Founded in 1999, the AmONE debt consolidation and personal loan marketplace ranks highly on many consumer and expert review platforms despite a few low ratings sprinkled in. Often hard-to-impress Trustpilot reviewers award AmONE 4.5 stars based on an average of nearly 2,000 reviews.
Here, our AmONE review investigates the company’s strengths and weaknesses so you can decide whether it’s right for your financial situation.
Is AmONE legit?
To determine the legitimacy of a company, start by looking at the people who manage it. If another company owns it, check out the parent company’s reputation. AmONE is owned by Quinstreet, an online marketing company that leverages AI-driven matching technology to match consumers with the right product based on their profile.
Quinstreet’s ownership of AmONE provides a technological advantage. As a publicly listed company with a value exceeding $630 million, Quinstreet adds a layer of credibility to AmONE. Publicly traded companies adhere to strict regulations, necessitating financial record disclosure. Furthermore, lenders, including AmONE, are subject to rigorous oversight by regulatory agencies in every state they operate.
In conclusion, AmONE is a legitimate company. Its parent company, Quinstreet, is also licensed through the NMLS (Nationwide Multistate Licensing System). The NMLS is the agency through which companies offering personal loans must get licensed and registered. If you’re inquiring about whether or not AmONE is licensed in your state, visit the NMLS directly and search for Quinstreet. Quinstreet maintains multiple types of licenses, including Loan Broker and Mortgage Licenses in at least 21 states.
Is AmONE a direct lender?
AmONE isn’t a direct money lender. The company works with dozens of lending institutions that provide the actual financial services. AmONE simply matches those lenders with consumers looking to consolidate debt. While the company doesn’t disclose how many lending partners it works with, its site emphasizes partnerships with several highly-rated corporations.
For those looking to consolidate debt spread across credit cards, unsecured loans, or both, AmONE may offer a solution by matching consumers with a need to lenders with suitable terms. To compare AmONE with other top-rated lenders, check out our list of the top 5 personal loans for 2023.
Credible is another highly regarded personal loan marketplace to compare loan rates from reputable lenders nationwide at no cost. Credible also has one of the highest approval rates for personal loans. Approximately 70% of applicants who apply for a loan at Credible get approved. Check out the Credible personal loan review to learn more about this free online loan marketplace.
Pros
Service is free to use
Live help is available
Pre-qualification won’t affect credit score
Wide range of repayment term lengths
Poor credit scores often accepted
Funds available in as little as one day
Co-applicants accepted
Cons
Loan or consolidation details limited until after application
Loan origination fees may apply with some lenders
Shares information with several lending institutions
AmONE Personal Loans and Debt Consolidation Features and Benefits
AmONE’s website includes a debt consolidation category that directs potential borrowers to its personal loans page. On the page, consumers will find several borrowing options for various needs. Debt consolidation includes these features as part of AmONE’s offerings.
- Free service
- Matches borrowers with lenders
- Instant matching platform
- Is not a lending company
- Offers live help with applications and information
- Soft credit check to pre-qualify
- Bad credit acceptable in many cases
- Consolidation available for multiple unsecured debt types
- Available in 50 states
- Online application
- Loan amounts available from $1,000 to $50,000
- Interest rates of 5.99-35.99%
- Loan terms 12 to 84 months
- In business since 1999
- B+ BBB rating
AmONE Editorial Rating
Trusted Company Reviews Rating Score for AmONE: 7.2
AmONE fell just short of reaching our annual review of the best debt consolidation companies. However, the company is a solid runner-up despite a few low customer ratings among mostly positive reviews. AmONE scores a respectable 7.2 rating using our criteria compared to other debt consolidation companies in our review.
Our debt consolidation review procedure includes comparing competing companies against a list of strict standards before comparing them against each other for a spot in our ranking. Our criteria categories are as follows:
- Better Business Bureau grade, rating, and standing
- Average review scores from multiple rating sources
- User experience specifics
- Application process and restrictions
- Fees and interest rates
- Repayment terms and flexibility, if applicable
- Loan amounts and minimums
- Minimum requirements to apply
- Industry expert opinion scores
AmONE Personal Loans and Debt Consolidation Facts
AmONE offers a wide range of personal loan and debt consolidation products through its numerous partner lending companies.
While AmONE doesn’t restrict applications from potential borrowers with bad credit or high debt-to-income ratios (DTI), the company states that borrowers with a credit score over 500 and a DTI of under 50% will have the best chance of finding a match for their needs.
| Interest Rates | 5.99-35.99% |
| Origination Fee | Varies by lender from 0% to 8% |
| Loan Terms | 12, 24,36,48,60,72, or 84 months |
| Minimum Credit Score | 500 |
| Loan Amounts | $1,000 to $50,000 |
AmONE Personal Loans and Debt Consolidation Interest Rates
AmONE offers a wide range of interest rates through its partnerships. However, AmONE doesn’t choose the interest rate you may ultimately pay. While competing for your business, the partnership companies will determine the most appropriate interest rate based on individual situations.
Debt consolidation loan customers could pay anywhere between 5.99% and 35.99%. The rate is determined by several factors, including credit score, credit history, reported delinquencies, employment status, DTI, etc.
