Which order should I pay off loans?

[SpecialK32]

I'm working on the snowball method to pay off my student loans. I have 3 through Sallie Mae and 1 through Chase. I'm just about finished with loan 1 and have a solid plan to get rid of loan 2 by April 2014. So here's my question:

My biggest loan is through Sallie Mae for $25,000 at 4.75%. It is on an interest only payment plan until March 2015, making the monthly payment $108. My Chase loan is $21,000 at 6.5% and is not on any discounted payment plan, making it $170 monthly. Normally I would pay my Chase loan next in my snowball method but does it make any sense to work on the Sallie Mae debt while the minimums are lower than normal? They will go up to $194 as of March 2015.

Maybe it won't make a difference but I just wanted to get an outside perspective to see if there's a specific benefit to paying one loan faster than the other.

Thanks!

[Wino]

My biggest loan is through Sallie Mae for $25,000 at 4.75%.
My Chase loan is $21,000 at 6.5%

(Is) there's a specific benefit to paying one loan faster than the other?

After some editing, the above are the hard facts. First point: Don't think in terms of "payment." Think in terms of "debt load."

Second point: "Benefit" is a nebulous term. Your specific financial situation will determine which "benefit" benefits you more than another.

Benefit of paying off the Sallie Mae loan: If you end up in bankruptcy, Sallie Mae will not be forgiven, and you'll still owe it. Paying it off early will make you "safer" financially if you lose your income for any reason.

Benefit of paying off the Chase loan: The interest rate is higher, and the loan amount is smaller. This means that both the "Debt snowball method" (lowest balance first) and the "Debt Tsunami method" (higher interest rate first) favor paying off this loan first.

There are other methods, as well. There's the "who do I hate worse" method, which might mean paying off the "hated" loan first to deny them interest or paying off the "hated" loan last to make them wait for the money and to put their money at risk in case you declare bankruptcy.

[SpecialK32]

My question really is if there's any advantage to paying more to the loan with interest-only minimums, while that term qualifies? I'm guessing it doesn't save me any money down the road or make debt payment any easier but I just figured I'd check.

[dfeucht]

If you pay down the Sallie Mae while in the interest only mode, I would think the minimum would be lower when you must pay back prinicipal and interest because the principal loan amount would be quite a bit lower in 2015.

If it were me though I would pay the Chase one down first because having a little flexibility on the interest only loan allows you to put more money toward earning a much better "return" on your debt repayment.