Bank of America personal loans: 2024 review

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Edited by

Rhys Subitch

Published on January 01, 2024 | 3 min read

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Happy african woman with mobile phone and credit card shopping or taking out a loan online

Unlike many banks, Bank of America does not offer personal loans. It has quite a few credit card options — and a small loan for unexpected expenses — but you will need to look elsewhere if you want to borrow a large personal loan.

Alternatives to Bank of America loans

Although there are a wide variety of national and local banks that offer personal loans, some of the best options are online lenders. But don’t worry: most are backed by a larger bank.

	LightStream	SoFi	Discover
Bankrate Score	4.7	4.7	4.8
Better for	Same-day funding	Joint loans	Borrowers with good credit
Loan amounts	$5,000–$100,000	$5,000–$100,000	$2,500 to $40,000
APRs	6.94%-25.29%* (with AutoPay)	8.99% to 29.49% Fixed APR	7.99%-24.99%
Loan term lengths	2 - 7 years	2 - 7 years	36 to 84 months
Fees	None	Optional fees	Optional fees
Minimum credit score	695	No requirement	660
Time to funding	As soon as same day	Within a few days	As soon as the next day

LightStream

LightStream is a top online lender that offers personal loans up to $100,000. It has generous terms — up to 84 months — and its rates start as low as 7.99 percent if you set up automatic payments for a 0.50 percent discount. It is also backed by Truist, a national bank. You can expect quick turnaround and no fees. However, there is a high minimum loan amount of $5,000 and no preapproval process. LightStream will check your credit when you apply, which may hurt your score even if you aren’t approved.

SoFi

While it is not backed by a bank, SoFi personal loans are highly rated. This online lender offers joint applications, optional fees and a wide range of loan amounts — up to $100,000 with a starting APR of 8.99 percent. Unlike LightStream, SoFi offers prequalification, so you can check your rate without harming your credit score before you submit a full application.

Discover

Borrowing a loan from Discover may be a good choice if you want to work directly with a bank. It offers loans up to $40,000 and accepts borrowers with good credit. Its rates are competitive with many other top lenders, and unlike many lenders, there are no origination fees when you borrow. It also has a prequalification process similar to SoFi, which lets you preview your rate with just a soft credit check.

Why doesn’t Bank of America offer personal loans?

Bank of America does not have a history of offering personal loans. However, it does have a program called Balance Assist. Provided you have a Bank of America checking account that is at least a year old — or 2.5 years if you don’t have a credit score — you may qualify.

The Balance Assist loan allows you to borrow up to $500 for a $5 fee. It is similar to small loans offered by federal credit unions. But unlike traditional personal loans, it is not flexible and won’t be useful for covering large expenses.

If you don’t have or don’t want to open an account with Bank of America, you can explore other personal loans.