Written By Travis Hornsby, CFA®, CFP®
When you refinance your student loans using a referral link, you should receive a student loan refinance bonus. We choose to offer a cash bonus and take a lower advertising commission to pay for it. Other websites keep the profit for themselves.
Should a cash bonus be the primary, deciding factor in choosing a lender? No, except virtually every single lender listed on other websites offers a student loan refinance bonus through Student Loan Planner®. This list below will show you the maximum student loan refinancing bonuses available anywhere.
Best student loan refinance bonus offers on the internet
So which lenders have the best bonus offers for refinancing to a new loan?
Here are 10 banks and lenders that are currently offering great deals for our readers with the best rates.
Read each section to see how much of a bonus you could qualify for if you refinance your education loans.
1. ELFI: Up to $1,275
One of the great things about ELFI is that you don’t need to refinance a huge amount to qualify for a student loan refi bonus. To earn a bonus up to $1,275 with ELFI, your refinanced amount needs to be $150k or above.
Note that if you refinance more than $150,000 with Elfi through this site, $500 of the $1,275 bonus comes directly from Student Loan Planner®. Just contact us and let us know that you applied.
You can still get $575 for refinancing $100k to $149k and $300 for refinancing $50k to $99k.
ELFI prides themselves in their customer service. Each borrower gets assigned a dedicated Student Loan Advisor who stays with them throughout the entire application process.
You can contact your Student Loan Advisor via phone, email or even text. The focus on customer service seems to be working as Elfi has 4.9-star rating on Trustpilot and 2,066 reviews. You can learn more about Elfi with our review or apply below to see what kind of rates you could get.
ELFI: Best for customer service
- Positives: Highly competitive fixed rates
- Allows cosigners: Yes, but no cosigner release
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 12 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 5.48% APR; Variable starting at 5.28% APR
- Bonus: $300 for refinancing at least $50,000. $575 for 100k to 149k, and $1,275 for refinancing 150k+.
Education Loan Finance, aka ELFI, excels with customer service and low rates for borrowers with the highest credit scores. There is a minimum loan size of $10,000 but no max loan size, and their fixed rates are very competitive historically. Expect about 5 minutes to get an initial rate estimate. Get up to a $1,275 bonus when you use our ELFI link. ($500 of this would come from Student Loan Planner®). *See disclosures
2. Credible: Up to $1,250
Credible is unique in that they aren’t technically a refinancing lender. Instead, they’re a marketplace where you can shop and compare multiple lenders at once for fixed rate and variable rate loans.
Depending on your loan balance, Student Loan Planner® readers could earn a Credible bonus of up to $1,250. All bonus payments are by gift card. See terms.
Here's what you can earn based on how much you refinance with Credible:
- $5,000 – $49,999 gets you a $100 Bonus
- $50,000 – $99,999 gets you a $350 Bonus
- $100,000+ gets you a $1,250 Bonus ($500 of this comes directly from Student Loan Planner®.)
And since Credible is a lender marketplace, using our Credible bonus offer could be a roundabout way to earn a refinancing bonus with a lender that normally doesn’t offer one!
In our Student Loan Planner® audience survey, Credible’s application and website experience ranked below several of the other top lenders. But, as a positive, the percentage of respondents who successfully refinanced with Credible was fairly balanced across income ranges from $50k to $200k.
Learn more about Credible in our review.
Credible: Best for comparing multiple lenders
- Positives: Strong application experience
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes with some lenders
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 5.28% APR (with autopay)*; Variable starting at 5.28% APR (with autopay)*
- Bonus: $1,250 bonus for loans over $100k, and $350 for loans $50k to $100k
Credible presents offers from multiple lenders, which offer varying rates, terms and perks like unemployment protection. The application experience with Credible is one of the fastest of any refinancing company. Get a $1,250 bonus on refinances over $100k or $350 bonus for loans under $100k when you use our Credible link. ($500 of the $1,250 bonus comes directly from Student Loan Planner®).. *See disclosures. Read rates and terms at Credible.com
3. Citizens: Up to $1,250
Citizens could be a great choice for borrowers with low to moderate incomes.
In Student Loan Planner®’s latest refinancing survey, 33% of borrowers who refinanced with Citizens said that their income was below $80,000. A whopping 28% said that their annual income was below $50,000.
