OneMain Financial Credit Card Debt Consolidation
Wondering if using a OneMain Financial credit card debt consolidation loan is a good idea? Consolidating your credit card debt into a single loan can help you get out of debt faster but it isn’t a silver bullet. You’ve got to do it the right way, with the right company. Here are the pros and cons to using OneMain credit card debt consolidation. Let’s be positive and start with the pros!
Pros for a OneMain Financial credit card debt consolidation loan
Likely approval
OneMain Financial primarily serves people with fair, poor, or damaged credit. If you have been denied by mainstream lenders, you might have a chance of getting a loan from OneMain Financial. They are much more familiar with people with less-than-perfect credit histories. Of course, if you have good or excellent credit, you are almost certain to be able to get a better loan from another lender. (More on how to shop around for the best rates below.)
Interest rate
One Main offers loans with APRs between 18% and 35.99%. While those aren’t great interest rates, I have included them in the pros column because they are likely the lowest APRs someone with poor credit would be able to get. The rule of thumb that I like is that you should only consolidate your credit cards if the company is offering you APR is at least 2-3 percentage points lower than your credit cards’ interest rates.
Cosigning
One Main accepts cosigners on their loans. If you can qualify for a debt consolidation loan and get the best rate on your own, there is little reason to entangle your spouse or loved-one in the process. But, more often than not, the cosigner can allow you to be approved when you otherwise wouldn’t be or to earn a lower APR than you otherwise would have. This is especially true if your cosigner’s credit score is better, debt-to-income ratio is lower, or income is higher.
Fast process
OneMain will make a decision on whether to lend you money on the day that you apply. If you accept the loan, you can have the money in your account in 1 or 2 business days.
Let’s turn our attention to the cons of consolidating your credit card debt with One Main Financial.
Cons for a OneMain Financial credit card debt consolidation loan
Secured
OneMain Financial does offer the option of securing your credit card consolidation loan with an asset. In fact, you are almost certain to need to secure larger loans with the title to your motor vehicle. Some times having a secured loan option could be a good thing. However, in the case of One Main Financial, it’s in the cons column because it will likely be required at the higher loan amounts. And, it’s not usually a great idea to turn unsecured credit card debt into a secured debt because you risk losing your collateral.
Add ons
OneMain Financial offers better interest rates for people with damaged credit than they can usually get from other lenders. The problem is that OneMain Financial appears to make up for the lower interest rate by requiring collateral and then selling insurance on that collateral. You will need to talk with a sales associate in one of their stores who will likely try and push these added services on you. But, they don’t have much information about this on their website. So, it’s really hard to research it before hand. This leads to my next con:
Lack of transparency
OneMain Financial is not terribly transparent about the costs of its loans before you apply. It is very difficult to understand what kind of interest rate you should be able to expect, what kind of fees you might need to pay, whether you will need collateral, and whether you will feel pressured to buy their insurance. One Main is regulated at the state level, so many of their policies will depend on which state you live in. Those policies are known and they could share them on their website like many other lenders do, but they don’t.
Fees
OneMain Financial charges several different fees. They will charge an origination fee as much as 10%, but–again–the size of the fee will be dependent on the state in which you live. They will also charge you a late fee if you have trouble paying. You are also likely to get hit with the double whammy of a non-sufficient funds fees if they try and pull a payment through ACH but you don’t have enough money in the account.
No direct payoff option
One Main does not have the option of paying off your credit card balances for you when you take one of the credit card consolidation loans. It’s convenient when a lender will pay off the balances for you, but I think of it as a “con” when they don’t for another reason: they are less likely to approve you and less likely to give you the lowest interest rate. Why? Because they can’t guarantee that you will take the money and pay down your other debts. So, they probably don’t consider debt pay off in their assessment of your debt-to-income ratio.
Shop Around for the best credit card debt consolidation loan
You can apply directly to OneMain Financial on our marketplace page at The Yukon Project. Behind the scenes, we will check your rate with up to 40 other lenders. The application will not affect your credit and we will show you all of the approvals so you can select the loan that is right for you. This is a great way to test the marketplace and see who will offer you the best terms.
Remember that there is no rule that you have to consolidate your credit card debt. If a company isn’t offering you a interest rate that is at least a few percentage points better than what you are paying on your credit cards, don’t consolidate. Just focus on making extra principal payments every single month so you can make meaningful progress towards living a debt-free life.
STOP PAYING THE HIGH INTEREST RATES FROM CARRYING A MONTHLY BALANCE ON YOUR CREDIT CARD!
Soft Credit Pull, Up To 40 Lenders at Once, See what you’re approved for!
