Apply for student and personal loans through one streamlined online marketplace.
The number of lenders out there can lead anyone into a state of decision paralysis. It can be difficult and time consuming to find what is right for you. When you’re looking to take care of educational expenses or a large personal expense, you may not have the luxury of time.
Credible loans may be able to help. As a lending marketplace, they make borrowing less complicated by giving you a clean comparison of prequalified offers from several different lenders. All with one application.
First, am I eligible?
To meet Credible’s basic requirements, you must be:
- At least 18 years old or have a cosigner over 18.
- A US citizen or permanent resident.
- Enrolled at least half time at an approved school (for a student).
- Attend or previously attended an approved institution.
What types of loans does Credible offer?
Credible doesn’t do the actual lending. Instead, they allow you to submit one application which it then presents to several different lenders within its network. This way you can potentially avoid the hassle of going to site after site filling out the same information.
Student loan and parent PLUS refinancing
Graduates and those who are no longer enrolled in an educational program can seek out refinancing with Credible. You’ll need to be an American citizen or permanent resident of the US, 18 years of age or older and have more than $5,000 in student debt.
Credible can help you find a loan to refinance both federal and private loans, including parent PLUS loans. Refinancing can come with variable or fixed interest and terms from 5 to 20 years. Cosigners are also welcome with some of the partnered lenders.
Private student loans
If you’re enrolled at least half-time in a US educational program, you could qualify for a student loan from Credible.
Students under 18 years old will need a cosigner, but one is not required if you’re older than 18. The terms you’ll find are between 5 and 20 years. Most of the partner lenders offer some form of discount for things like autopay.
Personal loans
One of the best things about personal loans is the freedom they afford you. Credible offers personal loans for any legitimate purpose, whether you want to start a small business, consolidate debt, improve your home or something else.
Through Credible you can borrow up to $100,000 at competitive rates.
Compare loan offers from Credible
Why should I consider using Credible for my next loan?
If you’re crunched for time, or you just want to simplify your borrowing process, Credible might be just the solution you need. The loan connection service is completely free, and you’ll only need to submit one form to get prequalification decisions from several different lenders.
Your credit score also won’t be affected unless you decided to move forward with one of the offers and apply. From there it’s likely that the lender will conduct a hard pull to evaluate your credit history.
Some of the providers with Credible offer rate discounts that you might not otherwise find for things as simple as using autopay features. Combined with already-low rates, and the potential to get even lower rates with a cosigner, you might be able to save big over the life of your loan.
How much will it cost me to borrow with Credible?
Possibly one of the best parts of finding a loan through Credible is that the service is completely free. There are no fees or additional costs beyond what the lender may charge.
Taking out a loan, however, will cost. The lender you choose will likely have its own fee structure. Because Credible works with a range of providers, those costs will be different depending on the lender.
Most often there are fees for things like late or missed payments and returned checks or nonsufficient funds (NSF). There are no prepayment penalties with any of the partnered providers for student and student refinancing loans.
Compare Credible to its competitors
Top online providers for student loan refinancing and private student loans
Top online lender-connection services for personal loans
Are Credible loans safe?
Credible has a thorough security policy, but the short and sweet of it is yes, using Credible is safe. It’s also easy to contact customer service, navigate the different offerings and find the complete tables of Credible’s different partners.
We’ve got you covered if you’re interested in some of the nitty-gritty of the protection features. Instead of the standard 256-bit encryption, your information is protected by an Extended Validation 2048-bit SSL Certificate. For those of us who are less cryptographically inclined, that means your information is locked down pretty tightly.
How’s its online reputation?
Pretty good. It ‘s been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2015, which gives it an A+ rating based on a number of factors including customer complaints (there have only been two). It has 47 reviews on the site, 46 of which were positive. It does similarly well on Trustpilot, scoring a 9.5 out of 10 based on around 875 customer reviews.
