Citizens Bank Student Loans Review 2026: Pros and Cons

Citizens Bank is a full-service bank that also offers private student loans and student loan refinancing.

It doesn’t get much more traditional than Citizens Bank. This institution is a well-established option that ranks as one of the nation’s largest lenders among student loans. Founded in 1828, its reputation for direct solutions among college-age borrowers has grown.

Citizens Bank offers unique borrowing options, including one of the highest loan limits available. This constantly puts the Nationals on our list Best Places to Refinance Student Loans.

Remember, when shopping for student loans, always compare your options. We recommend reasonablewhere you can compare Citizens to other lenders. Plus, College Investor readers get a $1,000 bonus when they refinance with a Credible loan over $100,000, or $500 for a loan under $100,000. This is great! See how Citizens Bank compares!

Refinancing a student loan from Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank offers more stability over non-bank student loan refinancing lenders that are not as closely regulated. This means less stress on borrowers about where the money will come from. But how do their terms, prices, fees and benefits compare to the competition? Here’s what you need to know.

Interest rates

Citizens Bank It offers the following rates on its flagship student loan refinancing product:

• Variable rate: 5.67% – 10.63% April
• Fixed price: 5.44% – 10.14% April

The maximum rate you’ll pay on a variable rate loan is the maximum 21.00% APR, or base rate + 9.00%.

Remember that prices and terms are subject to change. While we do our best to keep our review up to date with accurate information, your best bet is to check with Citizens and confirm everything before applying.

Payment terms

Citizens Bank offers refinancing loans for 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20 years. Keep in mind that 5-year loans offer the best rates – especially when it comes to a variable rate loan. If you want to last longer than 5 years, we recommend sticking with a fixed rate loan.

Special discounts

There are some great features that can bring rates down – savings of up to 0.50% on your loans APR.

If you already have an account Citizens BankYou may be eligible for a 0.25% loyalty discount. Setting up automatic deductions for your monthly student loan payments will lower your APR by an additional 0.25%.

Parent Plus Refinancing

Parent PLUS loans come with higher interest rates than Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Loans. So parents who take out these loans will likely make the most out of refinancing. Fortunately, Citizens Bank allows parents to refinance PLUS loans. It says the interest rate ranges on these loans are up to 2.61% lower than current interest rates on PLUS loans.

Cosigner options

When applying for any type of loan product, a cosigner with a good credit history may also result in a lower minimum payment or lower rates. Citizens allows co-signers to refinance loans. It will also allow borrowers to request a cosigner’s release after they make at least 36 consecutive payments on time.

How does Citizens Bank compare?

Citizens Bank isn’t the only student loan lender focused on refinancing student loans. However, they are consistently well-rated on our list of the best student loan refinancing lenders.

Check out this quick comparison here:

We all know how difficult it is to find a job right out of college, but no one prepares to lose their job after spending years in their field. Citizen’s Bank does not offer any formal hardship policy, but instead evaluates each request on a case-by-case basis. But it provides death and disability relief.

As with all private lenders, you won’t be able to join an income-driven repayment plan with Citizens Bank if you’re having trouble making payments on your current salary. If you have federal student loans and are currently dealing with income instability, you may want to hold off on refinancing them.

Citizens Bank It is a traditional bank and lender – and many of its terms are consistent with that. To get the best rates and terms, you must have an excellent credit score. Citizens Bank is a national bank, so no matter where you go in the United States, you can use Citizens.

People with low credit scores may have difficulty getting a loan through Citizens Bank. Although the bank does not disclose the actual minimum credit score, it is supposed to be 700 to 750. For this reason, know your credit score before even trying to apply with the bank. Learn how student loans affect your credit score.

Citizens is one of the few student loan refinancing companies that accepts applications from college-level borrowers. But to be eligible, you must be someone who has made at least 12 on-time payments on your existing loans since leaving school.

The great advantage of the bank is the lack of fees. Unlike some programs, Citizens does not charge any fees for application or processing. Even access to your credit score is covered at no additional charge.

There’s also great news for anyone looking to get their loan terminated early. Citizens Bank does not impose prepayment penalties. This no-fee approach encourages students to spend as much on payments as possible, which means spending less money on interest overall.

However, Citizens Bank is not very generous if you are late With your payments. The bank charges a fee of 5% of the amount due after payment is late for at least 15 days.

As expected from a bank, citizens take account security very seriously. Its site is protected with Extensible Validation Socket Layer (EV SSL) certificates. They also use advanced fraud detection systems and promise to never sell your personal information.

If you also have a savings or checking account with Citizens Bank, your deposits are protected up to $250,000 with FDIC insurance.

How can I contact Citizens Bank?

Sometimes, you just have to talk to a representative. Fortunately, it’s easy to contact Citizens Bank.

You can contact our customer service team at 1-866-259-3767. Business hours are 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Monday to Friday and 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Saturday.

And unlike many online-only lenders, you may also be able to speak with a Citizens customer service representative in person at one of their over 1,000 local branches.

Why should you trust us?

I’m America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™ and have been actively writing about and covering student loans since 2009. The team and I here at The College Investor have been actively tracking student loan providers since 2015 and have reviewed, tested, and followed almost every provider and lender in the industry.

Furthermore, our compliance team reviews the prices and terms contained in this list every day of the week for accuracy. This way you can make sure you’re looking for an accurate and up-to-date price when you comparison shop.

Is it worth it?

Citizen Bank It won’t be the right choice for everyone. But it’s a viable option for people with good credit. The no-fee application process does not penalize potential borrowers. If you have large credit and want to refinance a high-balance loan, Citizens Bank is one of the best options available.

On the other hand, the lack of a formal tolerance policy makes it less than optimal for anyone who does not expect a steady job for years to come.

Remember, always shop around for your loan. Payment reasonable And see how Citizen’s Bank stacks up against other lenders. And don’t forget, College Investor readers get a bonus of up to $1,000 when they refinance through Credible. Citizen Bank could be the best choice, and you’ll get a bonus!

Here are some questions we receive about refinancing a Citizens Bank student loan:

Where is Citizen Bank’s headquarters?

Citizens Financial Group is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, but is able to offer student loan refinancing in all 50 states.

Who services Citizens Bank student loans?

Citizens Bank uses Firstmark’s services to manage borrowers’ accounts and process payments.

Yes, Citizens Bank has been around since 1828 and is currently the 13th largest retail bank in the United States.

Is Citizens Bank good for refinancing student loans?

Citizens tends to offer competitive rates and can offer autopay and loyalty discounts of up to 0.50%. But it lacks a specific forgiveness policy and does not offer as many repayment terms as some other lenders.