Credible Student Loan Refinance Review

Our Rating: A ⓘ (Compare)

Credible Labs, Inc. is the largest multi-lender marketplace that includes student refinance loans. Apply with up to nine (9) lenders at once to refinance federal student loans, private student loans, and PLUS loans. In a 2019 acquisition, Credible became a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company under Fox Corporation.

*Lowest rates may include a 0.25% interest rate reduction for enrollment in automatic payments.
†This is a soft minimum; a co-signer might help qualify a borrower with a low credit score.

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

‡Parents may refinance in their own names or transfer debt to a child.

Credible Refinance Rates & Fees

Credible’s lowest listed rates may include a 0.25% rate reduction for setting up automatic payments.

Additional information about Credible refinance rates:

• Checking your rate with Credible will not affect your credit score. They will conduct a soft, not hard, credit inquiry (learn the difference).
• Credible does not offer a discount for setting up auto-pay, but some of its lender partners do; the discount is most commonly a 0.25% interest rate reduction.
• Variable rates may be based on any one of multiple interest rate indices, such as the SOFR.
• The highest disclosed variable rate cap among refinance lender partners is 25.00%.

Credible refinance rates recent history:

Over two years (2022-2024), Credible’s lowest and highest available refinance APRs increased by an average of 111%.

In 2023, the lowest fixed rate available on Credible rose 66.7% (from 2.94% APR) while the lowest available variable rate increased 49.6% (from 3.53% APR). In 2022, the lowest available fixed and variable rates increased 36.7% and 102.9%, respectively.

Student Loan Refinancing Calculator

Based on advertised rates, use the calculator below to determine what your new monthly payment and potential savings may be if you refinance with Credible.

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 Credible 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

Credible offers a $200 “best rate guarantee” that challenges borrowers to find and close a refinance contract with a more favorable APR.

Some of Credible’s refinance lender partners offer additional promotions that may include, among other special benefits, a 0.25% interest rate reduction for setting up automatic payments.

Credible Refinance Eligibility Requirements

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

• Citizenship Requirement: U.S. citizenship or permanent residence, and some visa holders may be eligible.
• Income Requirement: unspecified.
• Credit Score Requirement: a 670 FICO score is a soft minimum; a co-signer might help qualify a borrower with a low credit score.
• Graduation Requirement: none, though individual lenders may have their own restrictions.
• Location Requirement: none specified.

Additional restrictions apply for specific individuals and loans.

• Credible reports that when an application is unsuccessful, it’s usually due to an excessive debt-to-income ratio (DTI).
• Credible’s refinance lender partners may enforce their own restrictions from application to final approval.
• Refinance lenders that accept applications from visa holders require an eligible co-signer before final approval.

Credible 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. Credible offers some relief options.

Deferment & Forbearance

Credible cannot and does not offer deferment or forbearance. To apply for deferment, forberance, or other forms of temporary debt relief, contact your direct lender and/or loan servicer.

Some of Credible’s refinance lender partners offer temporary debt relief, including graduated repayment plans and interest-only periods, under certain conditions. Others only consider requests for relief on a case-by-case basis.

Credible 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.

Credible Online Reviews

Below are 3 samples of Credible customer reviews we found on public forums, included here for their value as unedited, uncensored, and unsolicited user experiences (we have extracted references to companies other than Credible though original posts are linked). Note that these reviews are unverified, may include inaccuracies, and may provide outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.).

“You can go rate finding without it impacting your credit usually. I had mine done through [a direct lender] which I found using Credible. Credible will run your numbers and match you to a lender and they (including lender) basically confirm everything up to rate and term before a hard pull is done.

I definitely recommend it for anyone with private loans, but if you don’t have any income, you might have issues getting approved. Not sure what sort of restrictions your program has, but I know some say you can’t have employment at the same time. ” – ccquest on myFICO, 7/23/2020

“Check out credible to compare rates, etc. I’ve encountered that [other refinance lenders] sometimes won’t approve your refinance application but I haven’t had a problem with credible. Got my variable rate loans refinanced into a 4.9% fixed over ten years, and another 6% loan into a 3.5% fixed over five years. [An online lender] had the most competitive rates on credible in my experience[…]

I guess these interest rates are fat enough to have three private companies involved in our loan refinancing process….🧐” – rsp74 on reddit, 6/20/2018

“Thank you for the credible review and advice. I just refinanced, will save a ton of money with a WAY lower interest rate and I received the $200 bonus for your referral. THANK YOU!!” – Stephanie on The College Investor, 2/16/2018

More (unfiltered) customer reviews of Credible are available at TrustPilot.com (4.8 out of 5) and ConsumerAffairs.com (3.8 out of 5).

Credible 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 2018, consumers have submitted 25 complaints about Credible Labs, Inc. (Credible) to the CFPB. Among the 12 complaints with detailed narratives, at least four (4) of refer to student loan refinancing. Overall, Credible averages one (1) complaint every 79 days, which is 24.5% lower than the average daily complaint rate among reviewed lenders.

