Best Companies for Refinancing Your Student Loan in 2019

There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a student loan repayment situation that favors the company more than you.

Once that interest starts to increase, it’s a vicious cycle that could even see you just paying off the interest for a long time. Being in a bind like this can prolong the loan repayment, causing it to hang over your head for way longer than you want it to.

Luckily, there are many reputable companies whose job it is to help you get out of debt as quickly as they can. Let's take a look at seven of the best.

CommonBond

CommonBond is a financing company that was started by people who know exactly what it’s like to be drowning in debt. Students themselves and hailing from the University of Pennsylvania, they set out to help other borrowers refinance their student loans better.

Since its inception in 2012, CommonBond has raised over 100 million dollars in funding. Their goal is to make student debt more affordable through consolidation and student loan refinancing. They are now responsible for serving over 700 programs throughout America.

Main Features:

Release after 36-months of timely payments when cosigned
The only lender in the industry to offer hybrid interest rate
Offers temporary postponement of payments if experiencing financial hardship
A reduction of 0.25% in interest when payments are set up automatically
No fees
Federal and Private loan types available
Undergraduate and Graduate degrees available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $5000-$500,000
Terms of 5,7,10,15, or 20 years
Variable APR: 2.48% up to 6.25%
Fixed APR: 3.20% up to 6.25%
Hybrid APR: 4.13% up to 6.26%

CommonBond is on the lookout for applicants who have a strong and stable income. This means that to be approved, you must have a well-paying job, good credit levels and able to afford monthly repayments.

The application process is nice and easy – after creating an account with your basic information, you can quickly see whether you qualify for refinancing or not.

Additionally, this refinance company has an excellent level of customer service. They pride themselves on being able to help borrowers navigate the refinancing market and even help clients in the job hunting process if they lose their existing one.

Ultimately, this company is ideal if you are looking to lower your monthly payments, have a choice of term lengths, consolidate your student loans altogether, and have lower interest rates.

Splash Financial

This Cleveland based student refinancing company was created in 2013 and has an A+ grade with the Better Business Bureau. The lender’s original goal was to help medical students with their student loans. However, in 2018 they expanded to help with other student loan refinancing in both the federal and private sectors.

We love the flexible repayment terms and competitive rates that are on offer with Splash Financial.

Main Features:

Referral bonus of $500
Release after 12 months of on-time payments if cosigned
Able to consolidate two student loan repayments into one
No fees
Federal, Private and Parent PLUS loan types available
Undergraduate and graduate degrees available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $7500 - $350,000
Flexible repayment terms of between five and twenty years
Variable APR: 2.85% up to 7.43%
Fixed APR: 3.75% up to 7.03%

To be qualified for refinancing with Splash Financial you must have graduated with a graduate or Bachelor's degree from an institution that qualifies. You also need to have a credit score of 700 or higher. However, if you don't, they do allow you to add a cosigner to your repayment plan – as long as their credit score is also 700 or higher.

According to their website, borrowers who repay under top rates can save up to $29,000 once they’re all caught up with their repayments.

Lastly, Splash Financial doesn’t have a forbearance clause. Instead, they consider hardship requests on a case by case business. This means that if you’re more comfortable with a set policy, Splash Financial may not be your first choice.

Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank is a larger, more well-known company that is able to refinance your student loan for you. As the 13th largest retail bank they offer a number of different benefits and options for borrowers who are looking to save money while they repay their student loans.

Ultimately, this company aims to make it easier on you to consolidate and refinance your student loan.

Main Features:

Automatic 0.25% interest reduction if you have a Citizens Bank account
A further 0.25% interest reduction if you set up an automatic payment
No fees
Federal and private loan types available
Undergraduate and graduate degrees available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $10,000 - $90,000, or $350,000 if you’re a graduate
Repayment terms of 5,10,15 or 20 years
Fixed APR: 3.75% up to 8.69%
Variable APR: 2.57% up to 8.17%

It's so easy to apply on Citizen Banks' website - it will only take you about fifteen minutes. Once you've applied, they will run a cautionary credit check to see if you qualify. If you meet the initial and basic requirements, you will be asked to upload relevant documents to complete the application process.

The best thing about Citizens Bank repayments is their customer service team that’s available 24/7.

Additionally, Citizens Bank also has a myriad of online resources that can assist borrowers in managing their debt. These online tools include a college savings goal calculator, and an education refinance loan calculator.

LendKey

LendKey is a unique refinancing company in the student loan market because it’s not technically a single entity. In fact, it’s a collection of over 320 community banks and not-for-profit credit unions from across America.

Loan credit unions come together in this way to help borrowers better refinance their student loans. The participating lenders work to compete against more mainstream lenders and major banks.

