Advantage Preferred Financial Review: A Detailed Investigation of the Lender

Advantage Preferred, a.k.a. Advantage Preferred Financial is an online lender offering personal, home improvement, and debt consolidation loans. Additionally, the company has a branch offering debt relief located outside of Illinois. However, you should be aware that these programs are rarely legitimate and ask around before deciding on anything.

Let’s dive into Advantage Preferred Financial review and see what we know.

Is Advantage Preferred Financial Legit or Scam? Regulation and Security

Advantage Preferred Financial is owned by P&K Partners, LLC, registered in Florida. Once we searched the register of Florida businesses, we found a firm with the same name incorporated in Texas, with registered agents in Florida. However, the address of the said agents doesn’t match the address we’re given in Advantage Preferred Financial Terms and Conditions.

Furthermore, the company is not BBB accredited and has no financial licenses whatsoever. Lately, numerous negative reviews have accused the company of clickbait fraud. Namely, it seems that the firm is sending unrealistic financial offers via email and mail, offering clients low interest rates and solutions for debt consolidation. However, once you give them a call, they will provide you with entirely different terms, often quite unfavorable.

So, is Advantage Preferred Financial legit, or is it another online scam? Let’s take a closer look.

Advantage Preferred Financial Pros & Cons

Any online lender comes with a set of pros and cons. It’s probably true for any company out there, whether they offer loans or any other service. However, Advantage Preferred Financial has some serious drawbacks that will be presented in the list below.

Pros:

• Diversity of loans – personal, home improvement, and debt consolidation
• Soft credit check
• Offering unsecured loans with no collateral
• No prepayment fees

Cons:

• Unlicensed and not accredited business
• Late and origination fee
• Negative reviews regarding clickbait fraud
• Undisclosed loan amount
• Undisclosed APR

We’d say that the bad sides outweigh anything good in this case, but the final decision is always yours.

What Fees Does Advantage Preferred Financial Charge?

Advantage Preferred Financial charges APR, late and origination fees. APR, or annual percentage rate, is your most important fee, as it can help distinguish between predatory loans and legit lenders. For instance, anything above 36% for a personal loan can qualify as a predatory APR, even if you have a bad credit score.

However, this company doesn’t disclose APR or any other amount, with their section about fees being blank. This is quite concerning and probably a part of the aforementioned clickbait scam.

Does Advantage Preferred Financial Charge an Origination Fee?

Yes, the company charges an origination fee. This is a fee charged for the administrative work behind the loan approval, and you can see it added to your loan installment. 

According to some reviews we found, the firm charges a $75 fee, which can be considered alright, depending on the loan amount. Typically, this fee varies from 0.5-1% of the loan amount.

Does Advantage Preferred Financial Charge a Late Fee?

Again, the answer is yes. Advantage Preferred Financial charges a late fee in case you’re late with any of your installments. Once again, we don’t have an exact amount, but reviews show an average charge of $65 per installment.

Additionally, the company is filing a report with the credit bureau, which may negatively impact your credit score. When taking out a loan, it’s pretty important to do the math and decide if you can handle monthly payments over the life of the loan. Yes, accidents can happen, but you have to be as confident as possible. Otherwise, you’re putting your credit history on the line.

Does Advantage Preferred Financial Charge Prepayment Fees?

According to their website, Advantage Preferred Financial doesn’t charge prepayment fees. Therefore, you can pay off the entire sum at any time during your contract, and you won’t need to pay penalties for that. This is one of the very few positive sides we found with the lender.

Is Advantage Preferred Financial Reputable?

Recently, there have been numerous negative reviews regarding Advantage Preferred Financial and its business practices. The company is luring customers, sending what seems to be too good to be a genuine offer, only to tell them they haven’t been approved and they need to pay a more significant amount to get the loan.

While you always have a choice and can decline the higher offer, this is a malicious business practice. Additionally, it causes you to waste your time, the time you could use to find another lender who would be honest from the very start.

Finally, keep in mind that Advantage Preferred Financial mainly offers debt consolidation. While it will help you consolidate all your debts into one single payment, you will still owe money in the end. You can save on interest rates and lower your monthly installments, but you will still have to pay the money plus the interest of the consolidation.

Advantage Preferred Financial Summary

Finally, let’s summarize everything we learned about Advantage Preferred Financial. 

• The company is not BBB accredited or licensed.
• There have been numerous negative reviews accusing the lender of scams.
• Some main details, such as the loan amount and APR, are hidden from the website.
• The company charges late and origination fees but not a prepayment fee.

With everything being said, you have to think whether this website offers what you need. Above all, you have to be careful not to fall for their malicious offer and end up paying a higher amount than you’ve initially had to pay before the debt consolidation.

FAQ

Does Advantage Preferred Financial do a hard credit check?

No, Advantage Preferred Financial says to do a soft credit check only and offer loans even to those with bad credit.

Can I pay off Advantage Preferred Financial early?

Yes, you can pay off your loan with Advantage Preferred Financial early without any penalties.

What is the most you can borrow from Advantage Preferred Financial?

The lender didn’t specify the range of the amounts you can borrow.