We were also disappointed that the lender wasn't forthcoming about late fees. 

What is Achieve best for?

• Rate discounts: Achieve offers rate discounts if you apply with a co-borrower, have sufficient retirement assets, or are borrowing for debt consolidation. However, the lender doesn't disclose the amount you can save.
• Fair credit: Achieve works with fair-credit borrowers who have credit scores as low as 640. 
• Customer service: You have the option to work with a loan consultant throughout the application process. Achieve also earned good customer reviews with the Better Business Bureau, receiving 4.29 out of 5 stars.

Who is Achieve not best for?

• Borrowers who want a long repayment timeline: While Achieve offers the flexibility to choose a 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-year repayment timeline, some lenders offer longer loan terms (up to seven years) that make monthly payments more affordable.
• Those who need very large or very small loans: Achieve personal loans range from $5,000 to $50,000. If you want to borrow less than $5,000 or more than $50,000, you’ll need to look elsewhere. 

Pros and cons

Details on the pros 

• Low advertised rates: Achieve's personal loan rates start at 6.25%, which is close to a quarter point below the next lowest advertised offer.
• Funding in 1 to 3 days: Achieve offers same-day decisions on loan applications and funds most loans within 24 to 72 hours. 
• Accepts joint applicants: Applying with a joint applicant can help you qualify for a loan or get a lower rate. 
• Multiple discounts: Applying with a co-borrower, showing evidence of sufficient retirement savings, or using the loan to consolidate debt could reduce your interest rate.
• Considers fair credit: Achieve offers loans to borrowers with fair credit, while some lenders require good or excellent credit to qualify. 

Details on the cons

• Origination fee: Achieve charges upfront origination fees between 1.99% and 8.99% of the loan amount.
• Limited availability: Achieve loans aren’t available in 12 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
• No loan-servicing mobile app: Achieve doesn't offer an app to manage your loans. You can only access your account through the lender’s website.
• No autopay discount: In spite of having multiple available discounts, a rate reduction for setting up autopay isn’t one of them. 

How to qualify for an Achieve personal loan

Achieve requires a minimum credit score of 640 to qualify for a personal loan. The lender doesn’t list specific income or employment requirements, but requires the following during the application process:

• Proof of income
• Social Security number
• Proof of identity
• Employment status

Achieve personal loan purposes

Achieve offers personal loans for almost any purpose, including:

Though Achieve doesn’t list prohibited uses, there are some expenses you can't typically use a personal loan for, including paying college tuition and investing.

Achieve fees and penalties

Though Achieve doesn’t charge prepayment penalties for personal loans, there are several fees you should be aware of:

• Origination fee: Achieve charges an origination fee of 1.99% to 8.99%. Origination fees are common and may be charged upfront as a percentage of the loan balance.
• Late fee: Achieve does not disclose whether it charges a late fee or how much the fee is. The lender did not respond to our inquiry for more information. 

Achieve company details and history

Achieve is a digital personal finance company that offers personal loans, HELOCs, home equity loans, and debt settlement services. 

Achieve is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, with hubs in California, Arizona, and Texas. It is not a bank, and it partners with Cross River Bank to originate personal loans.

Contact information

Achieve connects you with dedicated loan specialists if you need help during the application process. You also have multiple options to contact Achieve, including:

• By phone: Call Achieve at 1-800-920-0045 or 1-833-418-3193
• By online form: Submit an online message through Achieve’s contact page
• By email: Email [email protected]

Achieve's customer service team is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST.

Methodology 

Credible evaluated 32 lenders across 1,216 data points based on customer experience, minimum fixed interest rates, maximum loan amounts, funding times, loan terms, fees, discounts, third-party reviews, and more. Credible's team of experts gathered information from each lender's website and from our partners directly. We also considered each of our partner lenders' statistics over a 12-month period — including average funding times, average credit scores for approved applicants, and average rates.

Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our personal loans lender rating methodology.

We assigned a numerical value to each attribute based on how that feature compared with the same feature for every other lender in the set. Attributes were grouped into categories, scores were compiled, and categories were weighted according to their relative importance — for instance, rates and fees were weighted highest since loan cost is among the most important factors in determining loan value.

• Rates and fees: 18.75%
• Eligibility and options for bad and no credit: 17.5%
• Availability: 12.5%
• Loan amounts and terms: 10%
• Customer satisfaction: 10%
• Customer service: 10%
• Efficiency and fund delivery: 10%
• Discounts: 7.5%
• Credible proprietary data: 3.75%
   

We also considered each of our partner lenders' statistics over a 12-month period — including average funding times, average credit scores for approved applicants, and average rates. Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our full personal loans lender rating methodology.