Happy Money Personal Loans Review (November 2024)

Best for consolidating credit card debt

The Payoff Loan, Happy Money's signature offering, provides borrowers a lump-sum personal loan that can be used to pay off credit cards. Upon approval, the loan amount is either sent to your bank account or credit card company or companies. From there, you would pay off your debts (if the money was sent to your account) and make fixed monthly loan payments to Happy Money until your balance is repaid. Happy Money offers lower rates than the average interest rate on credit card accounts, which is 21.59%, according to the Federal Reserve. 

On the downside, the loans come with origination fees and may be inaccessible to some credit-challenged borrowers. Loans are not available in Massachusetts and Nevada.

Great for low APRs for debt consolidation

When comparing personal loan lenders, many have average maximum APRs ranging from 24.51% to 35.99%. Happy Money stands out from the pack with a max APR of just 17.99%. A lower rate can come in handy if you're looking to refinance credit card debt and save money. However, lower APRs typically mean stricter eligibility requirements, like needing a score in the high-fair-credit range (a FICO score of 640 or higher) and meeting a certain income threshold, which can make it harder to get approved.

What to consider before applying

Before applying for a Happy Money loan, you'll first want to consider why you need the money. If it's for anything other than paying off credit card debt, you'll need to look elsewhere.

However, if you want to pay off credit card debt, the next step is to review your current credit card accounts. Make a list of all of your cards, including your outstanding balances, monthly payment amounts, and current APRs. Then, use a credit card interest calculator to calculate how long it will take to pay off each card and how much each will cost you in interest.

For example:

With the above information, you can figure out the total loan amount you need, along with the APR, term, monthly payment amount, and overall cost you want to beat. Then, you'll be ready to start shopping for a loan. Check your rate with Happy Money and other lenders and look for the best overall value in terms of cost and service quality.

How to qualify for a loan with Happy Money

• Credit utilization: The percentage of total credit used from the total credit available to you is important. The higher your percentage, the lower your chance of approval. Lenders typically prefer that you use no more than 30%. Going over your credit limit may also impact your ability to qualify.
• FICO score: Happy Money states on its website that its minimum FICO score requirement is 640. The lender will consider your score as one of the factors in its approval decision. The lower your score, the lower your chance of approval.
• No delinquencies: If you've missed credit payments or have any accounts that have gone into default, it can hurt your chances of approval.
• Credit history age: The length of your credit history is also a factor. The longer your credit history, the better.
• Debt-to-income ratio (DTI): The amount of debt you have and the percentage of your income it consumes each month is another factor. Lower DTI ratios are preferred, usually less than 36%.
• Current lines of credit: It helps to have multiple lines of credit open and in good standing.

While the company shares the factors it weighs when making approval decisions, it doesn't have many hard guidelines. As a result, the best way to find out if you qualify is to request a quote on the lender's website or via the form below.

How to apply for a loan with Happy Money

1. Visit the Happy Money website at https://happymoney.com/ or via the form below.
2. Click "Check my rate."
3. Enter your name, birth date, ZIP code, address, and phone number.
4. Provide your annual income.
5. Enter your monthly housing payment.
6. Enter your email and password to create an account.
7. Agree to the terms and conditions.
8. Select the loan amount you want.
9. Find out if you're prequalified.

If you prequalify, Happy Money will show you an estimate of the loan amount, rates, fees, and terms you can get. Prequalification is not an offer of credit, and rates may vary once you officially apply. If all looks good, you can move forward with the full application. This requires a hard credit check, which will temporarily affect your credit score.

How to contact Happy Money

You can reach the company by:

• Phone: 1-800-878-0901 to connect with a U.S.-based support team
• Email: [email protected]
• Live chat: When you visit the website, there's a live chat icon in the bottom right corner. The conversation starts with a bot but you can request to speak with an agent.

The support team is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (PT).

How Happy Money compares

Happy Money is a niche lender that specializes in credit card consolidation loans with a lower-than-average maximum APR, and a moderate maximum loan amount. Many other lenders allow you to use their personal loans for a wider range of purposes, like home renovations or weddings, and have higher max APRs - up to 35.99%. As for the maximum loan amounts, they vary widely from lender to lender, but there are some that offer up to $100,000 or more.

For example, Upgrade offers loans up to $50,000, APRs up to 35.99%, and allows for a variety of loan uses (such as funding home improvements and debt consolidation). Another lender, LightStream, specializes in lending to borrowers with good to excellent credit (FICO scores of 700 or higher). Like Upgrade, it allows you to use the loan funds for a wide range of purposes. However, unlike Upgrade, it offers loans up to $100,000, and a max APR of 25.49%.

If you have good credit and need to borrow more than Happy Money offers, LightStream could be a good alternative. On the other hand, if you have bad credit and are having trouble getting approved with Happy Money, you may have better luck with Upgrade or other bad-credit lenders.

Methodology

Credible evaluated personal loan lenders based on factors such as customer experience, minimum fixed rate, maximum loan amount, funding time, loan terms, and fees. Credible's team of experts gathered information from each lender's website, customer service department, in-house resources, and via email support. Each data point was verified to make sure it was accurate at the time of publication.

Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our Personal Loans Lender Rating Methodology.