BECU Student Loan Refinance Review

Our Rating: C ⓘ (Compare)

Founded in 1935 as Boeing Employees’ Credit Union, BECU may be a good option for borrowers who are affiliated with a BECU partner, either through employment or membership. LendKey services BECU refinance loans.

*Borrowers with undergraduate degrees may borrow up to $100,000; parent borrowers and borrowers paying off graduate degrees may borrow up to $125,000.
†Lowest rates always include the 0.25% interest reduction for enrolling in auto-pay.

Skip to: Rates & Fees | Eligibility Requirements | Repayment Options | Consumer Reviews & Complaints | FAQ

BECU Refinance Rates & Fees

BECU’s fixed rates are between 6.99% and 11.74%. Note that the lowest rates always include the 0.25% interest reduction for enrolling in auto-pay.

Additional information about BECU refinance rates:

• Checking your rate with BECU may affect your credit score. While BECU’s web site includes an eligibility check, it does not specify whether this check involves a soft or a hard credit inquiry (learn the difference).
• BECU does offer a discount for setting up auto-pay: 0.25% interest rate reduction.
• BECU does not offer a variable rate.

BECU refinance rates recent history:

Over two years (2022-2024), BECU increased its lowest and highest available refinance loan APRs by an average of 39.7%.

In 2023, BECU’s lowest available fixed rate for new loans increased 40.1% (from 4.99% APR) while its highest fixed rate increased 17.5% (from 9.99% APR).

In 2022, the lowest and highest rates increased 33.4% and 10.5%, respectively.

Additional Fees

Beyond interest rates, there are a number of fees a refinance lender may charge up-front or during the loan servicing period. Below is a list of these fees that BECU does or does not charge.

1. Application fee – fee to apply for rates & approval.
2. Loan origination fee – fee to create the new loan.
3. Disbursement fee – fee for distributing funds to lenders to pay off loans that have been refinanced.
4. Prepayment penalty – fee for making extra payments to reduce a refinance loan balance or pay it off early.
5. Late payment fee – fee for making a late payment.
6. Returned payment fee – fee for failed payments due to insufficient funds, also known as a “bounced check”.
7. Collection fee – fee for collection activity on a defaulted debt.

Current Promotions & Offers

BECU occasionally offers discounts for new members or referral bonuses. Check the official BECU web site for updates on deals and discounts for student loan refinancing and other services.

BECU Refinance Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for refinancing with BECU, all borrowers must meet the criteria below.

• Citizenship Requirement: U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.
• Income Requirement: $24,000 annual minimum income.
• Credit Score Requirement: unspecified though borrowers are required to have an established credit history (usually 24 months).
• Graduation Requirement: bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Location Requirement: dependent on membership status (see below).

Additional restrictions apply for specific individuals and loans. In order to refinance student loans, a borrower must be a member of BECU. BECU membership is restricted to individuals who meet the criteria below.

• Employees, volunteers, or retired employees (and their family members) of BECU or Boeing Company.
• Donors, members, employees, volunteers, or retired employees of the following organizations:
  • University of Washington Alumni Association.
  • Washington State University Alumni Association.
  • NW Credit Union Foundation.
  • KEXP (nonprofit organization).
• Residents and business owners in the following locations:
  • The State of Washington.
  • Oregon counties Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington and Yamhill.
  • Idaho counties Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce and Shoshone.

BECU Student Loan Repayment Options

Lenders vary greatly on the benefits and options provided to borrowers during the loan servicing period. Additionally, benefits may only be available on a case-by-case basis. BECU offers some relief options.

Deferment & Forbearance

BECU does offer some debt relief options for borrowers under certain circumstances. Interest always continues to accrue on deferred loans, and any auto-pay interest rate reductions may be suspended. While their loan is deferred, any other credit lines a borrower may have with BECU will be frozen.

See BECU’s conditions for deferment and forbearance below.

Additional Options

BECU may offer other opportunities for relief or contract modification.

• Co-signer release is available after the primary borrower has met several requirements, including 24 consecutive qualifying payments.
• Death / disability discharge is available in the unfortunate circumstance that a borrower passes away or suffers total permanent disability.

BECU Reviews, Complaints & Lawsuits

Beyond our own findings, our team also collected the most genuinely insightful customer experiences we could find, including any instances of legal action against the company in which the details became public.

BECU Online Reviews

There are few BECU customer reviews readily available on public forums. We’ve included what material we found here for its value as unedited, uncensored, and unsolicited user experiences. Note that these reviews are unverified, may include inaccuracies, and may provide outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.).

“Despite we’re their long time customers with good credit scores, their refi rate is still not competitive. We left them within a year.” – Anna on WalletHub, 11/9/2020

“I’m a becu person. My boyfriend just swapped from [a national bank] to Becu and loves it.

