Best Vacation Loans in 2024

Before taking out a travel or vacation loan, it’s important to do your research and understand what features and conditions to look out for. Consider these significant details:

• Interest rates: Often expressed within a loan’s annual percentage rate (APR), your interest rate is the cost of borrowing. The better your credit score and profile is, the lower your interest rate will be and the less the loan will cost you.
• Fees: Some personal loan lenders charge late penalties and origination fees. These are one-time administrative fees charged at the start of your loan and typically come out of the total amount you borrowed.
• Borrowing limits: Personal loans are provided via a lump sum with lenders having a predetermined limit to how much or how little you can borrow. Some lenders specialize in small loans — starting at $250 to $2,000 — while other lenders may offer up to $100,000 or more.
• Repayment terms: Unlike credit cards, personal loans come with a payment schedule, known as a term, in which you’re required to have your loan paid off by. Short-term loans have higher monthly payments but come with less interest. Long-term loans have smaller monthly payments, though you’ll pay more in interest.
• Credit requirements: Each lender will vary when it comes to what credit score you need for a personal loan. However, lenders don’t just look at your score — they’ll also consider your employment, income, length of your credit background, payment history and DTI ratio.
• Lender reputation: Not all lenders are trustworthy or have good customer service. Before solidifying your personal loan with a lender, make sure you research its reputation by checking reviews, as well as any regulatory action from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can also check the CFPB consumer complaint database.

The process of getting a vacation loan will differ depending on the lender, but the following steps can give you an idea of how you’ll need to prepare:

• Check your credit score. Your credit score will play a big role in whether you’ll qualify for a personal loan as well as what rates you may be eligible for. To check your credit score, you can ask your bank, inquire with the credit bureaus or open a free LendingTree Spring account.
• Create a budget. Knowing how much you can or can’t afford to put toward a monthly payment can help you avoid defaulting on your personal loan. To do this, you can use a monthly budget worksheet as well as a personal loan calculator.
• Prequalify with multiple lenders. As with making any large purchase, it doesn’t hurt to shop around and compare prices. Be sure to prequalify for a loan with at least three lenders so you can see which is willing to offer you the best features and lowest rates.
• Verify your information. Once you’ve landed on a lender, you’ll need to confirm the information you’ve provided — this will typically include your identity, income and residency. During this part of the process, your lender will perform a hard credit pull, so it can view your credit history.
• Close on your loan. During the final stage of this process, you’ll need to sign a personal loan contract, promising that you’ll fully repay it. Be sure to read all the fine print and understand exactly what you’re signing to avoid confusion down the road.

We reviewed more than 25 lenders that offer vacation loans to determine the overall best six lenders. To make our list, lenders must offer competitive annual percentage rates (APRs). From there, we prioritize lenders based on the following factors:

• Accessibility: Lenders are ranked higher if their personal loans are available to more people and require fewer conditions. This may include lower credit requirements, wider geographic availability, faster funding and easier and more transparent prequalification and application processes.
• Rates and terms: We prioritize lenders with more competitive fixed rates, fewer fees and greater options for repayment terms, loan amounts and APR discounts.
• Repayment experience: For starters, we consider each lender’s reputation and business practices. We also favor lenders that report to all major credit bureaus, offer reliable customer service and provide any unique perks to customers, like free wealth coaching.

LendingTree reviews and fact-checks our top lender picks on a monthly basis.