However, not all factors carry as much weight as others, and a single poor mark typically doesn’t automatically disqualify borrowers.
How to Get an AmONE Debt Consolidation Loan
AmONE makes finding an appropriate lender for your debt consolidation situation as easy as possible on its website. Choose from a dropdown selection menu under the debt consolidation tab to start the process. From there, you’ll be asked to provide basic personal and financial details.
After submitting your information, AmONE will make a soft inquiry on your credit report that won’t affect your credit score and will return a list of lenders and consolidation loan offers you may qualify for.
You’ll then be able to choose one and submit a formal application for the specified product. The application will request confirmation and proof of your financial and personal information. Submitting the formal application will invoke a hard inquiry on your credit report, affecting your score by lowering it by up to five points.
If the lender approves your formal application for debt consolidation, you can enter a contract with the institution according to the loan details.
How Does AmONE Work for Debt Consolidation?
Debt consolidation loans with AmONE are treated similarly to personal loans regarding finding a lender. Depending on the type of debt you’re consolidating and your debt consolidation lender, the company may or may not pay your creditors directly. If not, you’ll be responsible for dispersing the funds as necessary when they become available to you.
AmONE helps to answer your debt consolidation questions by making its representatives available by a toll-free phone number. The representatives can answer questions in real-time while you apply for pre-qualification or a specific financial product.
Does AmONE Lend Money?
AmONE lends no money of its own. Instead, it matches consumers looking to consolidate debts with companies that provide the funding for that purpose. That strategy can be both beneficial and challenging to borrowers.
On the one hand, AmONE’s matching algorithm can roughly determine what you may qualify for and potential loan terms without affecting your credit score. On the other hand, having to take an extra step in the process of consolidating your debt can feel cumbersome.
Approval and Acceptance
Pre-qualification is a good indicator of eligibility but isn’t the same as acceptance. While the website does a good job of matching companies to customers, it’s possible to pre-qualify with AmONE and then be turned down by the lender you choose.
While this scenario happens occasionally, there are ways to lessen the odds of it happening to you. The best way to avoid denial is to gather and provide as much information about your debts, income, credit history, and other details as possible during pre-qualification.
Remember, you’ll have to prove your statements to the lender you choose, so honesty is the best policy to ensure AmONE can match you with your best options based on accurate information.
AmONE Debt Consolidation Loan Requirements
AmONE doesn’t require potential borrowers to meet any requirements to apply for pre-qualification. However, the company offers some guidelines for giving you the best odds with its partner companies.
- DTI of less than 50%
- 500 minimum credit score
- 18 years of age or older
- Proof of income and employment
- Legal Identification
- Proof of address
- Banking information
What Credit Score Do You Need for AmONE?
There are no specific credit score requirements to apply for pre-qualification at AmONE. The company states that a credit score higher than 500 will provide the best odds for finding a lending company match.
However, because pre-qualifying won’t affect a credit score, borrowers with lower scores can learn whether they could be eligible without causing harm.
How Does AmONE Make Money?
AmONE doesn’t collect origination fees, finders fees, or any other type of direct payment from its customers. Instead, the company creates revenue by taking a percentage of the repayment money that its partner companies collect after matching them with consumers through the AmONE platform.
AmONE Reviews
While AmONE enjoys high ratings from a number of consumer and professional review sources, the company struggles somewhat with some low reviews on independent platforms. While sites like Trustpilot.com award AmONE excellent marks, finding a handful of 1-star and below ratings is an easy search task. Most of the poor marks aim at aggressive sales tactics used by some of AmONE’s partner lending companies.
One drawback to working with AmONE is that consumers must provide personal and financial information with the company that’s shared with multiple lenders to find matches. This practice means that several companies may gather and use email addresses for marketing purposes. However, this practice is typical on online lending marketplaces.
AmONE Loans Reviews BBB
If you want to compare AmONE loan reviews, BBB is a reputable place to check ratings and customer reviews. AmONE’s BBB review rating is B+, with no BBB accreditation. AmONE’s customer review rating at the BBB is 1 out of 5 stars based on only ten customer reviews.
Screenshot of AmONE’s BBB Review:
AmONE has a lengthy business history, going back 24 years; that’s a positive credential for AmONE.
AmONE Negative Reviews and Complaints
Remember that satisfied AmONE personal loan customers don’t always submit a positive review because people often choose to keep their finances private and not tell the entire world that they received a loan.
On the other hand, negative experiences with a company often do result in negative reviews or even customers submitting a complaint. AmONE’s BBB complaints are low, and that’s another positive sign. Altogether, over the last three years, AmONE only received five BBB complaints. That’s a low number of complaints for a financial services company that size of AmONE to have!
Summary of AmONE BBB Complaints
- 10 AmONE customer reviews are listed at the BBB.
- From the customer reviews on AmONE at the BBB, all ten have a rating of 1 out of 5 stars.
- Five complaints against AmONE were submitted to the BBB in the last three years. This is a low number of complaints.
You may be wondering, what are the negative reviews and complaints about AmONE related to?