Swapping is a pain but a worthy one in my opinion. The checking interest rate from becu is better than the savings interest rate at chase. Their savings rate is always better.

The main reason he actually swapped though was use-ability. The loan rates are better so he gets his loans there and it’s easier to pay them with a becu account. He also prefers their app and likes that you can use any atm with the fee covered. His chase cards were also incredibly low quality and he had to get them replaced twice a year (big pain). The becu cards are high quality and don’t wear out as fast.

Thank you for coming to my unsponsored ad.” – kmccan on reddit, 11/8/2019

“Credit Unions are where it’s at! I use BECU and jyst a few months ago, they sent me a notice that they were lowering my car payment based on good credit and such. I didn’t have to go to them.” – cnotethepyro on reddit, 7/19/2018

More (unfiltered) customer reviews of BECU are available at TrustPilot.com (1.7 out of 5).

BECU Consumer Complaints

As consumer finance companies, student loan refinancing lenders fall under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency. As part of their mission, the CFPB allows consumers to log official complaints. These complaints are publicly available on the CFPB official website.

Since November 1, 2013, consumers have submitted 554 complaints about Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU) to the CFPB, which is roughly equivalent to one (1) complaint every seven (7) days; that is almost eight (8) times higher than the average daily complaint rate among reviewed lenders.

In 2023, BECU received 108 complaints, which is equivalent to:

• twice BECU’s average annual consumer complaint rate.
• one (1) complaint for every $7.22 million in corporate revenue.
• one (1) complaint for every 23 employees.

The allegations made in these complaints are unverified, are not necessarily representative of all consumers’ experiences with BECU, and may contain outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.). Note that a lender with a large customer base is likely to also have a higher number of complaints when compared with smaller lenders.

Below we’ve included three (3) of the most recent complaints (as of this writing) in which the consumer consented to sharing their details.

Complaint 7813685
11/7/2023
California

“I deposited a check into this bank. They took several weeks to verify it. They made all of the funds available to me for about three days and then they restricted my use of the check again. The lie or excuse that they are using to keep my money away from me is that they need more time to further verify the check. They told me that they need at least another week to verify the check. I told them to call the issuing bank ( XXXX XXXX ) right now while I was on the phone to verify the check and they refused. XXXX XXXX XXXX helped me to receive this very same check from XXXX XXXX about a month or two months ago. I deposited this check in BECU and after taking 2 weeks to clear the check, after making all of the funds available to me for about 3 days, they are pretending that the check didnt successfully and completely clear in order to keep me from using my own money. They are non-profit credit Union, and I hate to to think that they use tactics such as this to make money or steal money from their customers.”

Complaint 7779234
10/31/2023
Washington

“I paid off my mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX with excess funds left over in escrow. The check for the amount was supposedly mailed on XX/XX/. It never arrived in the US mail. After repeated calls to BECU to ask what happened to the check, a second check was issued on or about XX/XX/. That check has not arrived either.”

Complaint 7552700
9/14/2023
Washington

“My name is XXXX XXXX, a federally protected consumer, and I am making this complaint against BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, reference XXXX, XXXX for their abusive, deceptive, and unfair collection practices in the collection of extensions of credit. In a conspiracy with the consumer reporting agencies to cause a restraint of trade and commerce, this debt collector has engaged in racketeering activity. I have never given this company any consent to be in possession of my nonpublic personal information. I disaffirm any alleged agreement or contract between I, the consumer, and the original creditor, whether implied or explicit. This account is a billing error. Please provide me with documentary evidence of the obligors indebtedness. As a federally protected consumer, I am making this complaint against BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, for committing identity theft. I have never given BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, any permission to use any of my identifying information to commit mail fraud by contacting me about an alleged debt they claim I owe. I am aware that in accordance with Article 9, the assignment of a defaulted note is illegal. Both the assignee and the assigned are both liable for violations under 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 12 ). I have not validated any alleged debt with BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU and my failure to dispute the validity of the alleged debts shall not be construed as an admission of liability pursuant 15 USC 1692g ( c ). As of XX/XX/2023, I have not received any documentary evidence, such as a trilateral contract, giving BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU any right to collect on this alleged debt. I have never received any documentation requesting validation from BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, before they committed multiple violations under FCRA and the FDCPA by furnishing this alleged debt to my consumer report, including but not limited to 15 USC 1692d ( 4 ) which the FTC defines as debt parking. If BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, can not provide me proof such as a tracking number that they attempted to lawfully validate this alleged debt with me, the consumer, prior to furnishing it on my consumer report, this has been a fraudulently furnished account with forethought and malice as an attempt to bring harm to me and my financial reputation. This company is in violation of the false claims act and is jeopardizing my consumer credit reputation with other financial institutions by fraudulently furnishing this alleged debt to coerce payment. Any payments made or future payments are a result of threat, duress, and coercion, due to undue influence. I am legally refusing to pay this debt pursuant to 15 U.S. Code 1692c ( c ). I am demanding a cease and desist of all illegal activity, any communication and collection activity, of this and any alleged debts until BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, can provide me with sufficient documentary evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay them. If this documentary evidence can not be produced and BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, continues its collection efforts, I will file for litigation for actual damages caused and BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU, shall be liable for violations of TILA, FCRA, GLBA, XXXX, the Sherman Antitrust Act, Robinson-Patman Act, Clayton Act , FTC ACT, and RICO Act. BOEING EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION / BECU shall be held accountable for actual damages caused, and shall be held criminally liable for aggravated identity theft pursuant to 18 USC 1028A, extortion, theft by deception, securities fraud, and mail fraud. Upon the receipt of the documents herein and of this notice, you are hereby notified Pursuant UCC 1-202f. Your prompt attention and response are both requested and required.”

