If you have a personal loan and are thinking about taking out another, you may be wondering whether you’re allowed to have more than one personal loan. While there’s no rule that says you can’t have multiple personal loans, whether you can have multiple loans with the same lender and the maximum dollar amount depends on the lender’s policies. Having existing debt may also affect your ability to qualify for additional loans and the loan terms you receive.
Let’s look at what factors impact whether you can take out more than one personal loan and some ways to decide whether this is the right financial move for you.
Can you have more than one personal loan?
Yes, you can technically have more than one personal loan. Some lenders limit the number of loans they will issue to each borrower. They may also limit the amount. For example, you may be able to borrow a maximum total amount of $20,000 from a particular lender. So, if you’ve already borrowed $10,000, you may be able to qualify for another loan of up to $10,000.
Your creditworthiness and debt-to-income ratio or DTI (your monthly debt payments expressed as a percentage of your gross monthly income) will factor into whether you’re approved for a loan. So, even if you technically can have more than one loan, you might not be approved.
Citi offers personal loans of up to $30,000 per borrower. Some Citi customers may qualify to open a second personal loan. Also, Citi offers Citi® Flex Loan to eligible Citi credit cardmembers, which allows the cardmember to choose an eligible loan amount leveraging the card’s available credit line, with a fixed interest rate for the duration of the loan.
Multiple loans with the same lender
If you already have a personal loan from a lender and are considering applying for a second loan with them, see if the lender has a policy on multiple loans. Lenders may have a limit on the number of loans issued to one borrower. They may also have a cap on the total borrowing limit (across multiple loans) they're willing to offer an individual.
Just because you can have more than one personal loan with a lender doesn’t mean you’ll be approved. However, the lender may be more likely to offer a second personal loan if your existing debt is in good standing – that means you’ve been making on-time, monthly payments in full.
Multiple loans with different lenders
You’re allowed to take out personal loans with different lenders, but you still need to qualify. The new lender will still evaluate your eligibility for a personal loan based on things like your creditworthiness and DTI.
