FinAid | Loans | PLUS Loan Discounts

PLUS Loan Discounts

The following is a basic comparison chart that highlights the loan discounts each lender offers for PLUS Loans. Only lenders that offer PLUS loan discounts are included in this list. Some lenders offer different discounts for parent PLUS and graduate and professional student PLUS loans. More information about PLUS loans can be found in the parent PLUS loan and graduate and professional student PLUS loan sections of FinAid.

The lenders are listed in alphabetical order. No significance should be inferred from the order in which the lenders are listed.

The most common PLUS loan discounts include a 0.25% interest rate reduction for having your monthly loan payments direct debited from your bank account (and also often requiring online electronic statement delivery) and a 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months of on-time monthly payments for as long as you continue making on-time payments.

Advertisement

In this chart, a phrase "after 36 months" should be interpreted as meaning "after the first 36 consecutive monthly payments" unless otherwise specified.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 reduced the subsidies that lenders receive from the federal government. Many lenders have reacted by no longer waiving the default and origination fees or by cutting the value of other loan discounts in half. (This chart only lists when a lender has waived the loan fees. If there is no mention of loan fees it means the lender charges the full amount allowed by law, namely a 1% default fee and a 3% origination fee.) Some lenders have been slow to update the discounts published on their web sites, so it is a good idea to confirm the discounts before committing to a loan from any lender.

See Student Loan Discounts for important caveats on the hidden gotchas of loan discount programs and tips on identifying the best loan discount programs.

These lenders all reserve the right to change or discontinue their loan discount programs at any time without notice. You should always check the lender's web site for the latest information on their borrower benefit programs.

Note: Lenders that intend to sell their loans to the US Department of Education during the 2008-09 academic year will likely limit the back-end discounts to just a 0.25% interest rate reduction for auto-debit.

Lender	Direct Debit (ACH/EFT) Discounts	On-time Payment Discounts	Other Discounts, Notes
Access Group	0.25% interest rate reduction
AlaskAdvantage	0.25% interest rate reduction	Additional 1% interest rate reduction after 48 months.	3% principal reduction after full disbursement. 1.0% immediate interest rate reduction (Basic). 1% interest rate reduction for Alaska Presence Benefit (living or attending school in Alaska).
ALL Student Loan (California - Grad PLUS)	0.25% interest rate reduction		0% default fee at select guarantors
ALL Student Loan (California - Parent PLUS)	0.25% interest rate reduction		0% default fee at select guarantors.
AMS (833067)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Arizona Higher Education Loan Authority (AHELA)	0.50% interest rate reduction	1.0% interest rate reduction at repayment.	0% default fee. Prompt payment benefits lost if 60 days or more late.
Associated Bank	0.25% interest rate reduction
Citizens Bank	0.25% interest rate reduction	1% interest rate reduction at disbursement.	0% default fee.
CollegeBound Loans	0.25% interest rate reduction	1.0% interest rate reduction after unspecified number of months
College Foundation Inc.	1.25% interest rate reduction	0.75% interest rate reduction at repayment	0% default fee. 3% credit corresponding to the origination fee.
College Pay Way	0.25% interest rate reduction	3% principal balance reduction after 1 month. 1% interest rate reduction after 24 months.
Collegiate Funding Services (CFS)	0.25% interest rate reduction (Parent PLUS). 0.30% interest rate reduction (Grad PLUS).	3% principal reduction (current principal balance) after 36 months and 0.5% interest rate reduction after 36 months (Parent PLUS). 1.2% principal reduction (original principal balance) after 12 months and 2.4% principal reduction (original principal balance) after 24 months (Grad PLUS).
Connecticut Student Loan Foundation	0.5% interest rate reduction		0.5% interest rate reduction for using Susie Mae.
Discover Student Loans	0.25% interest rate reduction		0% default fee. 3% origination fee credited back within 6 months of full disbursement. 2% cash back (principal reduction) at graduation.
Edamerica	0.25% interest rate reduction (Parent PLUS)	1% interest rate reduction at disbursement (Parent PLUS). 0.50% interest rate reduction at repayment (Grad PLUS). Benefit repair option after 24 months of on-time payments.	0% default fee. 1.25% interest rate reduction at disbursement (Grad PLUS).
Education Loan Resources	0.25% interest rate reduction		Existing borrowers only.
Fifth Third Bank 808780 As of 3/23/09. Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS	0.25% interest rate reduction
Frost Bank	0.75% interest rate reduction	1% principal reduction after 12 months, 2% principal reduction after 24 months, and 3% principal reduction after 36 months. All principal reductions are based on the current principal balance at the time of the reduction and are independent.	0% origination fees. Forgiveness of up to the final $599 of the loan. (Remainder of loan balance is forgiven when loan account balance is paid down to less than $600.)
Graduate Leverage	0.25% interest rate reduction
M&I Bank	0.25% interest rate reduction
Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS	0.25% interest rate reduction	1% interest rate reduction at repayment.	0% default fee.
Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority (MHESLA)	0.25% interest rate reduction		Fixed 7.9% interest rate. Benefits are lost if the loans are consolidated. These rates are offered by lenders that sell their loans to MHESLA.
Nellie Mae (829076)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Nelnet	0.25% interest rate reduction
New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corporation (NHHELCO)	0.25% interest rate reduction
New Mexico Student Loans (NMSL)	0.25% interest rate reduction		0% default fee
Northstar Education Finance	0.25% interest rate reduction		0% or 1% default fee.
Regions Bank (discounts)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Sallie Mae (802218)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Southwest Student Services (830630)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Student Assistance Foundation (SAF)	0.50% interest rate reduction (Grad PLUS) or 0.25% interest rate reduction (Parent PLUS).	2% principal reduction (based on original loan balance) after the first 12 months (Grad PLUS). 1% principal reduction (based on current loan balance) after each 12 months, with 10 year limit (Parent PLUS).	1.0% interest rate reduction upon full disbursement. (Grad PLUS)
Student Funding Group, LLC	0.25% interest rate reduction (Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS).		0% default fee. StuFund will use no-fee guarantee agencies when available. Otherwise, a guarantee fee of up to 1.0% will be assessed.
Student Loan Finance Association (833789)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Student Loan Funding (831455)	0.25% interest rate reduction
Student Loan Network			Student Loan Network offers the same benefits as Student Loan Xpress.
Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC)	0.25% interest rate reduction		0% default fee.
Wachovia		1% immediate principal reduction at repayment, additional 1% principal reduction after 12 months, additional 1.5% principal reduction after 24 months (Parent PLUS). All principal reductions are based on the original principal balance. 0.60% interest rate reduction at disbursement, retained if first 12 payments paid on time (Grad PLUS). [In New England substitute a 1.25% interest rate reduction at repayment for direct debit and on-time payments (Parent PLUS). In Pennsylvania substitute a 1% rate reduction at disbursement and a 0.25% rate reduction for direct debit (Parent PLUS).]	3% principal reduction (based on original principal balance) 6 months after disbursement (Grad PLUS).
Wells Fargo	0.5% interest rate reduction (if debited from Wells Fargo account). 0.25% interest rate reduction (if debited from a non-Wells Fargo account).	0.5% interest rate reduction at disbursement, increasing to 1.5% interest rate reduction at repayment (Grad PLUS). 0.75% interest rate reduction at repayment (Parent PLUS). If late with a payment, the benefit is recovered after 24 on-time monthly payments.	0% default fees. Waives up to the last six originally scheduled loan payments ($4,500 minimum initial balance).
Wyoming Student Loan Corporation	0.5% interest rate reduction		$100 principal reduction to members of the United States Military, including Reservists and members of the National Guard.