How Often Can You Refinance Student Loans?

If you've borrowed for school and are looking for ways to save money on loan repayment, you may be wondering, how often can you refinance student loans? 

Student loan refinancing can sometimes drop your interest rate, lowering monthly payments and total payoff costs. And if you have the opportunity to get a new loan at a lower rate, it's tempting to jump on it -- even if you've already refinanced.

The good news is that there's no technical limit on the number of times you can refinance or how often you can refi. Here's what you need to know. 

How many times can you refinance your student loans?

Refinancing is done through private student loan lenders. These refinancing lenders typically don't limit the number of times you are allowed to refinance existing student loans. You can secure a refinance loan as long as:

• You still owe enough on your student loans to meet lender minimums for refinancing (usually around $5,000)
• You can qualify for a student loan refinance loan based on income, credit score (typically 650+), and other financial credentials (or your co-signer's eligibility, if you have one)

It makes sense to refinance student loans multiple times in many cases since it can take many years to repay your student loan debt. If you can save money each time you refinance because interest rates drop over time, you can make loan payoff cheaper and easier. Many refinance lenders don't tack on additional fees, like an origination fee, so you'll generally be able to avoid these extra charges each time you refinance.

How often can you refinance student loans?

Now that you know the answer to the question, how many times can you refinance student loans, you may also be wondering how often you're allowed to secure a new loan.

The good news is that there's also no time limit for how long you have to wait before refinancing. Theoretically, you could refinance your student loans monthly if you want to. However, refinancing only makes sense if you are able to save on your interest costs by doing so. 

Loan refinance rates don't change very dramatically that often. So unless enough time has passed that rates have changed, or unless your financial credentials have changed enough that you can qualify for a lower rate, there's no reason to refinance repeatedly during short periods. 

To ensure you're getting the lowest rate when you secure your new loan, it's a good idea to shop around with several lenders before committing to borrow. Juno can also make this process easier and maximize your chances of getting a better rate. 

Juno gets groups of borrowers together and negotiates with lenders on behalf of the group. By working with Juno to get the best rates, you shouldn't need to ask how often you can refinance student loans because the rate you get will be competitive enough that no other lender will be able to beat it for quite a while. 

Things to Consider Before Refinancing Student Loans

Now that you know the answer to the question, how many times can you refinance student loans, is that there's no limit, you need to decide when it actually makes sense in your financial situation. Here are three questions to ask yourself when you make that choice. 

Can you reduce your interest rate?

The first key consideration is the interest rate. If you cannot reduce the cost of borrowing compared to your current loan, you might not want to refinance. Otherwise, your new loan would make your old loan more expensive since you'd be paying more for borrowing.

Keep in mind that loans can be fixed rates or variable rates. You may want to lock in a fixed rate so that your rates don't increase over time.

How long is your new payoff time?

The second thing to think about is your repayment term. The longer you take to pay off your loan, the more interest you'll pay over time. 

So if you keep refinancing to loans at a lower rate, but you reset the clock on your payoff time with each refinance, you could end up costing yourself more money over time just because you stay in debt for many more years despite lower student loan payments.

When looking for a refinance loan, aim to keep your repayment period the same or shorter, if possible. By avoiding extending the time it takes to pay back your loan, the lower interest rate that you score will save you a lot of money since you won't be adding months or years of interest payments. 

What kind of loans do you have? 

Finally, consider the types of loans you have. Refinancing federal student loans even one time will result in losing important borrower benefits because only private lenders provide refinance loans. This includes access to protections and benefits from the federal government such as student loan forgiveness programs, income-driven repayment plans, and federal deferment and forbearance options.

Refinancing private loans doesn't have this downside, so there's no reason to hesitate if you can get better loan terms by refinancing. 

Is now a good time to refinance?

Whether you have refinanced your loans in the past or are considering refinancing for the first time, the first step is to shop around and compare loan rates.

By getting several quotes, you can make an informed choice about whether securing a new refinance loan would save you money -- and about how much you could save over the life of the loan. This research into what terms lenders offer will guide you towards making the best decision about whether refinancing makes sense right now.

Juno's Exclusive Student Loan Refinance Deals

	Rates	Juno Benefit	Check
Best for Most Can’t be refinanced with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 5.19% APR, Variable starting at 5.99% APR including autopay and Juno discount.	Rate reduction of 0.25%	Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Earnest Deal (it’s free!)
Alternative Best for Most May be able to refinance with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 4.96% APR, Variable starting at 4.99% APR. May include autopay discount.	Up to $1,000 cash back based on loan amount	Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Splash Deal (it’s free!)
Best for Medical Professionals May be able to refinance with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 5.74% APR, Variable starting at 5.49% APR *	Rate reduction of 0.25% *	Soft Credit Check to get rates;* Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Laurel Road Deal (it’s free!)

Juno's Exclusive Student Loan Refinance Deals

Juno is here and ready to help. Join Juno today to find out how much money you could save by joining with other borrowers and using the power of collective bargaining to make lenders compete for your business. You have no obligation to take a loan when you join Juno, so you have nothing to lose by checking if refinancing makes sense for you.