Purefy Student Loan Refinance Review

Our Rating: B- ⓘ (Compare)

Purefy is a student loan marketplace with federal and private student and parent loan refinancing tools. At one time, Purefy originated student refinance loans in its partnership with Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed); as of May 2024, however, PenFed is not taking refinance applications, and it is unclear if the program will resume.

*Lowest rates may include a 0.25% interest rate reduction included with enrollment in automatic payments.

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

†Parents may refinance in their own names or tranfer debt to their child.

Purefy Refinance Rates & Fees

Direct lenders in Purefy’s marketplace offer fixed or variable rates. Some refinance lenders offer an interest rate reduction with enrollment in automatic payments.

Additional information about Purefy refinance rates:

• Checking your rate with Purefy will not affect your credit score. They will conduct a soft, not hard, credit inquiry (learn the difference).
• Though Purefy does not offer a discount for setting up auto-pay, some lenders in its marketplace do offer their own discounts (typically a 0.25% interest rate reduction).
• The maximum variable rate cap is 25.00%.

Purefy refinance rates recent history:

Over a two-year period (2022-2024), Purefy increased its lowest and highest available student refinance APRs by an average of 91.2%.

In 2023, the lowest fixed rate available increased 33.4% (from 3.88% APR), and the highest fixed rate for new loans declined 22.8% (from 9.50% APR). The lowest starting variable rate increased 104.4% (from 2.49% APR) while the highest variable rate increased 9.1% (from 8.24% APR).

In 2022, the lowest and highest fixed rates increased 59.0% and 36.9%, respectively; the lowest and highest variable rates increased 43.1% and 25.0%.

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 Purefy does or does not charge.

Direct lenders working with Purefy may have different policies.

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

Purefy does not currently offer any promotions, discounts, or other such benefits. Its partner, PenFed, has branch locations that may offer their own promotions.

Purefy Refinance Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for refinancing with a Purefy lender, all borrowers must meet the criteria below.

• Citizenship Requirement: U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.
• Income Requirement: unspecified income qualifications; unspecified debt-to-income ratio (DTI).
• Credit Score Requirement: 650 minimum disclosed credit score.
• Graduation Requirement: unspecified; PenFed requires an associate’s degree or higher.
• Location Requirement: unspecified.

Additional restrictions apply for specific individuals and loans.

• Purefy specifies that repayment history and negative public records may affect borrower eligibility.
• Purefy lenders may also require degrees to come from certain schools.
• Borrowers must be out of school or no longer enrolled to qualify for refinancing.

Purefy 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. Purefy offers some relief options.

Deferment & Forbearance

Purefy lenders have different policies but all offer discretionary forbearance or deferment for borrowers facing unspecified financial hardship.

Loans originated through Purefy will be subject to its servicer’s discretion, meaning PenFed has final approval on any deferment or forbearance.

Additional Options

Purefy may offer other opportunities for relief or contract modification.

• Co-signer release may be available with some of Purefy’s lender partners; partner PenFed offers co-signer release after 12 consecutive qualifying payments.
• Death / disability discharge may be available in the unfortunate circumstance that a borrower passes away or suffers total permanent disability.

Purefy 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.

Purefy Online Reviews

Below are 3 samples of Purefy customer reviews we found on public forums, included here for their 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.).

“I have about 80k in private student loan debt that I have refinanced several times. I have used earnest, credible, and purefy and never had problems with any of them. They are rate aggregators so once you apply you will see offers from several banks. When I first graduated my loans were at like 9% and the payments barely made a dent, now I’m at like 3.5% and it’s much more manageable. I amortized my loans out to 20 years to have a low payment for cashflow reasons, but I send then extra money whenever I can because I’m not trying to be stuck with this debt that long lol..” – Duplicitous2 on reddit, 9/14/2021

“I accepted an offer to refinance today after applying with PenFed Purefy.

I read somewhere the requirement is to have a credit score around 650 and income of atleast 45K. I could be wrong.

