Avant

The Good

• No prepayment fees
• Lends in 46 states and D.C
• Origination fee of 4.75% (at the time of this writing)
• Very easy application process; money could be deposited as soon as the next business day if approved by 4:30pm CT (Mon-Fri)

Since its founding in 2012, Avant LLC (formerly Avant Credit) has been one of the fastest growing lending platforms in the world.  The Avant platform has grown to finance over $4 billion in loans for more than 600,000 customers.  We think Avant is the best fit for consumers with a 600-680 FICO score.  They are cheaper than payday or installment lenders who typically offer an APR rate of 49-99%, whereas Avant is in the 9.95 – 35.99% range.

Avant will NOT conduct a hard credit pull when you apply and want to see your rates (like any lending platform, they will need to do a hard credit pull prior to actually funding your account)

Avant has great coverage nationally.  Loans are available in every state EXCEPT Colorado, Iowa, Vermont and West Virginia.

The Bad

• Strict underwriting criteria; difficult to be approved if FICO score is below 650
• Better options available for people with credit scores of 700 or more

While Avant says it will provide access to borrowers with a credit score as low as 580, it seems that it can be difficult to get approved if your FICO score is less than 650.  From consumers that we spoke to, this seemed to be the case and Avant may have a tighter underwriting criteria than some lending options.  Of course, this helps them offer competitive rates, but it also can be frustrating when you are declined.

Also, do not take out a loan through Avant if you simply want to pay it off in order to improve your credit score.  There are better ways to do build your credit than doing this

The Summary

Avant has overall positive customer reviews from borrower who acknowledge that the interest rate may not have been the cheapest for which they could qualify, but that it’s worthwhile because they get their money quickly, have a long loan repayment period, but can pay that loan off early without any prepaymnt fees.

A word about fees

Avant does charge some fees but they are in line with the industry standards.  For instance, they may charge a late fee if a scheduled payment is missed or if an payment is returned by your bank.  Previously, they did not charge any origination fees, but in 2016, Avant as well as most other lending platforms in this category have been consistently charging origination fees for new customers.  For example: A $5,700 loan with an administration fee of 4.75% and an amount financed of $5,429.25, repayable in 36 monthly installments, would have an APR of 29.95% and monthly payments of $230.33. There is also no fee for paying off your loan early.

* Loans are from $2,000 – $35,000.  If approved, the actual amount of loan that a customer qualifies for may vary based on credit determination and other factors.