Posted by: Adam McCann

Quick Review: Discover personal loans are great for people who have a credit score of 660 or higher and want to borrow up to $35,000 at a time. Discover loans are especially good if you want a long repayment period, as Discover’s payoff timelines start at 36 months and go as long as 84 months. Plus, Discover’s personal loan APRs can be as low as 6.99%, which makes them useful for people who want to consolidate existing debt at a low cost.

There are a few drawbacks to be aware of when considering a personal loan from Discover, however. Discover isn’t especially transparent about their credit score requirements, for one thing. They also don’t allow co-signers.

Below, you can find more information about Discover’s personal loan terms as well as how they compare to offers from other lenders and how you can get pre-qualified.

Discover Personal Loan Terms

APRs	6.99% - 24.99%
Loan lengths	36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months
Loan amounts	$2,500 - $35,000
Approval time	Up to 3 business days
Funds delivery time	1-7 business days
Fees	- $0 origination fee - $0 early payoff fee - $39 late fee
Credit score requirement	660*
Minimum income requirement	$25,000
Other requirements	- 18+ years old - U.S. citizen/permanent resident - SSN

*According to multiple third-party sources Discover Personal Loan Rates & Fees

Discover has a feature called a “30-day guarantee.” If you return the entire loan amount in the first 30 days after taking out a Discover personal loan, you don’t have to pay any interest. Most people won’t be able to manage that, though. They’ll have to deal with Discover personal loan interest rates ranging from 6.99% to 24.99%. The exact interest rate that you get will depend largely on your credit score, income and other existing debts, among other factors.

Discover personal loan interest rates are fixed. That means that they will not change for the life of the loan. You’ll always pay the same interest rate that you lock in at the beginning.

There are hardly any fees on Discover personal loans, and you can avoid them altogether if you’re responsible. First off, there’s no origination fee to process your application. There’s also no fee for paying off your personal loan earlier than required. Discover will charge a $39 fee if you pay late or if you have automatic payments set up and your bank account has insufficient funds.

Discover Personal Loan Requirements & Application Info

There are no officially disclosed Discover personal loan credit score requirements. Multiple third-party sources report that you’ll need a score of 660 or higher. So, if you have good credit, Discover would likely be a good choice.

Discover does give a minimum income requirement: $25,000. That’s only the 31st percentile of individual income in the U.S., meaning that 69 percent of American adults have an annual income higher than $25,000.

There are some other basic requirements to meet, too. You’ll need to be at least 18 years old and either a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. You must also have a Social Security number. You can’t apply with just an ITIN or a passport. Before you apply for a Discover personal loan, Discover allows you to pre-qualify and check your potential rates.

You can apply for a Discover personal loan online or by phone (1-866-248-1255). Discover does not permit co-signers. It usually takes up to 3 business days to get a decision and up to 7 business days to receive your funds after you’re approved, according to Discover representatives. Discover also offers a convenient tool to check your application status online.

Discover Personal Loans Reviews & Transparency

Discover has a great reputation overall. That’s true whether you ask industry watchdogs (like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the Better Business Bureau) or Discover’s own customers. There are relatively few complaints about their personal loans.

• Better Business Bureau: Discover has an A+ rating and has been accredited since 1989.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The CFPB has logged over 9,900 total complaints about Discover Bank – of those, only 102 are about personal installment loans. Many complaints are people unsatisfied with the interest rate they received after getting a lower estimate from Discover’s rate calculator. A few people report issues with monthly statements or making payments. Discover has provided a “timely” response to every existing complaint.
• WalletHub: Discover has a user rating of 4/5 stars across nearly 10,000 reviews. WalletHub’s editors give Discover personal loans 5/5 stars.

Discover is extremely transparent about all of its personal loan terms, which are readily available on its website. The only area where they are not entirely transparent is in terms of minimum credit score requirements, which they do not disclose.

Discover Personal Loans vs. Other Lenders

Lender	Discover	Wells Fargo	LendingClub
APR	6.99% - 24.99%	6.99% - 23.99%	6.95% - 35.89%
Loan amounts	$2,500 - $35,000	$3,000 - $100,000	$1,000 - $40,000
Loan lengths	36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months	12 - 60 months	36 or 60 months
Credit score required	660*	660* (but has secured personal loans for bad credit)	600-640*

*According to multiple third-party sources Methodology

WalletHub’s editors rated Discover personal loans based on a total of 23 metrics spanning seven key categories. You can find the main categories listed below, along with the individual metrics considered.

• Requirements: WalletHub researched what credit score and income Discover personal loans require. We also looked at Discover’s requirements regarding citizenship and identification.
• APR: Our editors looked into the minimum and maximum APRs available on Discover personal loans, plus whether the APRs are fixed or variable.
• Fees: We checked the fees on Discover personal loans, looking mainly at origination fees, late fees and prepayment penalties.
• Loan amounts: WalletHub looked at the lowest and highest amounts Discover lets people borrow. We also looked at how long Discover’s payoff timeline is.
• Application process: Our editors read up on the different ways to apply, plus whether it’s possible to submit a joint application. We also looked into whether Discover offers pre-qualification, along with the timeline for getting approved and receiving funds.
• Customer satisfaction: We researched Discover’s WalletHub user reviews, Better Business Bureau rating and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints.
• Transparency: We considered how transparent Discover is about the terms and requirements of their loans.

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


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