And while several lenders focus on medical or legal professionals, Citizens seems most popular with borrowers who work in the business world.
If you fit either of those demographics, you may want to get a quote from Citizens.
Note that the bonus for Citizens is if you apply via the Credible link below.
Citizens: Best traditional bank with refinancing
- Positives: Can refinance Parent PLUS loans in child’s name, possible to refinance without degree
- Allows cosigners: Yes, cosigner release available after 36 months
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, with limitations
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 6.49% APR; Variable starting at 7.02% APR
- Bonus: $350 to $1,250 depending on amount refinanced (bonus paid through Credible + Student Loan Planner®).
Citizens is a good option for borrowers with strong credit looking to refinance $50k to $100k and who don’t mind opening a debit or credit card account with Citizens. Transferring Parent PLUS loans to your child and refinancing without a degree are unusual perks offered. Get up to a $1,250 bonus when you use our Citizens link to apply through Credible. *See disclosures. Read rates and terms at Credible.com
4. LendKey: Up to $1,250
LendKey is another lender marketplace. They specialize in connecting borrowers with community banks and credit unions.
Depending on the amount refinanced, Student Loan Planner® readers can get up to a $1,250 LendKey bonus for refinancing student loans of $150,000 or more.
For other amounts, here's what your cash bonus could be:
- Up to $20,000 = $100 Bonus
- $20,000 – $100,000 = $200 Bonus
- $100,000 – $150,000 = $400 Bonus
- $150,000+ = $1,250 Bonus ($500 of which would come directly from Student Loan Planner®)
Like Credible, LendKey received a slightly lower rating than other lenders for application and website experience in our refinancing survey. But again, they’re not a direct lender, so your actual experience will be somewhat dependent on the lender that you choose.
Thankfully, you won’t have to pay an origination fee with LendKey, regardless of the actual lender that you decide to work with.
Read our full LendKey review.
LendKey: Best for community banks and credit unions
- Positives: Compares many smaller lenders you might not apply to
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 7.11% APR; Variable starting at 5.54% APR
- Bonus: $100 for refinancing up to $20k, or $200 for $20k to $100k, or $400 for over $100k, or $1,250 for $150k or more
LendKey offers refinancing through community banks and credit unions, which have offered unusually good deals during the economic contraction of 2020 and 2021 recovery. LendKey also has some of the strongest unemployment protection. Get up to a $1250 bonus when you use our LendKey link to refinance. Note that for the $1,250 bonus, $500 would come from Student Loan Planner® directly. *See disclosures
5. Laurel Road: Up to $1,050
While Laurel Road will work with any borrower, they specialize in refinancing for medical professionals. For example, medical school grads could qualify for $100 monthly payments during residency or fellowship.
Depending on your profession, Laurel Road may offer an extra 0.25% discount on your loan. And they’ll automatically apply our reader bonus or the 0.25% discount, whichever is higher.
Note that if you refinance student loans between $50,000 and $249,999, the reader bonus is $300 to $500. If you refinance more than $100,000, then Student Loan Planner® provides $500 of the $1,050 total bonus. However, if you opt for an interest rate discount, then you would only receive the $500 Student Loan Planner® bonus.
In our Student Loan Planner® refinancing lender survey, Laurel Road was ranked the #3 refinancing lender by readers. That makes them a strong choice. Their loan application and website experience, however, both ranked slightly lower than Earnest.
Read our full Laurel Road review if you want more details.
Laurel Road: Best for medical professionals
- Positives: Flexible repayment terms, profession based discounts
- Allows cosigners: Yes, cosigner release available after 36 months
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 12 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 5.44% APR; Variable starting at 5.49% APR
- Student Loan Planner® bonus: $300 for refinancing 50k to 100k, $1,050 for refinancing over 100k, OR interest rate discount if applicable.
While Laurel Road serves all borrowers, it is a must check for medical professions as well as Parent PLUS loan borrowers. They offer residency and fellowship refinancing and an additional 0.25% rate discount based on membership to different medical and dental associations. Laurel Road will automatically apply the better of our bonus up to $1,050 OR an applicable professional association discount you qualify for when you use our link to apply. *See disclosures
6. Earnest: Up to $1,000
Currently, Student Loan Planner® readers can earn an Earnest referral bonus of $200 to $1,000, depending on the size of your student loan debt.
