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Purefy student loan refinancing review
Refinance all types of student loans with competitive rates and a quick turnaround.
- Best for married couples looking to consolidate their student debt together.
- Pick something else if you don't have good credit or a creditworthy cosigner.
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1.88% to 5.54%
APR
$300,000
Max. Loan Amount
650
Min. Credit Score
Details
| Product Name | Purefy Student Loan Refinancing (Variable Rate) |
|---|---|
| Minimum Loan Amount | $5,000 |
| Max. Loan Amount | $300,000 |
| APR | 1.88% to 5.54% |
| Interest Rate Type | Variable |
| Fixed rate | 2.50% to 5.69% |
| Minimum Loan Term | 5 years |
| Maximum Loan Term | 20 years |
| Requirements | Must have been employed for 2+ years, make at least $24,000, 650+ credit score and be 18+ years old. |
Review by
Anna Serio
anna.serio@finder.comAnna Serio is a trusted lending expert and certified Commercial Loan Officer who's published more than 1,000 articles on Finder to help Americans strengthen their financial literacy. A former editor of a newspaper in Beirut, Anna writes about personal, student, business and car loans. Today, digital publications like Business Insider, CNBC and the Simple Dollar feature her professional commentary, and she earned an Expert Contributor in Finance badge from review site Best Company in 2020.
Expert review
Purefy is one of the more flexible student loan refinancers out there. Unlike most providers, it works to make refinancing available to people with any type of student loan — including all federal student loans. Top benefits include competitive rates, zero fees and fast turnaround time. It’s a particularly good option for married couples who want to refinance their student loans together — few lenders offer this option.
While it’s quicker than some other refinancing providers, Purefy does have a longer list of eligibility requirements. You’ll need good to excellent credit or a creditworthy cosigner to qualify. And getting preapproved involves a hard credit check, which can cause your credit score to dip.
Can’t qualify? Check out our list of other student loan refinancing providers that might be a better fit.
How does refinancing with Purefy work?
Refinancing through Purefy works a bit differently than other types of refinancing loans. It’s a referral service that mainly works with PenFed Credit Union. It also offers loans through Citizens Bank, a regional bank that mainly services the northwest. If you live in Indiana, you might be eligible for refinancing through INvestED as well.
Purefy essentially streamlines the application process that you start on its site and finish with the lender you choose. Once you have your documentation together, filling out the application shouldn’t take more than an hour.
From start to finish Purefy requires you to wait at least 15 days before receiving your funds. While it might seem slow compared to other types of loans, many student loan refinancing providers require waiting periods twice as long.
You can refinance up to $500,000 for associates or incomplete degrees. The maximum amount is $300,000 for Bachelor’s or graduate degrees.
Am I eligible?
To meet Purefy’s basic eligibility requirements you or your cosigner must:
- Have at least one student loan.
- Make at least $24,000
- Be a US citizen or permanent resident
- Be older than 18
- Go to an eligible school
You can find the list of eligible institutions when you go to select your school on PenFed’s Find My Rate page. Other eligibility requirements depend on whether or not you borrow from PenFed Credit Union or Citizens Bank.
PenFed Eligibility (most common)
- Credit score of at least 670 to apply with a cosigner
- Credit score of at least 675 for sole applicants
- Make at least $42,000
- Minimum debt-to-income ratio (DTI) of 40% for lower income applicants (you can typically get away with a higher DTI if you have a high income)
- Bachelor’s degree or higher
- US citizen
- If approved and you decide to accept the loan offer, you’ll need to become a member of PenFed Credit Union
Citizens Bank eligibility
- Credit score of at least 620 to apply with a cosigner
- Credit score of at least 680 for sole applicants
- No longer enrolled in school
- At least 12 months of on-time full repayments on your current loan if you have no degree or an associate’s degree. (Can’t be on income-based repayment plan.)
- Have a Citizens Bank savings account (for autopay discount)
- Make at least $24,000
Top three features that set Purefy apart
- Married couple consolidation. Purefy allows married couples to consolidate their student debt into one loan.
- Parent PLUS refinancing. Through Purefy you can also refinance Parent PLUS federal loans, which tend to come with high rates for a federal loan. You can also use Parent PLUS refinancing to transfer debt into the child’s name.
- Speed. Purefy can get your loan refinanced in half the time of some other student loan refinancing providers.
How Couple Loan works
One of Purefy’s unique features is its Couple Loan through PenFed, which allows married couples to consolidate their student debt into one loan. Both partners are not required to be on the new loan. One partner can assume all the debt.
If you apply together, the lender considers your combined incomes and uses the highest credit score between the two of you to determine your interest rate. Your combined student debt needs to meet their minimum of $5,000 and can not exceed $300,000.
What happens if I refinance federal loans with Purefy?
You could potentially get lower rates — especially if you have unsubsidized or PLUS loans. But you’ll be giving up benefits that come with federal loans like forgiveness programs and an extensive menu of repayment options to choose from.
