This Bank Is Raffling Off a Year of Loan Payments

Struggling to make your loan payments? SunTrust Banks has a new offer designed to give a few lucky borrowers some breathing room.

As part of its Year onUp Sweepstakes, the Atlanta-based bank will award 25 people “the amount of their monthly mortgage, auto loan or student loan payments for an entire year, up to a certain value,” according to a press release.

The top five winners will receive the amount of their monthly mortgage payment for one year (capped at $1,500 per month), 10 winners will receive the amount of their monthly auto loan payment for one year (capped at $500 per month) and 10 winners will receive the amount of their monthly student loan payment for one year (capped at $500 per month).

The contest can be entered on the bank’s Year onUp Sweepstakes website and is open to customers and non-customers alike. No purchase is necessary to enter or win, per the terms and conditions on the site. Entry must be received by noon, Aug. 31, 2016, and winners will be chosen on or about Sept. 1, 2016.

To enter, you must fill out the online registration form by providing your complete name, date of birth, email address and your Twitter and/or Instagram handle.

The contest comes at a time when many Americans are carrying heavy debt loads. Total outstanding student loan debt now dwarfs total credit card debt, and outstanding car loans have increased from $905 billion last year to more than $1 trillion in the first quarter of 2016. Meanwhile, 24% of home loans approved by six of the largest U.S. banks in 2015 were jumbo, up from 21% the year prior, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Of course, it’s a not a good idea to simply hope that winning a raffle will help you pay back what you owe. (And you may want to read the terms and conditions of any contest you are considering carefully to be sure it’s a fit for you.)

If you’re carrying a significant debt load, consider making a game plan to pay it off quickly. Making on-time payments on any debt is a great asset to have on a credit report, since payment history is one of the key criteria credit agencies use to determine your credit score(s). Your credit utilization, or the amount of debt you owe versus your combined credit limits, also counts heavily toward your credit scores (30%), so keeping your account balances, particularly on credit cards, low or paying them off entirely can help your credit scores immensely.

You can read our primer on getting out of debt here and see where your credit scores currently stand by viewing two of your free credit scores, updated every 14 days, for free on Credit.com.

Note: It’s important to remember that interest rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products frequently change. As a result, rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products cited in these articles may have changed since the date of publication. Please be sure to verify current rates, fees and terms with credit card issuers, banks or other financial institutions directly.

This Bank Is Raffling Off a Year of Loan Payments

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