In 2023, Credible received six (6) consumer complaints, which is equivalent to:

• 29.9% more than the number of complaints in an average year.
• one (1) complaint for every $3.567 million of company revenue.
• one (1) complaint for every 25 employees.

The allegations made in these complaints are unverified, are not necessarily representative of all consumers’ experiences with Credible, 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) that reference student loans or student loan refinancing for which the consumer consented to sharing their details.

Complaint 4195403
3/9/2021
Virginia

“” Credible.com ” offers a best rate guarantee ( terms attached ) that pays {$200.00} if you close on a better rate at a different company. I made a Credible loan refinance search on XX/XX/21 ( results attached ). The best rate offered was 3.32 % from XXXX XXXX ( details attached, note that rate includes ” auto-debit discount ” ). On the same day I made an identical search and was offered a better rate from XXXX of 3.10 % ( search results attached ) for the same loan information entered at credible. I chose to refinance with XXXX and submitted a claim with credible. Upon receiving my loan agreement from XXXX I submitted that to credible ( email and XXXX terms attached ). On XX/XX/21 I received an email from Credible denying the request citing that my rate from XXXX was actually 3.35 %. This rate does not include the the auto-debit discount of 0.25 %. Per the best rate guarantee terms ” The Better Rate will be compared against your prequalified rates on Credible with autopay considered where available ”. I replied to their email pointing out their error and that I was eligible. They have replied to no further correspondence since i pointed out their error.”

Complaint 3768342
7/28/2020
Florida

“I went to credible to only look at rates for an unsecured loan, after looking at rates I was done with the site and deleted my account. A month later I received an email from XXXX stating that they couldn’t offer the full amount and that I was presented with a counter offer. I looked at the document and it was an adverse action notice for a loan that I never applied for ( was only looking at rates ), nor did I give any permission to the credible website to apply for a loan in my behalf. I wasn’t looking for a loan at this time only rates.”

Complaint 3078590
11/19/2018
California

“Credible got my financial info to ” apply for a loan ” to refinance my student loan. The advertising was bogus, they denied me and denying me access to the reason for the denial.”

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

Credible Lawsuits

Credible Labs, Inc. has not been subject to any major lawsuits during its tenure, nor has Credible been implicated in any of the numerous legal actions involving its principal companies.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

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

• Is Credible good for refinancing student loans?
  Credible is not a refinance lender but a multilender marketplace designed to help student borrowers comparison shop for refinance lenders using one website with one application.

• Does Credible have a minimum credit score requirement to refinance student loans?
  Credible discloses a soft minimum credit score of 670, meaning that a co-signer may help a borrower with a lower credit score to qualify for student loan refinancing.

• Is Credible in any way affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education?
  No, Credible has no affiliation with the federal government or the U.S. Department of Education.

• Does Credible have a minimum credit score requirement to qualify for student loan refinancing?
  At least some of Credible’s lender partners advertise a minimum credit score requirement; the lowest allowable score disclosed is 670.

• Does Credible charge a prepayment penalty?
  No, none of Credible’s refinance lender partners charge fees for prepaying or repaying a loan in full before its term is over.

• Does checking your rates with Credible hurt your credit score?
  For its prequalification process, Credible performs a soft credit check, which will not hurt your credit score. If you proceed with an application, however, Credible will perform a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Is Credible a bank?
  No, Credible is neither a bank nor a lender.

• Can I refinance just some of my loans with Credible?
  Yes, you can refinance some, all, or just one of your qualifying student loans with Credible’s refinance lender partners. 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 Credible. Note that each time you refinance, you will have to submit a new application; every application requires a hard credit check prior to final approval, which may affect your credit score.

• Can my spouse and I refinance our loans together with Credible?
  At this time, Credible refinance lenders do not allow spouses to combine student loan debt.

• How long does it take to refinance with Credible?
  Credible connects student borrowers with refinance lenders, which can take as little as 90 seconds. The rest of the refinancing process can take several weeks, but Credible has no role beyond pairing borrowers with lenders.

• How often do variable rates change?
  Credible’s refinance lender partners may alter their variable rates monthly or quarterly; refer to individual lender disclosures.

• Can I get any special rates or discounts with Credible ?
  Credible offers a $200 reward to student borrowers who find a lower interest rate

• What happens if I file for bankruptcy?
  In general, lenders indicate that filing for bankruptcy will not necessarily discharge student refinance loans. In some cases, filing for bankruptcy triggers immediate maturity of the loan; in other words, the entirety of the refinance loan debt is due at once.

Compare Student Loan Refinance Reviews

Sources

1. Credible, Refinance Student Loans
2. Credible, Lenders: Student Loan Refinancing
3. Credible, How to Refinance Your Student Loans Through Credible
4. Credible, Student Loan Refinance Interest Rates Hit Record Low In May
5. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database
6. Dun & Bradstreet, Business Directory: Credible Labs Inc.
7. Better Business Bureau, Search Businesses and Charities