Remember, these reviews may or may not be accurate; the same goes for the complaints. Our job is to make you aware of these details, allowing you to do your own further due diligence.
Deceptive Advertising
- AmONE complaints highlight deceptive advertising, where promises of assistance for bad credit conceal credit score thresholds until after customers apply.
- Allegations of false claims regarding a 97% approval rate contribute to creating unrealistic expectations among applicants.
Communication Issues:
- Numerous complaints point to persistent and unwanted communication, with some users facing excessive calls and emails despite expressing disinterest.
- Accusations of borderline harassment and ignoring requests to be removed from call lists have been reported.
Data Security and Privacy:
- Concerns have been raised about the security of personal information, alleging delayed closure of online accounts and leaving sensitive data vulnerable.
- Instances of insufficient response to requests for account closure and data deletion, risking identity theft, have been reported.
AmONE Customer Service Complaints
- Instances of misinformation from customer service representatives and dissatisfaction with issue resolution have been reported.
- Lack of responsiveness to emails and negative feedback on identity theft handling has been a common theme.
Account Closure Challenges:
- Difficulty closing online accounts is reported, with denial of closure requests despite multiple attempts via provided links.
- Acknowledgment of oversight in fully closing accounts, requiring direct consumer-generated requests, has been noted.
Referral Inconsistencies:
- Confusion and dissatisfaction with referral practices have been reported, especially when directed to partner companies that did not meet expectations.
- Instances of referrals to credit repair services and subsequent loan denials raise concerns about transparency and consistency in AmONE’s recommendations.
Identity Verification and Theft Issues:
- Complaints about the incorrect association of personal information with others’ loan applications, resulting in unwanted calls and texts, have been documented.
- Dissatisfaction with AmONE’s handling of identity theft situations and a lack of assistance or resolution has been reported.
Lack of Accountability and Integrity:
- Consumer dissatisfaction stems from a perceived lack of professionalism, accountability, and integrity in handling identity theft issues and referrals.
- Claims of discrimination based on computer literacy, affecting the ability to navigate credit repair and loan processes, have been raised.
Is AmONE Worth It?
Choosing to consolidate debt is a big commitment. Doing so can generate several benefits, such as potentially lowering your overall interest rate, combining multiple monthly payments into one, and creating a situation that may be easier on a budget.
However, it also has drawbacks, like creating additional borrowing opportunities that may or may not be affordable, temporarily lowering your credit score by way of a hard inquiry, and creating a single large payment each month that may be challenging to make.
For consumers who have evaluated their situation and perhaps received professional financial advice and decided that debt consolidation is the right move, AmONE offers a solid approach with little risk in learning whether or not your situation qualifies for debt consolidation.
AmONE Vs. Upstart
At first glance, putting AmONE head-to-head against Upstart appears to show two nearly identical situations. However, subtle differences between them may sway a borrower’s decision from one to the other.
Both AmONE and Upstart are marketplaces that match potential debt consolidation customers with debt consolidation lending providers. Each company requires customers to pre-qualify by inputting their information at their respective websites—Neither company’s pre-qualifying will affect a borrower’s credit score.
Differences between the two companies come down to eligibility and complaint responsiveness. AmONE accepts anyone to apply for pre-qualification. However, customers with credit scores over 500 have a better chance of finding a match than those with lower scores. The company carries a B+ BBB grade, indicating imperfect customer complaint handling.
Our Upstart review goes into detail about how the company doesn’t make a distinction regarding credit scores and qualifying. Instead, Upstart uses artificial intelligence to qualify borrowers using non-traditional criteria, such as employment records or creditworthiness indicators other than a credit score. The company also holds a higher A+ grade at the BBB.
| Feature | AmONE | Upstart |
| BBB Grade / Rating | 1.0 / B+ | 1.24 / A+ |
| Average Reviews Rating | 4.7 | 3.4 |
| Interest Rates | 5.99% – 35.99% | 5.39% – 35.99% |
| Origination Fee | 0% – 8% Varies by Lender | 0% – 12% Varies by Lender |
| Loan Terms | 12 to 84 months | 36 to 60 months |
| Minimum Credit Score | 500 | 300 |
| Loan Amount | $1,000 to $50,000 | $1,000 to $50,000 |
| Joint Applicants Accepted | Yes | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AmONE legit?
How do I know if a debt consolidation company is legit?
Is AmONE a good loan company?
Is AmONE a scam?
Does AmONE affect credit?
Is AmONE licensed?
Source
Image Sources: amone.com – trustpilot.com
Deane has dedicated over three decades to the field of residential construction, remodeling, maintenance, repair, and finance. With a wealth of experience in these areas, he ventured into writing as a means to broaden his outreach. Throughout his career, Deane's primary focus has been assisting clients in discovering the hidden potential within their homes and providing them with the knowledge and tools to take charge of residential projects from conception to construction to financing.
Now, as a contributor for distinguished publications such as Forbes Home, Angi.com, USNews, Family Handyman, Lifewire, Trusted Company Reviews, and others. His goal remains the same: to help clients, and now readers, turn their ambitions into reality.
