Self Lender?

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone. I just heard about an online credit builder loan called Self Lender. Essentially, you first pay a small fee (ranging from $9 to &15) and you pay a preset amount monthly (which also varies depending on the plan you agree to) and then after either a 12 or 24 month period, you get almost the full amount back minus a fee. By my math, the lowest possible fee with this would be a payment plan in which you pay $15 and then $48 monthly for 12 months. After that, Self Lender will give you $545 back. Feel totally free to let me know if my math is wrong, but after the 12 months, you’re still paying a fee of $46. All in all, that’s a pretty small price to pay for establishing credit history or establishing good credit, which is mostly what this service is geared towards.

I know most people have their own opinions about paying for credit since many people believe it should be something that is free, which I definitely understand that point of view. But if you’re planning on the long term where you want a mortgage or any other kind of substantial loan, $46 is definitely a pretty small price to pay. My first question is what are other people’s experiences with this site and service? Most of the reviews I’ve read on here, Credit Karma, and NerdWallet are overall positive. But there are a bunch of very, very negative ones. And my second question is is this the right plan for me? I’m 19 years old. I opened my first credit card about a month after my 18th birthday, so my accounts are getting there, but still pretty low in terms of age. I have 5 total accounts (a Kohl’s card, Capital One platinum, a Discover, which I graduated from the secured version just a few months ago, a Barclaycard with Apple rewards that I only got to finance my MacBook, so now I only make a few dollar charge every once in a while to keep the account open, and an Amex blue cash preferred) all totaling a credit limit of about $6500. Right now, my average age of accounts is just 9 months, so obviously that’s a major factor keeping my score where it is. Right now, I’ve seemed to have peaked as I’ve been around 730-ish on my Equifax and TransUnion for a couple months now. So I know 730 is still definitely a pretty good score and it’s pretty much just a waiting game, but I don’t think it’s ever a bad thing to have another account, so long as you’re able to make payments, which I am. So I’m just wondering if Self Lender is good for me since I do have a good score, but I don’t have too strong of a history just yet.

Oh, and last question is if opening an account which Self Lender goes towards Chase’s 5/24 rule. I already have 5 accounts opened in less than the last 18 months, because I wasn’t aware of Chase’s rule. At the time, I was only looking at the short game and I saw the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited didn’t have rewards I wanted, even though now I realize with cards like that, it is more about the long term benefits of having a good relationship with Chase. So my plan with that is to just wait a year or so and keep doing what I’m doing, paying off my balances in full, and then apply for either of the Chase cards I just mentioned. I know Self Lender doesn’t do a hard pull, but I just want to know if the account is reflected in Chase’s criteria. Thanks in advance everyone!

[Anonymous]

I signed up for a Self Lender loan in the beginning of Feb this year. I went with the $500 24 month option to minimize the monthly payment and maximize the duration. More payments = longer reporting history, of course. And going with a higher loan amount won't make any difference. 

SL started reporting to all 3 bureaus just a couple weeks after my first payment. I didn't see any big change in my score. Maybe just a couple points. But it's the long-term effect I'm after. Plus, I needed to fatten up my thin profile, and I didn't have an installment loan reporting. No HP was a nice incentive, too. 

It's not the cheapest way to add an account to your credit file, but I thought the fee and interest was reasonable, given the convenience. So far I'd recommend Self Lender. 

[bass_playr]

I have one as well, I did $500 over 12 months.  I did see a little jump in my FICO scores--21 points on TU and 19 on EQ so far.  I just signed up in February.  My plan is to complete this one and probably do another one---I do recall seeing someone in here mention that the second one jumped their scores a bit more.  My experience has been positive with them so far.  For some reason, they are not reporting on my Experian report though, need to check into that.

[alexgold9393]

Im on self lender too, I think its an awesome service for what it costs. I would pay $50/mo for just reporting good payments, nevermind the fact that you get all your money back at the end. 

Im on the 500 12 month plan and set to autopay. Sit back enjoy and let the points comin. 

Started in Feb1 and up 52 points ( not sure if its all my other efforts or just self lender, but that's what they are reporting anyway)

Good luck

[Anonymous]

I was planning on giving self lender a shot, Do you guys that have seen an improvement from Selflender have other installment loans? If so what type? I just want to ensure this will benefit me as i do have school loans.

[dynamicvb]

I've been considering this too just to put some recent history on my file. Since people say it's a soft pull that helps, but I do still have an issue with paying someone else to take my money. Just something I don't like about that.

So for those who have done multiple of these did you do more than one at the same time? Or do you have to pay off the first before you can do another?

tia

[Anonymous]

It’s been almost 5 months. Any updates on score improvements etc? I just opened mines too. Curious.

[bass_playr]

My Equifax FICO 8 has gone up 50 points since I started mine.  My TU has gone up 44 points, and my Experian has gone up only 4 points--difference there is that my reports did not all have the same things on them.  My EX report shows a new collection account--in dispute--but the fact that a new account currently shows means that the score was negatively affected by the new collection.  I did a 12 month plan and started in February---so roughly 50 point increase so far is well worth it IMHO.  The score goes up every 1-2 months by a little bit as the balance decreases.  

It also matters what else is on your reports.  This is the only currently open installment account on my credit.  I suspect that if you currently have a car loan or other installment type account reporting that is still open, you would possibly see less of an increase.  But at least in my case I'm getting a great return.

[Anonymous]

That’s dope! Looking forward to the same increases as well.

[Medic981]

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@dynamicvb wrote:

I've been considering this too just to put some recent history on my file. Since people say it's a soft pull that helps, but I do still have an issue with paying someone else to take my money. Just something I don't like about that.

So for those who have done multiple of these did you do more than one at the same time? Or do you have to pay off the first before you can do another?

tia

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You can only have one SL account open at a time. Once you have paid off your account you can set up another. I am on my second SL loan. If I had it to do over again, I might consider a shared secured loan with a credit union. I have no complaints with SL, however, it is a little costly compared to SSL. If you have $200 I would go with an SSL. If you don't have money to open an SSL then SL might be an option if you need an installment loan in your credit file. I have an auto lease so I not need another installment loan when my SL if done in October.