You may not expect a bank to offer competitive personal loans with low rates and fees, but PNC Bank is doing just that.

If you need to consolidate high-interest debt, make home improvements or finance a major purchase, take a look at what PNC personal loans have to offer. Here are some things you need to know…

• Who benefits more from PNC personal loans
• Advantages and disadvantages of PNC personal loan
• What to Watch Out For
• Lending Terms
• How to Apply for PNC loan
• How to increase your chances of Approval
• PNC Personal Loans Alternatives

As one of the largest banks in the nation by assets, PNC provides unsecured personal installment loans with fixed rates that vary by location.

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While borrowers don’t need an existing relationship with PNC to get a loan, those with a PNC checking account who opt for automatic loan payments receive a discount on their interest rate.

Who benefits more from PNC personal loans

Unsecured PNC personal loans can be a good option for people with strong credit who want to borrow at least $15,000 but less than $35,000, since they may qualify for the lowest rates the bank offers.

You’ll also need to live in an area where PNC offers loans, which are clustered in the eastern half of the U.S.

If you have collateral to back your loan, a secured loan may also be a good option. To lower your rate even further, consider opening a PNC checking account so you can take advantage of the bank’s automatic payments discount.

Advantages and disadvantages of PNC personal loan

Here’s a list of some of PNC Bank’s benefits and drawbacks.

Advantages:

• No prepayment penalty: Unlike some lenders, PNC Bank gives you the freedom to pay off your loan early without a fee.
• Perks for PNC Bank customers: If you already have a PNC checking account, you can earn a 0.25 percent discount on your loan APR by setting up automatic payments.

Disadvantages:

• Products vary by location: Your location determines which APRs and repayment terms you’re eligible for. For some ZIP codes, this information is hard to come by on the PNC website.
• May have to visit a branch to receive funds. Depending on your location, you may need to visit a branch in order to sign your loan documents, an inconvenience that many online-only lenders have eliminated.

What to Watch Out For

It’s true PNC offers some of the most affordable and transparent personal loans in the business, but there are a few downsides.

For starters, PNC does not let you get prequalified for a personal loan online without a hard inquiry on your credit report. Many other lenders do, and this puts PNC at a disadvantage.

Another potential downside is the fact that the best rates from PNC only go to those with excellent credit. PNC advertises loan rates as high as 24.49% APR in their fine print, so we can assume borrowers with less-than-stellar credit would wind up paying rates toward the higher end of the scale.

As a final downside, it’s important to remember that PNC limits is unsecured personal loans to $35,000. If you need to borrow more than $35,000 in an unsecured loan, you may need to find a different lender.

Lending Terms

PNC offers unsecured personal loans that range from $1,000 to $35,000 and repayment terms of six to 60 months in some states. The bank’s fixed rates start at 6.24 percent in some ZIP codes, but the rates available to you depend on creditworthiness, loan amount and where you live.

PNC doesn’t disclose a minimum credit score to qualify for a loan, nor the amount of time it will take to fund your loan.

With a loan from PNC, you can choose a term of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years.

Which terms you can get approval for depends on the amount you’ll be borrowing and your credit score.

Shorter term loans come with higher monthly payments but lower interest.

That means you’ll pay less in total for the loan. Longer term loans have lower monthly payments, but higher interest. That means you’ll pay more over the course of the loan.

Your goal should be to strike a balance between a monthly payment you can handle and the lowest total loan cost.

Choosing the right term is very important when you apply for a loan — you pay the least possible without stretching your budget too thin.

How to Apply for PNC loan

Remember that you need to apply over the phone or in a branch if you want a secured personal loan or line of credit from PNC. If you want an unsecured personal loan for up to $35,000, you can complete the entire loan application process online.

Start by heading to the PNC website. Once you find the section of the website where you can apply, plan to submit the following information in your application:

• Your name
• Photo ID
• Income
• Employment information
• Social Security number
• Information on other debts
• Email address
• Phone number

Once you complete your application, you can expect a response in as little as 2-3 business days. If your loan is approved, you may get the funds you need deposited into your bank account within a few more business days.

How to increase your chances of PNC Personal Loan Approval

There are a few things that impact your chances of getting approved for loans, personal or otherwise. These tips will help you maximize your chances.

Increase Your Credit Score

The most obvious thing to do is to increase your credit score.

Your credit score impacts all aspects of your ability to borrow money, from the amount you can borrow to the interest you’ll have to pay.

Your credit score is a numerical representation of your financial trustworthiness.

The higher your score, the more likely you are to pay your debts. The lower it is, the more likely you are to default, causing a lender to lose money.

To improve your credit score, the best strategy is to make on-time payments over the course of months and years.

Unfortunately, when you need a personal loan, you usually don’t have that long to wait.

There are some short-term tricks to give your score a boost.

One thing you can do is decrease the amount of money you owe. The more you owe, the riskier it is for someone to lend you money.

Stop using your credit cards in the month before you apply for a loan.

Also, try to make extra payments on your existing loans. That can give your score a boost in a pinch.