Main Features:

Paying off debt early comes with no penalty and borrowers are allowed up to four years of interest only payments
12-month cosigner release if all payments made on time
0.25% reduction in interest rate if automatic payment set up
No fees
Federal and private loan types available
Undergraduate and graduate degrees available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $5000 - $125,000, $250,000 for a graduate degree and $300,000 for a medical degree
Repayment terms of 5,7,10,15 and 20 years
Fixed APR: 3.49% up to 8.72%
Variable APR: 2.47% up to 8.05%

You are required to have a decent credit score when applying through LendKey. You also need to have an average debt to income ratio, and a yearly wage minimum of $24,000. Its higher approval ratings are a testament to the fact that they evaluate each applicant on a case by case basis.

The first part of the application will only take you a few minutes to complete. If this is approved, you are expected to join your local credit union – this is who will provide you the financing. Typically, credit unions will ask for a small deposit to be a member. This usually is anywhere between $1 and $20. However, we see it as a small price to pay for excellent customer service, not to mention some of the best refinancing rates.

Ultimately, this is a great student loan repayment option if you want to be affiliated with a credit union, you prefer a personal approach to borrowing, and you like the idea of your cosigner being released after 12 months of good repayments.

Education Loan Finance – ELFI

ELFI is the student refinancing and consolidation program of the SouthEast Bank of Tennessee. While this particular program is relatively new in the student repayment market, it does have over thirty years’ experience in the student borrowing industry.

Main Features:

Let’s you postpone payments for up to 12 months if experiencing financial difficulties
If you accept your repayment offer within 30 days of your application being approved, you are rewarded with a $100 cash bonus
No fees
Private and Federal loan types available
Undergraduate and graduate degrees available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $15,000 – no maximum
Repayment terms of 5,7,10,15 or 20 years
Fixed APR: 3.09% up to 6.69%
Variable APR: 2.55% up to 6.01%

Even though ELFI does display some of the lowest refinancing student loan rates in the market, you may not necessarily experience this yourself. This is because each lender has a different list of criteria to make you eligible, so your offered rate, if and when approved, may end up being higher than what other lenders may offer.

Earnest

We believe that Earnest is one of the best student loan refinancing companies. Located in San Francisco, this company stands out from other lenders because they use different types of advanced data to determine the eligibility of applicants. This data helps them analyze how likely their borrowers are to pay back their debt, which in turn enables them to offer the best option that’s going to benefit all parties involved.

Main Features:

Ability to switch between a fixed and variable interest rate every six months
Skip up to one monthly payment per year
Ability to temporarily defer your payments for up to 3 years
0.25% reduction of interest rate when automatic payment is set up
No fees
Federal and private loan types available
Undergraduate and graduate degrees available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $5000 minimum, no maximum
Flexible repayment terms of anywhere between 5 and 20 years
Fixed APR: 3.89% up to 6.97%
Variable APR: 2.47% up to 6.23%

The benefits of this refinancing company could also be the setbacks, as well. Because Earnest uses so many different factors to determine your eligibility as an applicant, this makes it a lot more likely for there to be something on your application that causes you to be rejected.

In addition to this, the application process itself is a lot more extensive and takes a lot more time due to the variety in the data.

Ultimately, Earnest is an excellent refinancing company if you're looking for a flexible repayment plan, the chance to be examined on more than just your credit score and to save money with a much lower interest rate.

Social Finance – SoFi

Social Finance is one of the best refinancing companies available in the student loan repayment sector. Founded by a group of Stanford students studying business, they wanted to help their peers by offering lower interest rates.

Launched in 2011, it has quickly grown in popularity and is now available nationwide.

Exclusive events for members only
0.125% reduction in interest rate on other loans when you’re a Social Finance member
0.25% reduction in interest rate for setting up automatic payments
No fees
Private and Federal loan types available
Undergraduate and graduate degree types available
Minimum and maximum loan amounts: $5000 – no maximum
Term repayments of 5,7,10,15, or 20 years
Fixed APR: 3.90% up to 8.18%
Variable APR: 2.47% up to 6.99%

To be qualified for a student loan repayment with Social Finance, you need to be a well-educated professional with a decent income. You are required to have a good credit score and a history of strong repayment. Social Finance primarily focuses on borrowers who have a credit score in the mid 700's and an average income of $150,000.

Social Finance is ideal if you want to have flexible term options, experience excellent customer service, enjoy low-interest rates and spend a minimum amount of time filling out the application.

Final Thoughts

There’s no easy path to take when repaying your student loan.

No matter which refinancing company you go for, you’re going to have to knuckle down and accept the reality of paying it back slowly, month by month.

However, companies like the ones on this list are here to make it easier and more manageable, especially with additional features like 0.25% interest rate reductions and no fees.