Check out penfed purefy student loan refinancing. I have never thought I was ever going to refinance these navient private loans from salienmae. From 13% and 11% to 5.05%

Edit: I have been making payment for 13 years and have only made less than 1K payment on the principal. It has taken me around 13 years to actually refinance these loans, probably took building credit to refinance as well as work moves.

You will have to make regular payments BUT the monthly payment could be lower and more of your money goes to principal if your interest rate is currently high.” – ianguy66on reddit, 7/21/2020

“Check out PenFed via Purefy. I just refinanced both my wife’s and my loans together and got an amazing rate. Their customer service is top notch but I’ve also been so used to AES and Sallie Mae being the worst of the worst lol.” – jawnin on reddit, 5/28/2018

Purefy has an unclaimed profile on TrustPilot.com that, as of this writing, has no ratings or reviews.

Purefy 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 its mission, the CFPB allows consumers to log official complaints. These complaints are publicly available on the CFPB official website.

Purefy does not have a listing in the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, indicating that since its launch in 2014, consumers have submitted zero (0) complaints about Purefy’s student loan product to the CFPB.

Purefy’s refinance loan partner and servicer, PenFed, has 2,966 complaints since December 2011. For a complete list of the complaints made against PenFed in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database, click here.

Purefy Lawsuits

Purefy has not participated in any major lawsuits as a defendant or plaintiff, nor has it been explicitly implicated in lawsuits involving its servicer, PenFed.^[1].

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 Purefy.

• Is Purefy good for refinancing student loans?
  Purefy is a good option for borrowers who are interested in working with PenFed to refinance their student loans and who would like to compare PenFed’s rates to other popular lenders.

• Does Purefy require a minimum credit score to qualify for student loan refinancing?
  Purefy’s lender partners don’t all disclose a minimum credit score to refinance student loans, but the lowest allowable score disclosed is 650. Language on the Purefy website indicates this may be a soft minimum; while borrowers with lower scores may be able to refinance with a co-signer, these borrowers are unlikely to qualify for the lowest refinance rates.

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

• Does Purefy charge a prepayment penalty?
  There are no penalties for early payments or repaying a loan in full before its term is over; this applies to loans originated through Purefy as well as the lenders in its marketplace.

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

• Is Purefy a bank?
  No, Purefy is not a bank but a marketplace lender aggregator.

• Can I refinance a Purefy loan?
  You can refinance Purefy student loans, student loans from another private lender, and federal loans. There is no limit to the number of times a borrower may refinance with Purefy. 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 Purefy?
  Yes, you can refinance some, all, or just one of your qualifying student loans with Purefy. 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 Purefy. 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 Purefy?
  Yes, Purefy originates loans combining spouses’ debts. Most of its marketplace lender partners do not offer this service, but spouses may be allowed to serve as co-signers.

• How long does it take to refinance with Purefy?
  Purefy does not specify a timeline.

• Who services Purefy refinance loans?
  Different lender partners have their own administration services.

• Does Purefy offer a grace period?
  No, Purefy does not offer a grace period.

• How often do variable rates change?
  Lender partners in the Purefy marketplace change variable rates according to their own policies.

• Can I get any special rates or discounts with Purefy?
  No, Purefy does not offer any special rates or discounts though some other lender partners do offer their own benefits, such as interest rate reductions for enrollment in automatic payments (typically 0.25%).

• What happens if I file for bankruptcy?
  Filing for bankruptcy will not discharge your Purefy refinance loan; you may still be required to repay the loan in its entirety.

• Is Purefy a Credible lender?
  No, Purefy does not partner with Credible but does partner with multiple lenders that are also part of the Credible refinance lender marketplace.

Compare Student Loan Refinance Reviews

Sources

1. PenFed Student Loan Refinance Review, Lawsuits
2. Purefy, Compare Student Loan Refinance Rates
3. Purefy, Student Loan Refinance Companies
4. Purefy, FAQ