Do I pay off my loan with a credit card?!

Kezza1983

Hi guys, im new to all this and wondered if you could give me a bit of advice.
I am 26 and had this stupid loan hanging over my head since I was 18. I have consolidated it twice and am totally regretting get the loan out in the first place. There is still 15 months to pay off on the loan and I currently pay £195.55 per month on a £10,000 loan (total to pay off - about £14500!) not to mention the amount of interest I have probably paid on the last 2 loans I had before I consolidated to this final one.

It really gets me down still having this amount coming out of my bank each month and I have vowed never to get another loan out EVER! but my problem now is that I really want to train to be a nurse but this loan amount may mean that I cant do it. Because I would need to live off the bursary of what is the equivilant of £540 per month and obviously £195.55 is quite a big chunk of this.

There is absolutely no way that I can pay this off early myself and unfortunately dont know anyone rich enough to assist me with it!!
There is about £4200 left remaining on this and I was wondering if there was a way of getting a credit card to pay this off?! ie if I can find one that is 0%? I dont know if this is possible because its not really going to be a balance transfer its going to be a purchase isnt it?!

Im just getting sick and tired of the amount owing and the interest i am paying on this. I would like to find a way of getting 0% interest so at least I know what I am paying off is actually coming off the remaining total and should I not be able to afford as much one month then as long as I repay the minimum amount then its not a problem.

So.... do I get a credit card out to pay off my loan (approx £4200) ????

HELP!!!


Kerry x

CHR15

We should put a link to this thread on all the posts from the youngsters desperate for their brand new cars!

I don't think you will get a 0% for that much. Last time I did one I didn't even find out my limit until I received the card it was £3,000 but that was during the good times for credit.

Hope someone can help. Good luck

IWantToBeFree_2

If you are going to go down the credit card route, you would need one that allowed you to do Super Balance Transfers, which means that you can transfer to your current account rather than another credit card, these usually attract a slightly higher fee (4% for Virgin).

The cards that do this are ones issued by MBNA, Egg and the Post Office.

Virgin (MBNA) currently have a 16 month 0% balance transfer promotion and the minimum payments for the card during the promotional period are just £25 (excluding the first one where you also pay the balance transfer fee).

keza

im a kerry, im 24, i have a loan im looking to pay off with a credit card, and ive also consolodated it twice! nice to know someones the same as me. dont feel so alone now

Kezza1983

Hi, thanks for your replies so far... any other replies are more than welcome?

Also, could you elaborate on Super balance transfers?! Im not too sure what you mean?

p.s. feel free to put this on another thread for people looking to get a loan when they are young. I wouldnt recommend it! Ive learned from my mistakes and still paying the price!

DVardysShadow

Kezza1983 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for your replies so far... any other replies are more than welcome?

Hmm, you can't get rid of a loan with another loan.I thought you had worked that out - it is no more than consolidating a single loan. The only value in switching is to get a lower rate. But face it, if you only have 15 months to go, it is not the interest which is killing your plans, it is the amount you owe.

If you are going on to a bursary, you need to put your plans on hold until you have killed that loan, else it will cripple you. plus the arithmetic does not add up. 15 months at £200 is £3000, but you say you owe £4200 ... ??

Kezza1983

Oh yes.... unfortunately I missed a year off! It looks like its Nov 2011 that the loan will be paid off.
So am i right in thinking that I have no other options?! i.e. the credit card option isnt a good one?

The only reason I was thinking credit card is - 1) No interest? 2) if I cant afford £200 one month then I dont 'have' to pay it and as long as a pay then minimum then thats fine.

p.s. - I have been approved a credit card for that amount. but im still unsure what the 'super' balance transfer is.

IWantToBeFree_2

As I said in my first post, a Super Balance Transfer is where you transfer the money into your current account rather than another card, so you a free to do with it as you like. Normally balance transfers are just to other cards, i.e. using one card to pay off another.

This way, you transfer the money to your current account, and pay off the loan, its the only way to clear it getting a balance transfer rate, you can't transfer the loan straight to the car and get 0%.

Becareful though, you say you have been approved for a card, who is it by? Not all lenders allow SBTs and if it isn't MBNA, Egg or Post Office, you won't be able to do it using a 0% balance transfer rate and would be charged as a cash withdrawal, and be VERY expensive.

Typhoon2000

Unless you are planningon paying of your entire (or majority) credit card bill before the the interst free period ends, I would stay away from the credit card option. From the sounds of it, you plan only to the minimum payment (minimum you need to pay to avoid getting a penealty) on your credit bill during the interest free period. If you getting one of the MBNA backed superbalance transfer cards you can expect your interest rate to be 30%+ APR after your interst free period ends.

dfh

If you can pay off the entire amount in 12 months,then by all means do a BT.If not ,think carefully,after the zero percent offer has run out , you could be stung with a massive interest rate.

Kezza1983

thanks guys,
Could I not transfer the balance to another 0% interest free card each time my interest free period runs out?!
I am hoping to pay off the same £200 a month (if not more) but if I cant one month then that amount would be reduced.

ho hum..... i really dont know what to do! sorry to sound stupid it just looks like there are a lot of issues I need to consider and its getting a little confusing!