What are my repayment options?
Purefy only offers a standard option where you make the same fixed repayment each month until you’ve paid off your loan. By choosing a longer loan term, you can lower how much your monthly repayments will cost.
Just be aware that by choosing a longer term, you’ll end up paying more in overall interest. The same can be true for income-based or graduated income repayments.
Top reasons to consider refinancing with Purefy
- Competitive rates. Student refinancing loans typically come with low rates, but Purefy falls on the lower end.
- No-risk rate checking tool. See what types of rates you might qualify for without hurting your credit score by using its Find My Rate tool — something that not all student loan refinance providers offer.
- No fees to apply. Purefy doesn’t charge origination or application fees before disbursing your funds.
- No prepayment penalty. Save even more on your interest by paying off your loan early without being slapped with a prepayment fee.
- Couple consolidation. Consolidate you and your spouse’s student debt through Purefy if you’re married.
- Relatively fast. Many student loan refinancing lenders take at least 30 days from start to finish, but refinancing with Purefy can take 15 days.
- PLUS loan refinancing. Through Purefy, you can refinance any federal student loan, including Parent PLUS and other PLUS loans — something you can’t find with all student loan refinancing providers.
Why you might want to look elsewhere
- Complicated eligibility requirements. Since Purefy works with multiple providers with specific eligibility requirements, it can be difficult to keep track of what you qualify for before you start your application.
- No federal perks. If you refinance federal student loans, you’ll lose access to perks that could potentially help you save even more in the long run or make your current loan more affordable.
- Must join credit union if you decide to refinance through PenFed. Purefy’s partner, PenFed, is a credit union which requires borrowers to be member if they’re approved and decide to accept the refinancing loan offer. While it’s not difficult to become a member, it adds another step to the process.
- Limited discounts. The only discount you can get through Purefy is a 0.25% autopay rate reduction for Citizens Bank account holders.
- Preapproval affects your credit. While you can get a ballpark idea of what type of loan you might qualify for with Find My Rate, you can’t get preapproved without undergoing a hard credit pull, which hurts your credit score.
Compare Purefy to other student loan providers
What do customers say about Purefy?
Like with other lesser-known student loan refinancing providers, Purefy doesn’t have much of an online presence. It doesn’t have a page on the Better Business Bureau website or Trustpilot, and it’s rarely mentioned in forums.
When it does come up, it’s generally in the context of someone asking for advice on where to refinance, usually in comparison with bigger-name student loan providers like SoFi and Credible. While there isn’t as much excitement about what it offers, users appear to agree that it’s a reputable company with relatively competitive rates.
What to expect when signing up
Before you sign up for refinancing with Purefy, have the following documents on hand:
- Your driver’s license
- Recent pay stubs or tax returns for you and your cosigner
- A copy of your transcript or diploma
- For PenFed loans, a payoff statement saying how much you currently owe from your servicer
- For Citizens Bank loans, billing statements from your loan servicer
You might be asked to provide additional documentation after submitting your loan application.
Steps to apply
- Click the Go to Site button on this page.
- Select the type of refinancing you’re interested in and answer five questions about yourself and your educational background. If you aren’t able to find your school by typing it in, you likely aren’t eligible. Hit Find My Rate.
- Enter information about your loan amount and look at the table below to compare the different options you might qualify for. If you’re specifically looking for a variable-rate or fixed-rate interest, make sure you’re looking at the right tab.
- Hit the green Select button next to the offer you’d like to apply for. Keep in mind that you might not actually qualify for these rates and terms — they’re subject to change after a hard credit check and underwriting.
- Review your selection before clicking Apply. This should direct the application to the lender’s page.
Application screenshot
Follow your lender’s directions to complete the online application, carefully going over the terms and conditions before submitting it. At this point, your lender will do a hard credit inquiry that can cause your credit score to temporarily go down. Wait between five and ten minutes for an email from your lender letting you know if you’ve been preapproved. If you get the green light, your lender will ask you to submit more documentation. If you applied for a loan through PenFed, this includes a membership form.
Review your promissory note before signing it to accept the terms and conditions and wait for your funds to be disbursed directly to your former lenders.
Have any questions about your application? You can reach out to Purefy’s customer service by calling or texting between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time. You can also email or even tweet the company at @Purefy.
More about Purefy
Purefy launched in 2014 with the intent of streamlining the student loan repayment process. It prides itself on its focus on the borrower and ability to tailor your new loan to your specific needs. It’s won two awards since its launch, including the 2015 Gold Omni Award and the IMA Best in Class award, also in 2015.
Purefy is often better for borrowers with excellent credit and a few years behind them in the workforce. It’s also better for those who have a graduate degree or higher — they tend to qualify for lower interest rates.
Want to read about more lenders? Visit our student loan refinancing page to learn about your options, compare rates and more.
