Can I get a personal loan to pay off another personal loan?

There's no federal rule preventing you from holding two personal loans simultaneously, but most borrowers refinance rather than hold both. The refinance pattern is: new lender disburses funds to your checking account, you immediately pay off the original loan in full, and continue on the new loan.

When DTI is tight, holding both loans simultaneously can push you past the 40% threshold most lenders use, which can complicate any other application (mortgage, auto) during that window. Refinancing keeps the total loan count steady.

If you're refinancing to lower the APR by less than 2 percentage points, the savings often don't justify the new origination fee. Run the math through our APR calculator before committing.