I have a pair of student loans at 5.12% (the Sub and Unsub halves of a consolidation).

My lender offers a 0.25% rate reduction if I sign-up or auto debit - but only if I terminate online billing.

As it is, I am over-paying every month by $5-10 (taking it to the next round dollar amount (eg $250 vs $242.19)), and occasional extra payments (1-2 per year).

###Questions:

• can I keep paying extra times / amounts during the year if I subscribe to auto debit?
• all things being equal (ie no extra payments), is the auto debit a better deal for paying-off the loan than the few extra dollars tossed at the payment due each month (in my example above, ~$5/mo)?

I have a pair of student loans at 5.12% (the Sub and Unsub halves of a consolidation).

My lender offers a 0.25% rate reduction if I sign-up or auto debit - but only if I terminate online billing.

As it is, I am over-paying every month by $5-10 (taking it to the next round dollar amount (eg $250 vs $242.19)), and occasional extra payments (1-2 per year).

Questions:

• can I keep paying extra times / amounts during the year if I subscribe to auto debit?
• all things being equal (ie no extra payments), is the auto debit a better deal for paying-off the loan than the few extra dollars tossed at the payment due each month (in my example above, ~$5/mo)?