For a full list of the complaints made against BECU in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database, click here.

BECU Lawsuits

BECU has been subject to multiple lawsuits since the 20^th Century, many of which were dismissed or found in favor of BECU.

Note that while this information is updated regularly, ongoing legal action is subject to change.

Barrera et al v. Boeing Employees Credit Union Case No. 2:19-cv-01197

This class action lawsuit filed in 2019 alleges BECU violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act and their own contract forms. Such violations include charging excess fees, such as multiple non-sufficient funds fees (NSF fees) and overdraft fees on a single item presented for payment and with accounts that did have sufficient funds.^[1]

As of September 2019, this case was assigned to the US District Court for the Western District of Washington Judge Richard A. Jones presiding with a motion from the Defendant (BECU) to dismiss (a lack of further updates indicates that this case may have been dismissed).^[2]

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the most common questions consumers have about student loan refinancing with BECU.

• Is BECU good for refinancing student loans?
  BECU may be a good option for borrowers who are employed by or are members of a BECU partner, or if they live in the states of Washington, Oregon, or Idaho.

• Does BECU have a minimum credit score requirement to refinance student loans?
  BECU does not disclose a minimum credit score required to qualify for student loan refinancing, but applicants are required to have an established credit history (24 months suggested).

• How do I become a member of BECU?
  BECU makes it easy to become a credit union member in the course of applying for a refinance loan as long as the applicant meets membership requirements.

• Are BECU loans federal?
  No, BECU refinance loans are not federal. BECU has no affiliation with the federal government or the U.S. Department of Education.

• Does BECU charge a prepayment penalty?
  No, there is no penalty for making early payments or repaying a loan in its entirety before the end of its term.

• Does checking your rates with BECU hurt your credit score?
  Checking your rate with BECU may affect your credit score. While BECU’s web site includes an eligibility check, it does not specify whether this check involves a credit inquiry.

• Is BECU a bank?
  No, BECU is not a bank but a credit union founded by employees of Boeing in 1935.

• Can I refinance a BECU loan?
  You can refinance a BECU student loan or a student loan from another private lender. There is no limit to the number of times a borrower may refinance with BECU. Note, however, that every new line of credit requires a hard credit check that may affect your FICO score.

• Can I refinance just some of my loans with BECU?
  Yes, you can refinance some, all, or just one of your qualifying student loans with BECU. You may choose to refinance your private loans only or refinance private and federal loans together.

• Can I refinance loans that have already been refinanced?
  Yes, you can refinance loans as many times as you want with BECU. Note that each time you refinance, you will have to submit a new application; every application requires a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Can my spouse and I refinance our loans together with BECU?
  No, BECU will only refinance loans where the student borrower was the primary borrower on the original loan.

• How long does it take to refinance with BECU?
  BECU does not specify its time frames.

• Who services BECU refinance loans?
  LendKey services BECU refinance loans for students and for parents.

• Does BECU offer a grace period?
  BECU does not offer a grace period with its refinance loans.

• Can I get any special rates or discounts with BECU ?
  BECU partners with multiple organizations, groups, and agencies to offer members special discounts or one-time bonuses. Check BECU’s web site for updates on deals and discounts.

• What happens if I file for bankruptcy?
  BECU does not specify a course of action in response to bankruptcy; it is common practice among lenders to declare the entire loan amount due immediately upon a borrower’s declaration of bankruptcy. Borrowers are ineligible for co-signer release if they file bankruptcy in the last 60 months.

• Does BECU partner with any major refinance lender marketplaces?
  BECU partners with LendKey as part of its marketplace; LendKey also services all BECU student refinance loans.

Compare Student Loan Refinance Reviews

Sources

1. Truth In Advertising, Case 2:19-cv-01197
2. Justia, Dockets & Filings: Barrera et al v. Boeing Employees Credit Union
3. Boeing Employees’ Credit Union
4. LendKey, FAQ – Student Loan Refinancing
5. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database
6. Zippia, BECU Overview