NaviRefi Student Loan Review 2023

Loan Eligibility and Approval

To be eligible for student loan refinancing with NaviRefi, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• provide invitation code
• Live in the District of Columbia or any NaviRefi-rented state (all except Nevada)
• Be of age as defined in your state of residence
• Be a U.S. citizen or non-citizen permanent resident of the U.S.
• Attend a school that is eligible for Title IV Federal Student Aid

There are also personal financial requirements that are considered as part of the application process.

• Be a non-alumni of a non-profit institution and have a minimum credit score of 680 or 700 if the last attendance date is at least 6 years ago
• Employed or have sufficient income from other sources
• Keep your rent and mortgage payments up to date
• No bankruptcy on recently collected credit reports or accounts

NaviRefi is by invitation only. This means we pre-screen applicants and speed up the application process significantly. However, you will need to provide personal, income and debt information and NaviRefi will perform a hard credit pull.

Are co-signers available?

A joint guarantor cannot be used when renting a naviref. Applicants must qualify themselves based on credit history, income, and other requirements.

Are pre-approved loans available?

NaviRefi does not offer pre-qualification, but applicants are existing Navient customers who have been pre-screened and sent an invitation code. This does not mean that all loan applications are automatically approved, but it makes the loan application process much faster.

To confirm the estimated loan interest rate, a full application must be submitted and NaviRefi will perform a hard credit pull. This can affect your credit score.

Time taken for loan approval and payment

After your application is submitted online, NaviRefi will indicate if you will be approved instantly.If approved, select your loan details. NaviRefi will contact the school to confirm enrollment.

For private student loans (not refinanced), school approval varies by school and it may take several weeks for the funds to disburse. Some schools authenticate within a few weeks of the start of classes, while others complete the process within a set period of time. We encourage you to apply as early as possible to ensure funds are available when you need them.

Loan Fees and Repayment Options

loan fee

NaviRefi does not charge any origination, prepaid or additional payment fees. Also, there are no penalties for late payments. However, NaviRefi does not disclose whether there are fees for refunds, collections, or even loan applications and payments (most lenders do not charge fees for applications or payments).

loan discount

NaviRefi will apply a 0.25% discount if you set up automatic payments on your account. This is the only discount available and the 0.25% discount is included in the rate advertised on the website.

Repayment method

NaviRefi has multiple repayment options and multiple terms available.

• Standard full payment: Refinancing loans typically follow a standard principal and interest repayment schedule based on the loan term you choose.
• deferred payment: NaviRefi provides deferment for certain situations such as returning to school at least half-time, military service, internships, residencies or fellowship programs. Deferrals must be individually requested and approved.
• fee rebate program: NaviRefi offers low payments for borrowers experiencing financial difficulties. This allows for reduced payments for up to 6 months. This increases the total time it takes to pay off the loan and accrues more interest. The 0.25% Autopore discount is not available during the rate discount program. Three on-time payments may be required to qualify for reduced charges.

NaviRefi also offers a grace period of up to 9 months for recent graduates, but interest will continue to accrue and you must apply for this program.

reward

There are no rewards or signup bonuses for using NaviRefi.

Loan Forbearance and Deductible Options

NaviRefi offers several loan relief programs for financially distressed borrowers.

• skip a payment: NaviRefi’s partner, loan origination firm Earnest, offers a skip-a-payment program, and NaviRefi offers a similar program. The borrower can omit one payment every 12 months, but his next 12 months’ payments will increase slightly. Your account must have at least 6 months of on-time payments to be eligible.
• tolerance: Borrowers can apply for deferment, but all applications are approved on a case-by-case basis. Forgiveness may temporarily stop or reduce payments, but interest will continue to accrue. Borrowers can apply when they experience a sudden loss of income or other life event that prevents them from paying off their monthly loan.
• Loan Forgiveness and Disclaimer: NaviRefi may offer student loan forgiveness due to death or permanent disability. Waivers or waivers must be applied for separately.

customer service

NaviRefi provides a brief help document on its website, but the information is sparse. Borrowers and applicants can also access support by email or by phone at (844) 381-6621.

Customer support hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM ET and Friday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET.

Navient, the parent company of NaviRefi, received 1,162 complaints (out of 6,700,000 customers) in 2022, according to The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Navi Refi Student Loan Application

You can apply for a NaviRefi student loan refinance online or by phone. You will need to submit your Navient referral code and your personal and financial information. NaviRefi claims the process takes about 3 minutes, although it can take some time to track down all the information you need.

The information you need to provide includes:

• Personal information (name, address, email address, etc.)
• social security number
• Education information
• Payment of current debt
• Employed and non-employed sources of income

NaviRefi performs a credit check before displaying interest rates. This requires a hard pull on your credit profile (which can affect your score). A credit score of at least 680-700 is required to be approved.

another choice

	Nabirefi	Laurel Road	Discover
Types of Loans Offered	refinancing	refinancing; refinancing for medical personnel	Undergraduate; Graduation; Parent; Special Loan
Refinancing Fixed APR	3.99%–8.74%	4.49%–6.90%	4.99%–9.89%
Refinancing Variable APR	3.89%–8.64%	2.50%–6.80%	5.49%–9.89%
Origination/Management Fee	none	none	none
Repayment method	Postpone; Rate Reduction; Full Payment	fixed payment; variable interest rate	Deferred; Repaired; Interest Only.full payment
Refinanceable	yes	yes	yes

final verdict

NaviRefi is an easy option for Navient customers to refinance their personal or federal student loans. NaviRefi offers a fast application process and no loan initiation, prepayment or late fees.

Navient (the parent company) has a troubled history of litigation and fraudulent lending practices, and it is not possible to check interest rates without drawing credit. This makes it wise to research alternative student loan refinancing companies as well.

Overall, if you’re considering refinancing and have received an invitation, NaviRefi is worth checking out, but I recommend doing some research before making a decision.

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methodology

Investopedia is dedicated to providing consumers with unbiased and comprehensive reviews of personal loan lenders. We collect hundreds of data points from over 40 lenders, including interest rates, fees, loan amounts and repayment terms, to evaluate providers, and our reviews help users make informed decisions about their borrowing needs I made it