Shopping around for financial products like student loan refinancing, private student loans, credit cards, mortgages, and personal loans can be a frustrating experience. When looking at multiple lenders for student loans, for example, each one has different features, benefits, and interest rate ranges that make it difficult to know where exactly to start.
Making an apple to apple comparison between different loan companies is a necessity to make the best decision possible. That’s where Credible comes in.
Credible aims to make it simple and easy to shop and compare student loans for the best rate and terms. Using Credible’s platform, you can navigate all your loan options and get the best deal fast. At least that’s what Credible hopes to accomplish!
Is Credible really worth using? That’s what we’ll find out in this complete and thorough Credible review!
What is Credible?
If you’re searching for a private student loan or wish to lower the interest rate or terms on your existing loans with student loan refinancing, you can go loan shopping with Credible. An important note is that you can also refinance your federal loans, but this is typically not a good idea.
Using Credible, you can compare rates and lenders by filling out a single form. Once you hit “submit” all the possible loans offers are shown in an easy-to-read table so you can determine exactly what option best suits your needs.
The website can also be used to fill out an application. During the application process, Credible will also walk you through the entire process. Their lending partners include Citizens Bank, RISLA, and College Ave.
History of Credible
Stephen Dash is the founder of Credible and started the company in 2012. Headquartered in San Francisco, the original, the intention of Dash was to help borrowers relieve their student loan debt.
They have expanded on their compare lenders offering to include other products such as personal loans.
Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion (the three major credit bureaus became partners with Credible in 2016. Through this partnership, Credible can provide customers with interest rate quotes that don’t require a hard credit check.
What does Credible Offer?
You should first understand that Credible does not actually lend money to borrowers. None of the loans are underwritten or backed by Credible because they are not a lender.
What Credible is offers an online comparison marketplace platform where you can multiple loan offers from different loan companies.
They don’t charge any fees to use their online marketplace. The company collects referral fees from the lenders it works with if you apply for a loan using their portal.
Their primary loan offers are private student loans and student loan refinancing products. However, they have also expanded to offer several more types of products that we’ll talk about here.
One important note is that for most loans, lenders require that you are either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to qualify. Otherwise, you will generally need a cosigner.
Private Student Loans
Potential borrowers and cosigners can use Credible to find the best rate on private student loans. Credible partners with vetted lenders like Citizens, SalleMae, Commonbond, and Custom Choice to offer their comparison tools.
You’ll be able to look at details like loan terms, fixed rates, variable rates, applicable fees (i.e origination fee, prepayment penalties, or processing fees), and available degree programs. You can get an accurate rate comparison because checking rates won’t have a pull a hard credit check.
Knowing the loan rates that are available on a loan offer can help you decide which loan company offers the best deal based on your credit profile.
Credit has multiple lenders for various student loan products including:
- Parent student loans
- Law school loans
- Graduate student loans
- Medical school loans
- MBA loans
- Undergraduate loans
Student Loan Refinancing
If you’ve already graduated from college and racked up student loan debt, you could be in the market for a Credible student loan refinancing product. By combining your outstanding private student loans, you can have the ease of fewer monthly payments or take advantage of lower interest rates.
Their online marketplace for these loan options includes 13 lenders. Citizens, College Ave, Commonbon, ELFI, Advantage Education Loans, and Brazos are among the lenders that they work with.
Credible also touts that each service provider on their platform does not charge origination fees or prepayment penalty.
To check your interest rates, they will only do a soft credit check with won’t affect your credit score.
Personal Loans
If you’re looking for a personal loan, you can sign up for a Credible account to look at loan rates at over 15 of their partner lender companies. Upstart, SoFi, PenFed Credit Union, Discover personal loans, and Lending Club are among their partners.
A personal loan can be used for a variety of different reasons. The most common include:
- Debt consolidation – You can pay off a high-interest debt by combining it into one monthly payment that’s at a lower interest rate
- Home improvement – If you’re remodeling, repairing, or adding to your home, a personal loan can be used to finance your major home improvement project
- Credit card refinancing – Consolidate credit card debt with a lower interest rate and one loan
- Bad credit loans – For those that have a thin credit report or poor credit, this type of personal loan are designed for you to have a better chance of qualifying
Credible personal loans can be for loan amounts from $600 to $100,000. You can check interest rates with multiple lenders on these personal loans without a hard credit inquiry.
Use your personal loan rate to determine which personal loans best fit your budget and goals.
Personal Loan Calculator
Credible has a personal loan calculator that allows you to estimate what your monthly payments may look like. This is extremely valuable when to ensure that you can afford the costs of borrowing.
Use this tool to help you budget your borrowing costs before getting into a loan that you can’t repay.
Home Loans
One of Credible’s newer loan marketplace products allows you to review home loans. They have mortgage lenders like Stearns Wholesale, ROCKET Mortgage, LoanDepot, and Caliber Home loans.
You can also use their loan marketplace to do some research on how much home you can afford.
In addition to comparison shopping, you can get prequalified rates so that you’re ready when you put an offer in on a home. The loan process is much easier than you typically find when going to a financial institution for a home loan.
Mortgage Refinancing
Mortgage refinancing is an option many take advantage of. With interest rates still at historic loans, you may save money with a refinance loan. Checking rates will only do a soft credit inquiry on your credit report.
