Credible Student Loans Review

Credible Student Loan Rates: Quick Look

Credible offers the following rates through its partner lenders, as of March, 2023.

Pros Explained

• Compare undergraduate loan rates from up to eight lenders at once: While some marketplaces only connect you with a handful of lenders, Credible offers personalized prequalified rates* from up to eight leading companies. With more partner lenders, there is a better chance of finding a good deal on a loan.?
• No origination or prepayment fees: None of Credible’s partner lenders charge origination fees or prepayment penalties.?
• $200 best rate guarantee: Credible backs its private student loan marketplace with a $200 best rate guarantee. If Credible cannot give you the best rate and you take out a loan elsewhere, Credible will send you a $200 gift card. Terms apply.?

Cons Explained

• Repayment policies vary by lender: Because Credible is a marketplace rather than a lender, co-signer releases, financial hardship issues, and loan discharges are handled differently based on the lender issuing the loan.?
• No special incentives for Credible users: With some loan marketplace platforms, customers may qualify for additional interest rate discounts or cash-back bonuses. But with Credible, there’s no added bonus for using the platform to compare rates.?
• International students must have a co-signer: Although some lenders will work with international students who don’t have co-signers, Credible does not. International students must have a co-signer who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to qualify for a loan through Credible’s platform.?

Lenders Available Through Credible

As a lending marketplace, Credible partners with banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to offer loans. Its private student loan partners include:?

• Ascent
• Citizens Bank
• College Ave Student Loans
• Custom Choice
• EDvestinU
• INvestEd
• MEFA
• Sallie Mae
• LendKey (refinancing only)
• ISL Lending (refinancing only)
• RISLA (refinancing only)
• ELFI (refinancing only)
• Brazos (refinancing only)

Loan Eligibility and Approval

Through Credible, borrowers can find private student loans to pay for undergraduate or graduate degrees. Parents borrowing to pay for a child’s college education can also find a loan through Credible’s platform. 

Although loan eligibility requirements can vary by lender, Credible’s partners typically require borrowers to meet the following criteria:?

• Students must be enrolled at least part-time
• You must be the age of majority in your state or have a co-signer
• Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; international students may qualify for a loan if they have a creditworthy co-signer who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident?

Are Cosigners Required?

Borrowers have to meet lender credit and income requirements. For college students who may not have much income or credit yet, a co-signer can improve their chances of getting a loan. 

International students may qualify for private student loans if they add a co-signer to their application who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.?

Is Loan Pre-Qualification Available?

Through Credible, you can fill out one form and view options from multiple lenders without affecting your credit. Once you find the right loan, Credible will direct you to the lender’s website to complete the full application. At that time, the lender will perform a hard credit check.?

Length of Time for Loan Approval and Disbursement

The length of time it takes to get approved and for loans to be disbursed varies by lender. In general, the lender will pay the money to your college. If there is money left over after covering tuition and other fees, the school may issue the remainder to you by check or by electronic transfer.?

Loan Fees and Repayment Options

Because Credible is a marketplace rather than a lender, the lender that underwrites your loan—not Credible—determines the fees and repayment options.

Loan Fees

None of Credible’s partners charge application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties. But there may be late fees or returned payment fees.

Loan Discounts

Some of Credible’s partners offer special discounts, such as autopay discounts. With some lenders, you can qualify for a 0.25% interest rate reduction by enrolling in automatic payments, or get additional discounts by showing proof of graduation or taking out multiple loans.?

Repayment Options

With federal student loans, you don’t have to make payments while you’re in school, but that’s not always the case with private student loans. Some of Credible’s partners allow you to defer payments until after you graduate, but not all of its partners may offer that option. Depending on the lender, you may be able to choose one of the following repayment plans:?

• Immediate full payment: Under an immediate repayment plan, you make payments against the interest and principal while you’re in school. Although the payments are higher than with other plans while you’re a student, this option has the lowest overall cost.?
• Fixed: With a fixed payment plan, you only pay a fixed amount per month, such as $25, while you’re in school. After you graduate, you make payments against the principal and interest.?
• Interest-only: If you choose an interest-only repayment plan, you make payments against the interest that accrues each month while you’re in school. After graduation or dropping out of college, you make payments against the principal and interest.?
• Deferred: If a lender offers a deferred payment plan, you can postpone making any payments until after you graduate. There is often a six-month grace period after graduation before payments are required, as well.

Rewards

Credible does not have a rewards or referral program, although certain of its partner lenders may.?

Loan Forbearance and Discharge Options

When shopping for a private student loan through Credible, be sure to check the following lender policies before signing a loan agreement:?

• Financial hardship forbearance: Some private student loan companies—but not all—offer forbearance to borrowers that experience financial issues, such as a job loss. This option allows you to make reduced payments or even skip payments for a few months.
• Loan discharge for death or disability: Although federal student loans are discharged in cases of death and permanent disability, that’s not always the case with private student loans. Check with your lender to see how your loans will be handled if you or your co-signer pass away or become totally and permanently disabled.?

Is Student Loan Refinancing Available?

In addition to private student loans, Credible also connects borrowers to student loan refinancing lenders. Credible’s partner lenders offer the following refinancing options:?

• Undergraduate loan refinancing
• Graduate loan refinancing
• Parent loan refinancing

Eligibility requirements vary by lender, but some of Credible’s partners allow borrowers to refinance their loans if they didn’t graduate or if they’re still in school. Borrowers can refinance their loans and get either a fixed or variable-rate loan, and loan terms can be as long as 20 years.?

Customer Service

Credible has a strong reputation among customers. On Trustpilot, Credible’s TrustScore is 4.7 (Excellent) based on over 5,300 reviews. Consumers submitted just 24 complaints about Credible to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and only three of them were about student loans, far fewer than you typically see for a student loan company.?

Credible’s customer support team can be reached by phone, email, or online chat:?

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 866-540-6005

Because Credible doesn’t issue loans, you will be in contact with another company once you have a loan in repayment. If you have problems with your account or need help with your payments, you’ll have to contact the lender that issued the loan or the loan servicer that manages it.?

Applying for a Credible Student Loan?

With Credible, you can get quotes for private student loans and refinancing by filling out one simple form. The form will prompt you to enter the following information:

• Your name
• Date of birth
• Address
• Citizenship status
• College name
• Degree type
• Expected graduation date
• Monthly housing payment
• Employment status and income
• Desired loan amount

Credible will use your information and a soft credit check to show you potential loans from multiple lenders.?

If you find a loan that meets your needs and you want to apply for it, you can select that loan and Credible will redirect you to the lender’s website to fill out the full application. At that time, the lender may request additional information, and you’ll also need to consent to a hard credit check.?

Alternative Choices

Final Verdict

If you need a private student loan and aren’t sure where to start, Credible can be a useful solution. It partners with many major lenders, and it provides you with quotes from up to eight of its partner lenders (for undergrad loans) so you can find the best private student loans and terms for your education. Although Credible doesn’t give borrowers special discounts or bonuses for using the platform, it can streamline the process of finding a loan. 

Methodology

Investopedia is dedicated to providing consumers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of student loan lenders. We collected thousands of data points across 30 lenders—including loan types, interest rates, fees, loan amounts, and repayment terms—to ensure that we help readers make the right borrowing decision for their education needs.

*Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.