No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
my direct loans were transferred to granite state a few years back, and i swear it seems i'm getting nowhere close to paying them off, even after making double payments for over a year ($500 instead of $248). the customer service people i've talked to say i cannot apply extra money to principal. the interest has been as high as 8.9 but is currently at 5.125. i'm very frustrated and want to pay this off in less than 4 years. my balance is $32k down from $36k in 6 years! any advice on options?
So extra payments can't be applied to the principle? I did not know that. I've been thinking of paying extra on mine but I may have to come up with a different plan.
This is ridiculous that they won't let you apply any extra money to your principal. What do they do with the extra money then?
Can you refinance and thus switch to a servicer that would allow you to make extra payments?
What type of loans are these? You said they were originally "direct loans" which would be federal, but federal student loans do not have a variable interest rate. The interest is set by Congress and is determined when the loan is disbursed.
For Federal student loans, payments are applied as explained in this article: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/2014/07/23/understand-the-pieces-of-your-s...
You can ask your servicer for a statement that shows how your payments have been applied. With Federal loans, the choice to advance your due date (or not) does not change how your payment is applied, just when the next payment is due. With private loans, the terms may be different because each lender sets up their own contract with the borrower.