Payoff Personal Loan review

A Payoff personal loan offers a good debt consolidation solution for those with good credit, while there's an excellent smart system to manage it all.

Payoff
(Image: © Payoff)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

A different kind of loan for debt consolidation which uses smart assistance and feedback to help you see your debt payments actually improve your credit rating. Competitive rates are appealing but this is a service with those with a good credit rating only.

Pros

  • +

    Low rates

  • +

    Flexible payment options

  • +

    Financial guidance

Cons

  • -

    No direct creditor payments

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Payoff personal loans are among the best personal loans available right now. Thanks to smart features that get to know your spending and borrowing personality you can theoretically get out of debt faster using Payoff. Since these loans are specifically for credit card debt, they are a great option for debt consolidation

The ongoing support offered by Payoff is designed to help you understand your debts so that you can better manage them in the long run. The result is that you should be able to actually improve your credit score and pay off debt fast.

This is good news for those with average to lower credits scores around the 640 mark who are eligible for up to $35,000 in loans.

The low starting rates and flexible payments make this an appealing loan option for those seeking an online solution to debt. 

This service also offers a free monthly FICO score to help you see the progress you're making on improving your credit rating by paying off debt on time.

Payoff claims to have more than 11,000 customers and to have paid off a total of $175 million in settled credit card debts.

Could Payoff be the loan for you? It's good for consolidating debt specifically. Here's everything you need to know about Payoff personal loans.

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Cost: How much does Payoff charge?

Payoff personal loans: Key figures

APR variable: 5.99 - 24.99%
Loan range: $5,000 - $35,000
Min credit score: 640
Term: 2-5 years

  • Minimum APR: 5.99%
  • Maximum APR: 24.99%

Payoff personal loans offer a decent starting rate of 5.99% presuming you have the credit score and history to get that very good lowest rate. Other factors like the loan period, amount and use also affect the APR you end up with. That in mind, you could end up paying as much as 24.99% at the very highest end of the rates, though its not as high as some like Avant or Lending Club.

The fixed-rate loans are means for debt consolidation, purely aimed at paying off credit cards. 

As an example a loan for a good credit borrower of $20,000 paid off over a 48 month period at 18% APR would work out at monthly repayments of $557.

Payoff Personal Loans review: Payoff Lift

  • Receive online support
  • Payoff advocates also available

Payoff wants its borrowers to make the right financial decisions and as such is focused on empowering those customers with knowledge. This is done, in one way, by offering great support. That means a borrower can easily get to support via an online chat for answers to basic questions.

The Payoff Lift service is a 12-step financial education program with tools and training provided to help you get out of debt faster. There is also a Lift Blog with lots of information to help you save and enhance your financial situation. 

Should you want to know more it is also possible to get in contact with a Payoff member advocate for full-on financial guidance. The company won't force you to pay off your credit cards but it does offer plenty of guidance. This is done in the form of personalized recommendations using quizzes which assess financial personality, levels of financial stress and how your wealth compares to others.

Using these results Payoff gives you tools and resources to help you stick to your goals.

Payoff Personal Loans review: How does it work?

  • Credit cards paid off
  • One loan left

Payoff makes credit card debt consolidation easy by allowing you to pay off multiple credit card debts and be left with one loan. Payoff pays the credit cards off for you then you're left owing Payoff alone with a single loan amount and an agreed fixed rate.

This not only simplifies payments but can even mean saving money by paying a lower rate overall, depending on the APR you had and that which you get with this new loan. You are given options of two to five years to pay off the loan with the longer you take meaning a higher rate to pay.

Payoff Personal Loans review: Requirements to qualify

  • At least a 640 credit score
  • Minimum income of $25,000

In order to qualify for a Payoff loan you need a FICO score of no less than 640. If you're is below that then you won't be considered. This particular loan uses the TransUnion FICO score, so yours may be different if attained by another bureau. So find out your specific TransUnion FICO score before applying.

You will also need to have a credit record of at least three years meaning this isn;t for those new to debt.

The minimum required income for a Payoff loan is $25,000 per year. But you also need a specific debt-to-income ratio of no more than 50%. That means you'll need to have no more than half your yearly income going on debt. So if you earn $50,000 you can have up to $25,000 of debt and still apply.

Since this is a credit card consolidation loan service, that is the only thing this loan can be taken out for.

Payoff Personal Loans review: Fees

  • Origination fee of 0 - 5%
  • No late or early payoff fees

As you'd expect from a loan called Payoff there is no fee charged for paying off your debt early, nor do you have to pay any late fees. However you will be required to pay an origination fee when you take out the loan.

The origination fee ranges between nothing and goes up to five percent. So depending on the amount you take out and your financial situation this could be a factor that decides if you go with Payoff or not.

Payoff Personal Loans review: Free FICO scores

  • Monthly FICO update
  • Debt payment results clear

Payoff wants you to see how paying off your debts on time works in your favor. It does this by keeping you informed of your situation throughout the duration of your loan.

As a borrower you're eligible to get totally free FICO scores on a monthly basis. This will allow you to see how your rating changes as your debt lowers and your payment continue to arrive on time each month. 

This might seem like a simple idea but seeing that you're not only paying off debt but being recognised and potentially rewarded in the future for it almost helps it feel like saving too.

The average Payoff borrower increases their FICO score by an average of 40 points.

Payoff Personal Loans review: What users say

  • 4.6 out of 5 on Credit Karma
  • Not on JD Power

JD Power is the go to rating survey for customer satisfaction but Payoff isn't get a big enough player to have made that list. However, according to online customer reviews aggregator, Credit Karma, the loan company is well liked.

Credit Karma shows that Payoff has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 from 33 reviews at the time of publishing. This include statements like "fast and easy with a great rate" at the top end with 85% giving it five stars. But at the bottom end there is 9% giving only one star with comments like "stay away, the whole purpose is to try and sneak fees on you".

Payoff Personal Loans review: Verdict

Payoff is a dedicated loan service that aims to help consolidate credit card debt. By offering such a specific purpose this loan comes with lots of tools to help borrowers not only pay off their debts and improve credit ratings but also become better at managing their money.

The starting rate is reasonably low while the top end isn't the highest out there. You will pay an origination fee but no early payment or late fees. While this is for those with a fairly decent credit score and history it can help those at the lower end to climb and improve.

With job-loss support and constant check-in customer support throughout the year this is a strong option for those that want to get rid of debt but feel they could use some heland guidance along the way.

Compare personal loan rates at Credible

Compare personal loan rates at Credible
Credible is the perfect place to search for the best personal loan rates. Get rates from hundreds of banks and lenders without having to fill out the same details again and again.

Luke Edwards

Luke is a veteran tech journalist with decades of experience covering everything from TVs, power tools, science and health tech to VPNs, space, gaming and cars. You may recognize him from appearances on plenty of news channels or have read his words which have been published in most tech titles over the years. In his spare time (of which he has little as a father of two) Luke likes yoga, surfing, meditation, DIY and consuming all the books, comics and movies he can find.