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Tally App Review [2021]: Can It Help You Crush Credit Card Debt Faster?

Debt Settlement: What It is and When It’s a Smart Choice

Even if you’re decent with money and your spending habits, juggling multiple payments and due dates across several cards can be a hassle. And the stakes are high — accidentally missing a credit card payment could impact your credit score for years to come. That’s when the Tally app can help.

Tally streamlines credit card debt repayment with a debt management dashboard and algorithm that determines the best way to tackle your balances so you can pay them down faster.

In this Tally app review, we’ll discuss what Tally is, how it works, and what you need to know before signing up. 

Quick Summary

You can get started down the path to being debt free in under 10 minutes.

  • Members have an average lifetime savings of $5,300
  • No risk to sign up and it won’t hurt your credit score
  • Spend less time managing credit cards

Visit Tally In this Tally app review

  • What is the Tally app?
  • How does the Tally app work?
  • What we like about Tally
  • What Tally could improve
  • Who can use Tally?
  • FAQs about the Tally app
  • How to sign up for Tally
  • Alternative ways to alleviate credit card debt
  • The bottom line on Tally

What is the Tally app?

Founded in 2015 by Jason Brown and Jasper Platz, Tally is a debt automation app that helps users manage several credit cards in one place. The goal is to help simplify debt management and make the repayment process easier.

Tally users also get access to Tally Advisor, which the company calls the “robo advisor for your debt.” Similar to how a robo advisor recommends an investment strategy based on your risk tolerance and goals, the Tally Advisor tool analyzes your credit card debt and goals to recommend a payoff plan to get out of debt.

In addition to its debt management and advising tools, Tally also offers a credit line to consolidate high-interest credit cards and help you save money and repay debt faster.

How does the Tally app work?

It’s free to download Tally, but to get the most out of the app, you need to qualify for its credit line, which essentially works as a debt consolidation loan. You need a minimum credit score of 660 to qualify. During this process, Tally does a soft pull that shouldn’t affect your credit score. Then, it analyzes your debt balances and APRs to figure out the best way to help you pay down your debt. Tally’s credit line APRs range from 7.90% to 29.99% (as of June 11, 2021).

Once you’re approved, your high-interest debt is moved over to the new line of credit from Tally. If you link credit cards to the app that have a lower interest rate than the Tally credit line, Tally pays just minimum payments on those cards. You also have the option to turn off the automatic minimum payment feature. In that case, Tally will remind you to pay that bill, and you can make credit card payments in the app or directly with the card issuer.

You’ll receive one statement per month from Tally with a minimum payment due. The minimum payment includes interest on the Tally credit line, the amounts Tally paid to your different card issuers that month, plus 1% of your Tally credit line balance. The extra 1% is tacked on to make sure you’re chipping away at the credit line. After all, the objective here is to be completely debt-free, and that involves paying down your Tally credit line, too.

Tally users see an estimated lifetime savings of $5,300 as a result of using its debt payment system, according to a recent Tally study*. In addition to the credit line, Tally comes with the following tools, protections, and benefits:

Tally Advisor

We mentioned the advisor feature above in the app overview, but it’s worth highlighting here as well. Tally Advisor analyzes your credit cards and tells you what payments you should make to get out of credit card debt. You can also set debt repayment goals, and Tally will act as your debt manager and tweak your repayment plan to help you meet those goals.

Late fee protection

Tally’s late fee protection makes it simple to avoid credit card fees due to late payments. It scans each linked credit card account monthly to make sure at least the minimum monthly payments are made. Even if you hit your Tally credit line limit, Tally will advance you the money to make minimum card payments with no fee; the amount of your advance will be tacked on to your next statement.

COVID-19 relief program

Tally launched the COVID-19 relief program to support users experiencing a loss of income due to the pandemic. Those who qualify can postpone a credit line payment, but interest charges will still accrue on the balance. Also, Tally will not pay your credit cards while you’re in the program, so you’ll need to make payments directly with your card issuers again.

To qualify for relief, you must have a Tally account that’s been open for at least 30 days. If you’re facing financial hardship, the Tally website says it’ll “help you create a custom payment plan that accommodates your situation,” but also warns that your first payment after the program may be higher because of the missed payment and accrued interest.

What we like about Tally

  • Debt consolidation: It can get confusing to track all your payments if you have debt on multiple credit cards. Fortunately, Tally’s option for a line of credit can consolidate your debts into one place and one payment. This can help you make payments without wasting time and could also save you money if Tally offers a lower interest rate than what you’re currently paying.
  • No hard inquiry: Tally requires a credit check to see whether you’re eligible for its line of credit. This would typically affect your credit score, but Tally does a soft inquiry, which doesn’t impact your credit.
  • Nothing out of pocket: Tally’s line of credit on the Tally+ Express membership has a $300 annual fee. This fee is often much smaller than the money you could potentially save by getting a lower interest rate. In addition, you don’t have to pay this fee out of pocket because it comes out of your credit line.
  • Works with major brands: If your debt is on a credit card from a major card issuer, it’s likely that Tally can work with you. Tally works with American Express, Capital One, Chase, and more.

What Tally could improve

  • Credit score requirement: To take advantage of a Tally line of credit and potentially lower your credit card interest charges will require that you have at least a 660 FICO credit score. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to qualify for a line of credit from Tally because of this requirement.
  • Availability: Tally isn’t available in every state. It’s available in more than 30 states, but that still leaves quite a few out. However, more should be added in the future, according to Tally.
  • Membership fee: The $300 annual fee for a Tally+ Express membership might be a bit steep for some people while trying to pay down existing debt at the same time.

