Living abroad but need to pay off UK credit card

dakota1984

Hi everyone, first time poster here!

I am due to move abroad in the near future but still have two credit cards that need paying off. I just need some advice as to how is the best way to do it, do I balance transfer them or get a loan and wipe them clean? Or are there some other alternatives available to me?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

CLAPTON

how much are the debts?
what are the APRs
how much do you pay each month

dakota1984

Collective debt is £8,300

£3,800 on one card and £4,500 on another.

Both cost approx £80 per month. One is a balance transfer card that goes onto 18.9%(if I recall correctly) in 12 months time, the other card is a cash-back card that I used to pay off fully each month until the last 2-3 months, this balance could go onto the above mentioned balance transfer card for the time being to save the charges.

gb12345

dakota1984 wrote: »

Collective debt is £8,300

£3,800 on one card and £4,500 on another.

Both cost approx £80 per month. One is a balance transfer card that goes onto 18.9%(if I recall correctly) in 12 months time, the other card is a cash-back card that I used to pay off fully each month until the last 2-3 months, this balance could go onto the above mentioned balance transfer card for the time being to save the charges.

Is there any possibility of you keeping a UK bank account open that you can transfer money to for the card payments?

CLAPTON

it might make sense to transfers the one costing interest to the BT card


however if you are only paying 160 per month, even at 0% interest it will take you 51 months (4 years and 3 month) to pay then off;
with significant interest you are probably looking at more than 6 years


once the 0% BT is finished you will start paying a lot of interest : from abroad it will be difficult/impossible to get a new card so it may be worth getting a loan before you go.

what's your current income?
what do your credit files say about you?


how long are you going abroad
how much can you afford to repay each month once you have gone

dakota1984

gb12345 - I will be keeping my UK bank account open whilst I am abroad.

Clapton - I think the loan might be the best option as I can cover the loan payments from my salary abroad. I had thought about the difficulty of trying to get a new card whilst abroad also. I have no restrictions on the time I will be away, the offer is a permanent contract. My credit rating is quite good here, also I'm a home owner and will remain so during my time abroad.

I guess this answers my question, to go for a loan. Unless there is any alternative advice you have in response?

Thanks for your help folks.

gb12345

dakota1984 wrote: »

I guess this answers my question, to go for a loan. Unless there is any alternative advice you have in response?

If you are sure you can keep the cards clear while you are abroad then I would be tempted to get the loan for the full amount and pay off the cashback card (or BT it to the other card) and keep the balance in a UK savings account (preferably with the same bank as your current account - so that you can transfer between them easily with online banking). Then pay off the 0% card just before it ends.

dakota1984

gb12345 wrote: »

If you are sure you can keep the cards clear while you are abroad then I would be tempted to get the loan for the full amount and pay off the cashback card (or BT it to the other card) and keep the balance in a UK savings account (preferably with the same bank as your current account - so that you can transfer between them easily with online banking). Then pay off the 0% card just before it ends.

That is a very good idea!