Truist vs. American Express: Which Personal Loan Is Right for You?

MoneyGeek gathered all of the information you’ll need if you’re choosing between a personal loan from Truist and American Express.

Truist is one of the largest financial services companies in the U.S., offering banking, asset management, insurance, mortgages and loan products for both individual and commercial accounts.

Meanwhile, American Express is a multinational payment card services company. It specializes in credit cards, debit cards, checks and other payment options. However, it has a diverse set of products for all financial needs.

To compare the two companies, we’ve collected up-to-date information about their personal loan offerings. This includes APR ranges, loan amounts, funding times, miscellaneous fees and other factors that will help you make the best financial decision.

MoneyGeek analyzed personal loan offerings from Truist and American Express. We evaluated factors that borrowers are most interested in when choosing a provider, including loan amounts, APR ranges, credit score requirements and repayment terms.

Truist and American Express have several differences. Primarily, Truist is available to most consumers and is not limited to existing account holders. Meanwhile, only pre-approved cardholders can apply for an American Express personal loan.

Truist’s personal loan package is also more flexible, with loan amounts ranging from $3,500 to $50,000, while American Express only offers up to $40,000.

APR refers to the annual percentage rate, which is the sum of the interest that’s charged to borrowers. It’s composed of the interest payment and other costs associated with the loan, such as origination or application fees.

Truist’s personal loans come with APRs that range from 8.14% to 18.99%. Meanwhile, American Express’s lowest APR is 4.93%, but it can go as high as 19.97%. Although American Express offers the lowest possible APR between the two, Truist has a better APR range.

Ideally, you’ll want the lowest possible APR with your personal loan. This will lessen the overall payment you’ll have to make throughout the loan’s lifetime.

Factors such as your credit score, loan amount and repayment term affect the APR that loan providers assign to you. To qualify for a company’s lower APR range, you’ll need good credit and a healthy financial background.

Truist doesn’t list a minimum credit score requirement on its website. It looks at your entire financial picture to determine if you are eligible for a loan.

Meanwhile, American Express requires that you have a credit score of 660 and above to qualify for its personal loan. Note that you’ll need to be a prequalified American Express card member before you can get a personal loan from this company.

Your credit score is a number from 300 to 850 that represents your creditworthiness. The higher your credit score, the easier for you to get a loan. You can also expect lower APRs if you have a high credit score.

Factors like your credit and payment history, loan balance and length of credit history can affect your credit score.

Both Truist and American Express have a minimum loan amount of $3,500. However, you can borrow up to $50,000 from Truist, while you can only get $40,000 from American Express.

A company’s loan range refers to the lower and upper limits of the money you can borrow. Ideally, you’ll want a company that can match the amount you need. Lenders with wide loan ranges (such as Truist) offer more flexibility on how much you can borrow.

Note that the amount you get approved for will depend on your creditworthiness.

Additionally, it may make sense to find a company with a lower loan range if you only need a small amount of money. Although Truist and American Express have similar minimum loan amounts, you can find companies that offer $1,000 loans.

Personal loan companies usually offer a minimum repayment terms that last anywhere from two to four years. However, whereas Truist allows borrowers to repay their loans within six to 60 months, American Express offers repayment terms ranging from 24 to 84 months.

The amount of time it’ll take for you to repay your personal loan is called the repayment term. You’ll have lower monthly payments with a longer repayment term, but you’ll end up paying more over time. Meanwhile, loans with short repayment terms will have higher installment amounts but a lower overall payment.

Your repayment term depends on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, age, monthly income and other factors related to your creditworthiness.

Truist claims that it can decide on applications within 15 minutes and fund loans within the next day. On the other hand, American Express offers same-day funding.

If funding time is important for you, getting a loan online is the best way to address your needs. You’ll be able to apply, submit requirements, sign the loan agreement and receive funds in the comfort of your home.

Both Truist and American Express feature online loan applications. This helps speed the approval process along.

To ensure a straightforward process, it’s a good idea to prepare your identification and financial documents prior to starting your application.

For most people, choosing Truist over American Express is an easy decision.

American Express features a higher maximum APR and a lower loan amount. To make it worse, you need to be a pre-approved American Express card member to become eligible in the first place.

Meanwhile, Truist is a strong choice for most consumers looking for a personal loan. It offers a relatively low APR, an up to $50,000 maximum loan amount and next-day funding. You also get to enjoy additional perks from this lender.

It will only make sense to get an American Express personal loan if you’ve been pre-approved for it and are looking for a flexible repayment term. After all, this lender allows its borrowers to repay loans for up to 84 months.

Nonetheless, keep in mind that our analyses are based on generalizations. Your situation may be different from our sample profiles, so only you can decide who is the best loan provider for you.

MoneyGeek answered some frequently asked questions about personal loan lenders to help you find the best provider for your needs and budget.