• Many lenders offer reductions to your interest rate for making on-time payments or will offer you cash back or a credit to your principal loan balance. Be sure you understand what the borrower benefits are for your loan(s) and make sure you qualify for them. This will also help build strong credit for your future.
• For private loans, the better your credit, the better your interest rate will be. You may also qualify for lower rates if you have a co-signer or co-borrower for your private loan, so don't overlook this option.
• Many lenders allow you to reduce your interest rate by 0.25% or more for making automated payments from your bank account (sometimes called auto-debit).
• Do your homework before you decide to consolidate your loans and lock in the interest rate for life. Since you can generally only consolidate once, make sure the interest rate climate and payment periods for loan consolidation suit your specific financial needs and goals.

For more information about interest rates visit our interest rate FAQs.