- Borrowers with $50k to $99,999 in student debt: $200 bonus
- Borrowers with $100k or more of student debt: $500 bonus from Earnest + $500 from Student Loan Planner®
Earnest has made a name for themselves by offering borrowers incredible payment flexibility. Using their “Precision Pricing,” you can choose from over 180 repayment terms, from 5 to 20 years. And they ranked #2 overall in Student Loan Planner®’s latest refinancing survey.
Read our full Earnest review to learn about their terms and benefits.
Earnest: Best for flexible repayment
- Positives: Flexible repayment terms, custom loan payments
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 36 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 5.19% APR; Variable starting at 5.99% APR
- Bonus: $200 for refinancing 50k to $99,999; $1000 for refinancing 100k or more.
Payment flexibility and consistently low rates make Earnest a top lender Student Loan Planner® readers use when refinancing student loans. Earnest also services its own loans and has a Rate Match program that matches competitors' contractual interest rates. If you refinance $100,000 or more, you can get a $1000 bonus ($500 Earnest bonus + $500 from Student Loan Planner®). *See Earnest disclosures
7. SoFi: Up to $500
SoFi was one of the first lenders to focus on student loan refinancing. And while they have more competition today, you should still check their rates, especially if you’re a doctor, dentist or lawyer. You could earn a bonus:
- Borrowers with $100k or more of student debt: $500 from Student Loan Planner®
SoFi may also be a good fit for borrowers in the $50k to $100k income range. In our refinancing survey, SoFi won the highest percentage of borrowers who earn $50k to $80k and $80k to $100k.
And by using our SoFi student loan referral link, you could earn up to a $500 SoFi bonus!
Read our full SoFi review.
SoFi: Best if you're unsure where to apply
- Positives: Competitive rates, flexible terms and view rates in just two minutes
- Allows cosigners: Yes, but no cosigner release offered
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, in limited situations
- Interest rates: Fixed rates 5.24 – 9.99% APR; Variable rates 6.24 – 9.99% APR (rates include optional 0.25% AutoPay discount)
- Bonus: $500 for refinancing 100k or more.
SoFi continues to be one of the top companies by total refinancing volume. They offer residency, fellowship and Parent PLUS refinancing. Currently, SoFi is offering rate discounts for medical and dental professionals. In addition to a 0.25% autopay discount, there's 0.25% off for those with an MD, DO, DDS, and DMD degree as well as 0.25% off for refinancing at least $150k in loans. Get up to a $500 SoFi bonus when you use our SoFi link to see if you qualify and refinance your student loans through them. *See disclosures here
8. Splash Financial: Up to $1,000
Splash Financial is another lender geared towards medical professionals. Borrowers with medical school loans can make student loan payments of $100 per month during residency or fellowship.
Splash offers unique refinancing options for married couples as well. Spouses can refinance their student loans together. Or one spouse can “take over” the loans of the other.
Student Loan Planner® readers who refinance the following loan amounts can get a Splash refinancing bonus:
- $50,000 to $99,999: $300 bonus
- $100,000 or more: $1,000 bonus ($500 of which would come directly from Student Loan Planner®)
And be sure to read our full Splash Financial review.
Splash Financial: Best for easy application
- Positives: Compares multiple lenders, good customer service available
- Allows cosigners: No
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, length varies based on lending partner
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 5.19% APR; Variable starting at 5.28% APR
- Bonus: $300 for 50k to 99k or $1,000 when you refinance $100,000 or more
Splash searches multiple lenders at once and provides a rate estimate very quickly. Their site provides one of the best user experiences, and you can get a rough estimate of how good your rate will be in the market as a whole by applying with them. Get up to a $1,000 bonus when you use our Splash Financial link to apply and refinance. Note that if you refinance $100,000 or more, $500 of the $1,000 bonus comes directly from Student Loan Planner®. Lowest rates displayed may include an autopay discount of 0.25%.
9. Brazos: $600
Brazos is only available to Texas residents. But for those who live there, they’re definitely a lender worth considering.