Another trick, if you know you’ll be needing a loan in the near future, is to avoid applying for new credit cards in the lead up to applying for the loan.

Every loan application temporarily drops your score by a few points. Plus, getting new accounts will reduce your average age of accounts, dropping your score further.

Reduce Your Debt-to-Income Ratio

Another thing to do is to reduce your debt-to-income ratio.

This ratio is the amount you owe, divided by how much you make in a year. The lower this ratio, the easier it will be for you to pay off any new debts you take on.

One way to do this is by increasing your income. This can be difficult, but you can try finding a side-job or working towards a raise or promotion at work.

If you do opt to find a side-job, make sure you can prove the income to the lender. If you can’t prove that your side-job is producing income, the lender won’t take it into account.

The better route is to reduce your existing debt. Try to avoid using your credit cards before applying for the loan, and send any extra cash towards existing debts.

This has the additional benefit of improving your credit score, giving your chances an even bigger boost.

PNC Personal Loans Alternatives

Earnest

Earnest is another lender with great personal loan rates and no origination fees, perfect for borrowers with good credit. If you’re looking to make home improvements, invest in your professional development or relocate, Earnest makes low-cost unsecured personal loans.

You should have a credit score of at least 680, little nonmortgage or nonstudent loan debt and a good income to improve your shot at getting approved.

One thing we like about this online lender is the relative lack of fees. There are no fees except a returned payment fee of $8, which you would only be charged if your bank account was overdrawn when making a payment. On the other hand, currently you can’t check your rate at Earnest without affecting your credit score, so we only recommend taking out a loan here if you’re fairly certain you’ll be approved. And Earnest is not available in Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada or Rhode Island

Loan Details

• Loan amount: $5,000 – $75,000
• Rates: 5.99% – 17.24%
• Term: 3 to 5 years
• Funding Time: 1+ days

LightStream

LightStream, a division of SunTrust Bank, is one of the top personal loan options on the market because we’ve seen it consistently quotes lower than average rates. On top of that, the company provides fast funding times and a wide range of loan amounts and terms.

The lender is best for financially responsible borrowers with good personal credit, as LightStream looks for borrowers who have a few years of credit history, a variety of account types, savings and a low debt-to-income ratio.

LightStream stands out from other lenders due to having a high loan amount limit with some of the best personal loan rates we’ve seen. The lender provides a discount of 0.5% on your APR if you enroll in its autopay program—meaning a 6.0% APR would become a 5.5% APR with autopay.

There are also no origination, late or returned payment or prepayment fees. Same-day funding is also available in some cases, which makes the lender a great option for borrowers in a pinch. LightStream is available in all 50 states.

Loan Details

• Loan amount: $5,000 – $100,000
• Rates: 4.99% – 16.79%
• Term: 2 to 12 years
• Funding Time: Varies, same-day funding available (conditions apply)

PenFed

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is best for existing members with fair to average credit as its personal loan rates are capped at 18%. Credit unions, in general, are a good option for borrowers as they are willing to work with average or below average credit history.

Generally, borrowers with credit scores under 650 may have a difficult time being approved for loans from banks and online lenders, especially for the rates that are as low as the ones PenFed offers.

PenFed offers borrowers personal loan amounts up to $25,000, which is low compared to most online lenders. However, if you have bad credit, taking out a loan from a credit union may be your best option, considering that personal loan rates can go up to 35% or more.

PenFed also accepts co-signers, which can drastically improve your chances of getting approved and help you qualify for a lower rate.

Keep in mind that you will have to be a member of the credit union for approval. If you aren’t already a member of a credit union, most aren’t difficult to join.

Loan Details

• Loan amount: $500 – $25,000
• Rates: Starting at 6.49%
• Term: 6 months to 5 years
• Funding Time: 1 – 7 business days (can obtain checks directly by applying or picking up in-person)

Marcus

Marcus is the online personal loan lender for Goldman Sachs, and we think it provides some of the best loans for debt consolidation if you have good credit. It is best for borrowers looking to consolidate high-interest debt.

You can borrow up to $40,000 through Marcus with rates between 6.99% and 28.99% and terms from two to six years, and Marcus lets you consolidate almost any type of debt from credit cards to medical bills.

If you want to boost your chances of getting approved, we recommend that you have at least two to three years of credit history, a credit score of 680 or above and a debt-to-income ratio under 40%. Having a steady, ample source of income will also improve your chances.

Read Also: How to get funding from investors for your business

Marcus doesn’t charge origination fees, late fees, returned payment fees or prepayment penalties. If you make a late payment, you’ll only be charged for any extra interest you accumulated. Marcus is available in all states except Maryland.

Borrowing money can make sense sometimes, and that’s particularly true if you have high-interest debt to consolidate or you need time to pay off a big purchase. A personal loan is often a good option since you get a fixed interest rate and fixed monthly payment that will never catch you by surprise.

Before you apply, however, make sure to compare loan rates and terms from at least three to four lenders. By shopping around, you can ensure you’ll get the loan you need at a price you can afford.