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2.5% to 8.49%
APR
$300,000
Max. Loan Amount
Product Name | Wells Fargo Private Consolidation Loan |
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Minimum Loan Amount | $5,000 |
Max. Loan Amount | $300,000 |
APR | 2.5% to 8.49% |
Minimum Loan Term | 5 years |
Maximum Loan Term | 20 years |
Requirements | US citizen, national or permanent resident; meet credit, employment and debt-to-income criteria; minimum student loan balance of $5,000 |
Review by
Kathryn Pomroy was a writer for Finder, specializing in loans. She has written for dozens of major publications, small businesses and many well-known personal finance companies, including LendingTree, Money Crashers, Quickbooks/Intuit, BankRate, LendEDU and more. Kathryn holds a BA in Journalism and drinks super bold coffee while eating peanut butter and honey toast.
Wells Fargo is one of only a few lenders that lets borrowers refinance loans without earning a college degree. And it comes with hefty interest rate discounts of up to 0.75% if you sign up for automatic payments and have a qualifying Wells Fargo account.
But it doesn’t list credit and income requirements on its website — and you might be able to find lower rates elsewhere if you have excellent credit. It has also recently limited its refinancing offer to current borrowers, which means anyone without a Wells Fargo student loan won’t qualify.
If you’re not sure Wells Fargo is for you, compare other student loan refinancing providers below.
As of July 1, 2020, Wells Fargo has stopped refinancing loans it did not originate. If you have a federal student loan — or a private student loan from a different lender — you should compare more refinancing options. You can start your research by considering these three alternatives to Wells Fargo:
To qualify for student loan refinancing from Wells Fargo, you must meet a few criteria:
Wells Fargo is available in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
There are no upfront costs to refinance with Wells Fargo. In fact, they make it easy to check what rates and terms you might qualify for with no impact to your credit score by filling out a quick online form.
Actual interest rates vary and are determined by the repayment term and credit qualifications of you and your cosigner when you apply. You have the choice of fixed or variable rates selected during the application process.
Fixed rates range from 3.74% to 9.99% APR, while variable rates start and end slightly lower at 2.5% to 8.49% APR. Repayment terms span five, seven, 10, 15 or 20 years and are determined by your total loan amount and credit qualifications.
Wells Fargo offers two ways to lower the amount of interest you pay over the life of your loan:
While Wells Fargo used to allow you to refinance both federal and private student loans, it stopped refinancing federal student loans due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is because federal student loan payments have been automatically suspended through September 30, 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. So it makes sense to hold off on refinancing any federal student loans until your repayments begin again in October 2020.
Wells Fargo offers a number of benefits for refinancing your student loans, including:
Consider these potential drawbacks before refinancing your student loans with Wells Fargo:
With refinancing, repayments start immediately with most lenders — and Wells Fargo is no different. Its standard repayment option is fixed monthly repayments over the length of your loan term. However, it does offer flexible options if you hit a financial rough patch, which we’ll discuss below.
About 45 days before your loan payments are scheduled to begin, Wells Fargo will send you a letter stating a repayment schedule and terms.
Emergencies like an unplanned medical expense or losing your job happen. Fortunately, Wells Fargo has options that can provide temporary or permanent relief. These include:
It’s worth noting that interest on your student loans continues to add up during deferment and forbearance. And all of that unpaid interest gets added to your outstanding balance, making your loan more expensive in the long run.
Although payments aren’t required during forbearance, you can still make them if you’re able to. This will help reduce the amount you pay over the life of your loan.
BBB accredited | No |
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BBB rating | F |
BBB customer reviews | 1.09 out of 5 stars, based on 365 customer reviews |
Trustpilot Score | 1.3 out of 5 stars, based on 355 customer reviews |
App Store Score | 4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 48,000,000 customer reviews |
Customer reviews verified as of | 16 October 2020 |
Wells Fargo doesn’t fare well on the Better Business Bureau or Trustpilot, scoring a dismal 1 out of 5 stars on each. Poor customer service and high repayments seem to be the primary complaints among reviewers.
The easiest way to apply to refinance your student loans is to visit the Wells Fargo website and fill out an online application. Follow these steps to get started:
When you fill out the online application, you will be asked to provide the following details:
You should receive a decision within a few days after submitting your application — it takes time for Wells Fargo to pull your credit report and verify your documents.
If approved, you’ll receive a link via email with your loan documents to sign. You can sign online or print them out to sign and upload, mail or fax them in to a Wells Fargo loan specialist.
William G. Fargo and Henry Wells, the founders of American Express, founded Wells Fargo & Company back in 1852. Today, it’s headquartered in San Francisco, California, with branches located in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
It’s currently the world’s fourth largest bank in total assets, and provides loans, credit products, CDs, checking and savings accounts and investment solutions to individuals. It also provides business solutions, such as asset management, supply chain finance and corporate trust services.
Not sure Wells Fargo is right for you? Explore other options with our guide to student loan refinancing.