First, Brazos’ status as a non-profit means that they could offer you attractive rates with less lender markup. They also offer an impressive hardship forbearance period of up to 12 months.
Brazos is currently offering Student Loan Planner® readers a $600 bonus for refinancing over $20k. That’s a big bonus, especially since you don’t need to refinance over $50k or $100k to qualify!
Learn more about Brazos in our full review.
10. College Ave: $500
Unlike most other lenders on this list that handle the bonus directly, Student Loan Planner® sends a $500 Amazon gift card for the College Ave bonus directly. To get yours, just send us an email.
Like Earnest, College Ave is known for having flexible payment terms. While many lenders offer four or five loan terms, College Ave has 16 different options ranging from 5 to 20 years.
And as a thank you for being a Student Loan Planner® reader, you can get $500 cash back when you refinance using our link. To qualify for the bonus, you’ll need to refinance over $100,000.
Don't Refinance Without Getting a Bonus
Even with hefty cash bonuses available, you still want to make sure that you’re a good candidate for student loan refinancing. This includes having a good credit score and meeting other eligibility requirements to receive the lowest rates.
But it also depends on whether you have private loans versus federal loans. We generally recommend refinancing for any private student loan borrowers who can find a lower interest rate.
However, federal student loan borrowers need to take additional factors into consideration, such as the potential for loan forgiveness and other protections. If you have federal loans, we suggest making sure that you owe less than 1.25 times your annual income and work in the private sector, to avoid missing out on loan cancellation opportunities.
If that's you, then don't refinance without seeing if you could get a bonus. It only helps you and doesn't hurt the interest rate you're offered.
Also, don’t forget that Student Loan Planner® consultants give unbiased advice on loan repayment plans with a holistic financial approach.
What questions do you have about the bonuses above? Let us know in the comments.
Refinance student loans, get a bonus in 2024
| Lender Name | Lender | Offer | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$500 Bonus
*Includes optional 0.25% Auto Pay discount. For 100k or more.
|
Fixed 5.24 - 9.99% APR*
Variable 6.24 - 9.99% APR*
|
|
|
$1,000 Bonus
For 100k or more. $300 for 50k to $99,999
|
Fixed 5.19 - 10.24% APPR
Variable 5.28 - 10.24% APR
|
|
|
$1,000 Bonus
For 100k or more. $200 for 50k to $99,999
|
Fixed 5.19 - 9.74% APR
Variable 5.99 - 9.74% APR
|
|
|
$1,050 Bonus
For 100k+, $300 for 50k to 99k.
|
Fixed 5.44 - 9.75% APR
Variable 5.49 - 9.95% APR
|
|
|
$1,275 Bonus
For 150k+, $300 to $575 for 50k to 149k.
|
Fixed 5.48 - 8.69% APR
Variable 5.28 - 8.99% APR
|
|
|
$1,250 Bonus
For 100k+, $350 for 50k to 100k. $100 for 5k to 50k
|
Fixed 5.48 - 10.98% APR
Variable 5.28 - 12.41% AR
|
Not sure what to do with your student loans?
Take our 11 question quiz to get a personalized recommendation for 2024 on whether you should pursue PSLF, Biden’s New IDR plan, or refinancing (including the one lender we think could give you the best rate).
Good for you for exposing the corporate sites that don’t share the lenders’ bonuses with their readers. I’d love to see you compete for those key words and offer more beneficial help to the peoople who really need it — those with massive student loan debt.
I see some similarities with the big “travel hacking” sites with names that sound like they’re written by one guy when it’s really a subsidiary of a massive corporate structure. They offer tons of articles and usually good information, but they’re not always the best cards and none of them are donating half their profits from referrals like I do.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Cheers!
-PoF
We gotta work together PoF! My dream is that you, me, White Coat Investor, and Big Law Investor would have most of the market share and most of the referral bonus would be going to the people paying all the interest: the readers.
[…] If you use my links or those from Travis, the Student Loan Planner, you’ll get a generous cash-back bonus. If you get a credit card via this site, half of my referral profits go to charity. Go through one of the bigger sites, and those things ain’t happening. Why No One Wants to Give You a Student Loan Refinancing Cash Back Bonus. […]