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.
Loan Limits | $10,000 – $125,000* |
Fixed Rates | 6.99%† – 11.74% |
Variable Rates | NA |
Terms | 5, 10, or 15 years |
Min. Credit Score | Undisclosed |
Apply | Link |
*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
Private student loans | ✓ |
Private parent loans | ✓ (in parent’s name only) |
Federal student loans | ✓ |
Federal Parent PLUS loans | ✓ (in parent’s name only) |
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.
Term | Fixed Rate |
---|---|
5 Year | 6.99% – 10.49% |
10 Year | 7.99% – 11.49% |
15 Year | 8.49% – 11.74% |
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.
Year End | Low APR | High APR |
---|---|---|
2024 | 6.99% | 11.74% |
2023 | 6.99% | 11.74% |
2022 | 5.99% | 10.49% |
2021 | 4.99% | 9.49% |
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.
Fee Type | Amount Charged |
---|---|
Application Fee | None |
Loan Origination Fee | None |
Disbursement Fee | Undisclosed |
Prepayment Penalty | None |
Late Payment Fee | Undisclosed |
Returned Payment Fee | Undisclosed |
Collection Fee | Undisclosed |
- Application fee – fee to apply for rates & approval.
- Loan origination fee – fee to create the new loan.
- Disbursement fee – fee for distributing funds to lenders to pay off loans that have been refinanced.
- Prepayment penalty – fee for making extra payments to reduce a refinance loan balance or pay it off early.
- Late payment fee – fee for making a late payment.
- Returned payment fee – fee for failed payments due to insufficient funds, also known as a “bounced check”.
- 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.
Condition | Coverage |
---|---|
Returning to grad school | Undisclosed |
Disability rehabilitation | Undisclosed |
Active military duty | Undisclosed |
Involuntary unemployment | Unspecified |
Economic hardship | Unspecified |
Natural Disaster | Undisclosed |
Temporary Hardship | Undisclosed |
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 (1.9 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.
Consumer complaints about BECU were up 95.0% in 2024 with 112. BECU received 108 complaints in 2023, equivalent to:
- 88.0% higher than BECU’s average annual consumer complaint rate.
- one (1) complaint for every $7.22 million in that year’s 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 10590227
10/26/2024
Washington
“BECU has locked my savings account due to their belief that I deposited fraudulent two third-party checks ( one for $ XXXX, and one of $ XXXX ). However, these checks were not fraudulent ; they were funds my fianc received after the death of his mother, which he simply just wanted to deposit into my account. At the time, we were unaware that third-party checks were prohibited, and this was simply an unfortunate misunderstanding. I first explained the situation to BECU on XX/XX/year>, after discovering my account was locked when I attempted to log in. I contacted them again on XX/XX/XXXX, when my fianc and I visited the branch with the checks in question to further clarify our misunderstanding. Currently, I have {$3000.00} in my account that I deposited on XX/XX/year>, through a local bank teller, but BECU will not allow me to access it. I intended to use these funds for a tuition payment, which I have also communicated to BECU. Not once has BECU reached out to me ; I have had to initiate all contact. They did not inform me they were locking my account, and despite being told I would be contacted by their fraud investigation department during my visit on XX/XX/XXXX, I have yet to hear from anyone. I chose BECU because it is a local bank with a strong history in my community, and my fianc, who has been a long-time customer, recommended it. My current bank is online only, making access to cash deposits inconvenient. Unlike BECU, they have never treated me like a criminal or taken action on my accounts without communicating with me. Im very disappointed ; what I hoped would be a positive experience has turned into anything but.”
Complaint 10587072
10/26/2024
Washington
“I had an employee loan with BECU. I quit the position, got ill for several months an contacted them at different times. I had called to make payments. Regular agents can’t take payments from me and they said they would have managers call me back which happened on occasion and irregular payments were made. There was twice I called – I don’t have the dates- to make payments and the regular agents couldn’t take it and referred to a manager who didn’t call me back to take it. Now they have the account charged off. I accept responsibility for it being late and never asked for any fees to be removed.”
Complaint 10502291
10/18/2024
Washington
“A HELOC loan on the property is {$390000.00} with Boeing Employees Credit Union ( BECU ) at 8.99 %. The payment is {$4100.00} per month. The initial line of credit of {$200000.00} had a balance of {$190000.00} which included terms of interest only for 10 years. Approximately {$30000.00} of the loan proceeds were used to retrofit my home for XXXX use and XXXX access. {$160000.00} was borrowed as part of a fraudulent romance con romance catfishing involving inherited jewelry. I received a {$200000.00} cashiers check by the perpetrators financial advisor XXXX XXXX. It was deposited into BECU on XX/XX/year>. BECU cleared the deposit overnight and the funds were available XX/XX/XXXX. My understanding from the BECU teller was that BECU had cleared the cashiers check and the funds were good. XXXX XXXX or requested {$200000.00} in cashiers checks be sent from me on XX/XX/year> and in exchange, he would send me a {$400000.00} check. After {$200000.00} in BECU cashiers checks were sent out to third parties, BECU informed me on XX/XX/XXXX that the original cashiers check was fraudulent.”
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 20th 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.
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