Advantage Student Loan Refinance Review: What to Know

What you need to know:

• Advantage Education Loan offers student loan refinancing through Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation.
• The organization’s focused on helping Kentucky students, but students from some other states can work with Advantage Education Loan.
• Advantage Education Loan allows you to see the rates you’ll qualify for without a hard credit check.

Advantage Education Loan is a nonprofit organization based in Kentucky. As a not-for-profit organization, Advantage Education Loan can offer a competitive interest rate.

Although the competitive rates put Advantage Education Loan off to a great start when it comes to refinancing your student loans, this isn’t the only factor to consider. When shopping around for the right student loan refinancing opportunity, consider other factors, including fees, deferment opportunities and more.

Here’s what you need to know about Advantage Education Loan before you decide to work with this entity.

Advantage Education Loan refinance details

Advantage Education Loan can help you refinance your student loans with competitive interest rates. But a limited presence in the marketplace might prompt you to work with a lender that has a solid reputation.

Interest rate type	Fixed
Terms	10, 15 and 20 years
Loan amounts	Minimum $7,500
Cosigner release	Opportunity after 36 consecutive on-time principal and interest payments
Origination fees	None
Prepayment fee	None
Late fees	None
Deferment while in school	Yes, in some circumstances
Military deferment	Yes
Hardship deferment	Yes
Forbearance	Yes, in some circumstances
Minimum credit score	Not available
Autopay discount	Yes
Cash bonus through Student Loan Planner	No

Advantage Education Loan student loan refinancing review

Advantage Education Loan offers former students and parents plentiful refinancing opportunities to combine educational loans. If you’re a student looking to refinance, you’ll also have the option to refinance any parent education loan taken out by your parents on your behalf.

If you aren’t taking on that repayment responsibility, your parents can still refinance their parent loans through Advantage Education Loan. Additionally, they can refinance their own student loans with any parent loans they have taken out for you.

You might run into Advantage Education Loans while you’re exploring your refinancing options with Credible. If the company shows up in your search, then you’ll see it offers competitive rates for borrowers who qualify. But even though the numbers might point toward a good deal, there are still unknowns to consider.

Pros and cons of Advantage Education Loan student loan refinancing

Every student loan refinancing lender has its advantages and disadvantages. Here’s what to know about Advantage Education Loan before moving forward.

Pros

• No degree required. You don’t have to finish your degree to refinance with Advantage Education Loan.
• Generous deferment and forbearance options. Although no one wants to need this option, it’s great to have it in your back pocket.
• No hard credit check to see your rates. You can see your estimated interest rate through a soft credit pull.
• Transfer opportunities for parents. If you’re ready to take over the parent loan responsibilities from your parents, Advantage Education Loan can help.

Cons

• Not available in every state. This is a big drawback if you live in a state that Advantage Education Loan doesn’t serve. You can find out if it offers refinancing in your state through the Advantage Education Loan eligibility form.
• Small lender. As a relatively unknown lender, you’re walking in blind in terms of the customer service experience you’ll receive.

Eligibility requirements: Advantage Education Loan student loan refinancing

Want to work with Advantage Education Loan for your next student loan refinance? Here are the eligibility requirements to know when refinancing through this lender:

• You must be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.
• The loans you wish to refinance must be eligible private and federal loans in good standing.
• You can’t have any repossessions, foreclosures, or garnishment by creditors.
• You can’t have a reported bankruptcy within the last seven years.
• You must live in a state that Advantage Education Loan works with. These include every state, except: Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Neveafe, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, or Washington D.C.

If you meet these requirements, then you can apply for a student loan refinance.

Advantage Education Loan refinance application process

The student loan refinance process through Advantage Education Loan is easy to complete.

First, you’ll check out your eligibility with a quick three-question survey. If Advantage Education Loan finds that you’re an eligible borrower based on your basic information, you can move on to the next step.

You’ll need to provide a slew of information for the application. It’ll help to have the following information handy:

• Permanent address
• Social Security number
• Employer’s name
• Gross income with supporting documentation (e.g. pay stub)

With this information, follow the prompts to complete the application process.

Takeaway: Should you refinance with Advantage Education Loan?

There’s no denying that Advantage Education Loan offers competitive student loan refinancing options. However, the company has a very small market share within the student loan refinancing landscape.

The attractive rates haven’t converted into a large volume of loans. With over $1.34 billion in consultations on student loan debt, Student Loan Planner® has yet to encounter a borrower who’s worked with them. With this in mind, it’s likely that there are better student loan refinancing options out there.

If you’re still looking to refinance student loans with a different lender, then our top recommendations include Earnest, Credible and Laurel Road.

Before taking the leap to refinance your student debt, compare multiple refinancing lenders to ensure you’re getting the most well-rounded experience when it comes to saving money and customer service.