Who can use Tally?

Tally is free to download in the Apple App Store for iOS users and on Google Play for Android users. But you need a credit score of 660 or better to qualify for the line of credit — this is considered a fair score on the FICO credit score scale.

There are also state limitations. As of June 11, 2021, Tally is available in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Tally+ Express is available in Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Tally mentions adding more states in the future, so stay tuned if you don’t live in a state that it currently serves.

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As far as credit cards go, you can connect credit cards from American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Chase, Citibank, Discover, Fifth Third Bank, First Bankcard, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo to Tally. The app also lets you connect store cards from AEO, Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Macy’s, Sears, and TJ Maxx.

FAQs about the Tally app

Is the Tally app legit?

Yes, Tally is a legitimate financial services company registered with NMLS Consumer Access. As for security, the app doesn’t store your bank usernames or passwords, and information is transferred using SSL encryption. Tally will not share any data without permission.

Tally has more than 13,000 reviews in the Apple App Store, many with a rating of 4.5 stars. Most reviews are positive, with several commenters saying it’s helped them better manage their debt. People do, however, complain about the stringent credit score requirement. Other users say there are sometimes problems keeping credit cards linked up to the app.

How much does Tally cost?

The Tally app is free to download. You do pay interest on the credit line, but there are no other fees. Although Tally offers rates as low as 7.90%. From there the rates go up, with the highest interest rate being 29.99%, as of June 11, 2021. 

Depending on your credit, you could qualify for a Tally credit line that’s not too far from what you already have on your existing credit cards. If you have good to excellent credit (740 or higher on the FICO scale), you may be able to land a better interest rate on a low-interest personal loan from a different lender. And you can consolidate debt with that loan instead.

Does Tally impact your credit score?

Tally does a soft credit check to approve you for the line of credit, according to a representative. A soft inquiry should not impact your credit score.

What credit score do I need for Tally?

You need at least a 660 credit score to qualify for the Tally line of credit. Although, Tally may look at other factors besides your credit history to determine whether you’re eligible. Some applicants report applying and getting denied despite having a FICO score greater than 660.

How does Tally make money?

Tally charges interest on its credit lines (7.90% to 29.99% APR, as of June 11, 2021). Besides interest, there’s no annual fee, origination fee, prepayment fee, balance transfer fee, or over-the-limit fee.

How to sign up for Tally

  1. Download the app. Go to the Apple App Store or Google Play to download Tally for free.
  2. Create an account. When you create an account, Tally will ask for some personal information, such as your first name, last name, email, and mailing address. Tell Tally your first and last name.
  3. Qualify for a line of credit. Tally will ask for your birthday and annual salary before doing a soft inquiry to determine whether you qualify for a credit line.
  4. Add your cards. Tally will scan your cards to determine the best way to eliminate your debt. If you’re approved for a credit line, it’ll help you pay your high-interest cards to save you money.

Alternative ways to alleviate credit card debt

If you’re exploring all of your debt repayment options, here are some alternatives to consider:

Apply for a personal loan

Personal loans offer a lump sum you can use for credit card consolidation. Often, these loans come with a fixed rate, payment, and payoff schedule. Personal loans typically have repayment terms ranging from 12 to 84 months with fixed APRs starting at 4.99%, but you’ll want to compare offers across the best personal loans to pick the lender and terms that best fit your needs.

Do a credit card balance transfer

When you do a credit card balance transfer, you move your credit card balances from cards with the highest APR to a new card with a lower APR. Ideally, the new card offers a 0% APR introductory period. During the interest-free period, you can attack the principal to pay off your debt faster.

The low-interest introductory rate may last anywhere from 12 to 21 months, depending on the balance transfer card. To make the most of the balance transfer, you should repay as much debt as possible before interest kicks back in. Also be aware of balance transfer fees, which are typically 3% to 5% of the total balance. Make sure you’ll save more in interest than you’ll pay in the fee, otherwise it may not be worthwhile.

Work with a debt counselor

If you’re drowning in debt and looking for one-on-one help, a debt counseling company or nonprofit may be a good place to turn. Consolidated Credit is a company that can connect you with debt relief services, including counseling sessions, support, and debt repayment plans. A credit counselor can help you create a debt repayment plan by contacting your creditors to try to negotiate reduced fees and interest rates. Then, you make one single payment to the debt counseling company, and it distributes payments to creditors on your behalf so you don’t have to juggle multiple bills.

The bottom line on Tally

Because the Tally credit line comes with no fees, it could be a stress-free and low-cost way to approach debt consolidation and build more positive personal finance habits. Plus, Tally conducts a soft inquiry rather than a hard credit pull so you can apply to see what rate you qualify for without it affecting your score. If you’re struggling with how to pay off debt, eliminating some of it could help alleviate a bit of financial burden.

Ultimately, the Tally app is best for people who have decent credit and those who have a stable source of income to pay down debt. If your credit score is less-than-stellar or you’re struggling financially due to recent income loss, the Tally app can’t solve that problem. If you can’t pay Tally each month, Tally won’t pay your credit card bills. Instead, try contacting your card issuer if you’re struggling to make ends meet. 

Disclaimer: All rates and fees are accurate as of June 11, 2021.

Pay Off Credit Card Debt Faster

Visit Tally

Tally Benefits

  • Members have an average lifetime savings of $5,300
  • Start down the path to being debt free in under 10 minutes
  • No risk to sign up and it won’t hurt your credit score
  • Spend less time managing credit cards

Visit Tally

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