They have 30 years, 15 year, 10 years, 20 years, jumbo and cash-out refinance loans available in their loan marketplace.
Credit Cards
Figuring out which of the literally hundreds of credit cards out there is the right card for your needs is confusing. Whether you have a poor credit score, are a student, or looking for a card that has great travel perks, Credible can narrow it down for you.
You can filter cards by what you are looking for like rewards, cash back, travel, balance transfer, low-interest rates, zero percent purchase, secured, or student cards. Refine your search by indicating whether you want a card that has no annual, no foreign transaction fee, etc.
Your credit scores and having good credit is a big factor in whether you’ll be approved for certain credit cards. Credible allows you to filter your options by your credit score so you don’t end up applying for cards that you won’t get approved for.
Is Credible Legit?
Yes, Credible is a comparison tool that allows you to compare different types of loans. They are not actually a lender.
Credible works with reputable lenders that actually offer loan products. You can check your loan rate without affecting your credit score.
Why Use Credible?
Credible is made for people who are shopping around for loans. Using Credible’s marketplace can save you time on your independent research.
Additionally, if you wish to get a better idea of what kind of rate you may qualify for, Credible can provide that without affecting your credit score.
How Does Credible Private Student Loan Work?
Credible has a very straightforward platform to start looking at possible private student loan options. You will fill out a short form that you provide information like your name, date of birth, and phone number.
Completing this form will not affect your credit score so you can check Credible private student loans without any worries.
After completing this form, you’ll see a dashboard of different loans Credible has found that you may qualify for. You can loan offers and information such as the loan amount to help you decide which loan fits best.
When you’ve decided on a lender, you can start the application process that will ask more in-depth questions and sensitive personal information so the lender can run a hard credit check. The lender will work directly with you to finalize all the details from there.
How does Credible Student Loan Refinancing Work?
The process of viewing different loan offers for Credible’s student loan refinancing loans works the same as for their private student loans. There is only a soft credit pull completed to compare your offers.
Once you’ve decided what interest rate, loan terms, and loan amount works best for you, then you can easily start the application process with your chosen lender.
Credible Pros
Get Pre-Qualified in Minutes
It only takes a few minutes to find out the rate that you will receive from a lender. For example, you can get a loan rate guarantee and pre-qualify for a home loan so that when you are ready to buy, this step is already done. This saves you a ton of time when shopping for loans.
Seamless and Easy to go from Quote to Closed Loan
When though Credible is a broker, the process of reviewing your quotes to apply for loans hits no snags. It’s simple and straightforward.
Works with Several Lenders
Whether you’re looking at Credible personal loans or student loans, Credible has many partnerships with lenders so you have plenty of options.
Access to many Different Types of Loans
Credible’s platform can be used to find many types of loans, depending on your financial goals. It’s highly likely you’ll find the product type that you’re looking for.
Free to Use
It doesn’t cost you anything to use Credible. The company gets paid when a person applies for a loan on their platform.
Won’t Sell your Information
What is more frustrating than suddenly getting dozens of emails after filling out a form online? You won’t have to worry about this with Credible. They keep your information private and won’t sell it to other companies.
Credible Cons
Prequalified offers are only from Eligible Lenders
Lenders look at many different factors like stable income to determine whether you qualify for a potential loan. Therefore, you might not meet all their requirements and won’t see any offers by a certain lender for this reason.
Additional Research is Still Necessary
Credible’s marketplace should be thought of as a solid starting point when you’re shopping around for loans. But there’s still further research that needs to be done before zeroing in on the lender to work with.
No Rate Discount when Applying via Credible
Some of the lenders offer a lower interest when you meet certain requirements. However, if you apply directly through Credible, you may not be eligible.
FAQ: Credible Loan Review
How is Credible’s customer service?
Credible has an FAQ page that can help answer general questions you may have. Their website also has a chat feature with someone from their Client Success team if you wish to message someone.
You can also email them at support@credible.com or call them at 866-540-6005.
Is Credible easy to use?
Even a novice web user will have no problem navigating through Credible’s platform. The process is straightforward and simple.
The experience is very seamless even as you go from comparing various lenders to applying for a loan with a specific lender.
Does Credible offer a variety of products?
You can find a slew of various loan products from private student loans to credit cards. It is highly likely that you’ll find the type of product that you’re looking for on Credible.
Just remember, that they don’t work with every lender out there so you will still need to do your own research to see if there are others that might be a better fit for you.
Is Credible a good value?
You can’t go wrong with free and Credible is no exception to this. You can use Credible’s platform for free and even get prequalified for loan products. You can use the site to do everything from comparing, applying, and selecting a loan.
Credible operations allow them to get paid through their partner lenders when a loan closes using their website.
Is Credible trustworthy?
Credible doesn’t share your information with other businesses without your permission according to their privacy rules.
The information you share on their website is also kept secure. Credible uses SSL certificates and a 256-bit security system to protect its user’s data.
Should I use Credible?
Credible delivers on customer experience, simplicity, and ease of use as a loan marketplace. Their platform is very transparent and has been rated highly on Trustpilot by previous users. If you’re shopping for possible loans, using Credible is a great way to search your research.
