Student Balance Transfer - Help??

jonmcnamaradale

Hi there all,

I don't know if anyone will be able to offer any advice but here goes....

I am a student and I have a Capital One credit card. I have a balance on there that I cannot afford to pay off all at once, because I need the money to live on. I could use my overdraft but I don't want to in case I need it. I am trying to pay it off bit by bit and I am trying to pay as much off as I can at once without eating in to my bank balance too much. However as I am paying it off in smaller chunks, they charge me a load of interest so the balance just goes back up again.
I am wandering if it's possible for me to balance transfer onto another card with less interest or even 0% for a certain time to give me time to pay it off. My current interest with Capital One is 34.9%APR (I have the classic credit card). My Bank told me that my credit score is fine.
I think the reason that Virgin wouldn't accept me for their 0% balance transfer card is that I have no income apart from my student loan (I am finding it hard to find a part time job).

Has anyone got any advice on this please?

Thanks

Jon

TFD_2

Is your overdraft sufficient to cover the card debt? If so, use this to pay off the card, and then hang onto the card "in case you need it" rather than the overdraft.

Your overdraft will be a much lower APR and will allow you to pay the debt off quicker.

It is unlikely if you are not in employment that you will get accepted for a 0% card.

jonmcnamaradale

Yes it is more that sufficient to cover it. Thanks for this advice I will call my bank to check that my overdraft is enabled and I will clear the credit card this way. That means that I can get my finances in order without paying interest (student overdraft is free) and keep my capital one card for emergencies- right?

withnell

Yes precisely - Your will then have your full capital one credit limit for emergencies, and instead of paying credit card APR you're paying nothing - winner!

Rob_07

Hi,
If you are still a student i'm presuming that you have a student bank account with a 0% overdraft if so use this to clear the credit card balance as then you won't have interest to pay and as has already been mentioned use your credit card for future spending if required. If this is not an option why don't you apply for a student credit card, i have one with barclaycard and halifax, the one with barclaycard is 14.9 % APR and halifax is 17.9% APR, i only use them to my advantage to help create a good credit score and pay them off in full however in your case the APR would be lower than the capital one card, however onky use this as a last resort as a balance transfer will incur a fee and you will need to calculate if overall you would be better off in switching cards.

Rob

HeadInSand_2

Be very careful,. this is a classic debt trap.
Clear card with overdraft.
Use card.
Repeat.
Before you know it you'll have a maxxed CC and maxxed OD. Using the OD to clear the card is indeed the best option, but seriously consider closing the card down.

Lokolo

Why do people use credit cards if they can't afford them

TFD_2

Lokolo wrote: »

Why do people use credit cards if they can't afford them

Plenty of reasons. Life isn't always rosy.

ShelfStacker_3

HeadInSand wrote: »

Be very careful,. this is a classic debt trap.
Clear card with overdraft.
Use card.
Repeat.
Before you know it you'll have a maxxed CC and maxxed OD. Using the OD to clear the card is indeed the best option, but seriously consider closing the card down.

^^^^ this.

OP: How big is your overdraft? Big enough for any emergencies, surely? If so, close the card. Seriously.