Customers again and again described Credible as “quick and easy,” one saying it was “so much better than sofi (sic).” It took the time to write extensive, personalized responses to the few negative reviews that were both apologetic and helpful. The way it handles itself online speaks for the quality of customer service you could expect.
How to apply for a loan through Credible
You’re ready to simplify your loan search and get the financing you need. Eligibility will vary, but for personal loans you will need to be 18 years or older. Students under the age of 18 may still apply for student loans if they do so with a cosigner. For all offers, you’ll need to be an American citizen or permanent resident of the US.
Students seeking out loans will need to be enrolled at least half-time in an educational program in the US. Those seeking to refinance must be graduated or no longer enrolled, and have attended an approved educational program.
Once you confirm your eligibility, this is what you’ll need to do to move forward with Credible:
- Click the Go to Site next to the loan type you’re interested in from the comparison table above.
- Choose your loan type.
- Enter the amount you want to borrow.
- Fill out the requested contact details and financial information.
- View prequalified rates and choose an offer that suits you.
- Provide any additional documentation needed by the lender.
- Accept the terms and conditions of your loan and receive your funds.
From there, you’ll need to wait for your customized offer. Credible will send you any options that you prequalify for. You’re not obligated to accept any offers made.
Deciding on a loan is a big step. If you think you’ve found the right one, you’ll accept the prequalification offer and apply with the lender. From there the time it takes to go farther in the process will vary based on the provider you’re working with.
Benefits and drawbacks
Pros
- Time saver. By submitting one form to compare five or more lenders, you could save yourself quite a bit of time. It might just save the day from looming deadlines for school payments or short timeframes for purchases.
- Rate discounts. Several of the lenders that Credible works with for student loans and refinancing provide rate discounts. Saving just 0.50% on your interest rate can cut down the cost over the life of your loan.
- No cost. Using Credible is completely free. You won’t pay anything until you’ve accepted a loan offer. Any payment will be to your chosen lender, not Credible.
- Less fees for students. There are no origination fees or prepayment costs for student loans or refinancing. Making early repayments and saving on interest could mean paying hundreds of dollars less.
Cons
- Prequalification does not guarantee acceptance. Credible is able to pull rates from lenders you prequalify with. These rates are not guaranteed, nor is your acceptance. It’s possible that your credit history or some other factor is not up to par with the lender. In these cases, you may be able to reapply again at a later date.
- Limited selection. Because you’re only getting rates from a few lenders, you may not be getting the best ones available. While it’s convenient to send one form out to multiple lenders, it can be rather limiting if you don’t also explore your options outside of Credible.
I got the loan. Now what?
What happens now generally depends on which lender you go through. Typically your funds are sent to your school to cover your tuition and fees, after which the rest is sent to you to cover other education-related expenses.
Once your funds are disbursed, it’s time to start thinking about paying it back — unfortunately, unlike federal student loans, private lenders don’t always give you a grace period. You might want to set up autopay linked to the account paying your funds. Not only does it make it less of a hassle for you to deal with your payments, some lenders offer a discount on rates (usually around 0.25%).
Keep track of your bank account and your loan balance — machines sometimes make mistakes that can cost you if you don’t catch them right away. Reach out to customer service if you notice anything that raises your eyebrows or have any questions or concerns.
My application was rejected. Now what?
First, find out why your application was rejected. If you’re applying for a student loan, contact your school’s financial aid office and set up an appointment to go over your situation. They might be able to point you toward other sources of financing that might not have occurred to you and help you with your application.
Those who are refinancing have a little more time to straighten things out. Take steps to improve your credit score, pay off your credit card debt and look into side jobs to boost your income. It wouldn’t hurt for you to look at other refinancing options from other online lenders and even credit unions, which tend to offer lower rates than banks.
Bottom line
A transparent process and no fees make Credible a viable solution for finding a small spread of loan offers. When you’re working hard to get a loan, it can be helpful to have a service to do some of the legwork for you. Though you may receive a few offers from lenders through Credible, you may still want to compare those offers with other providers to see how competitive they are.
