Which cc to pay first

zackyv6661

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice.

I have 2 credit cards.

One is a balance transfer card, which has £1,500 on it. I still have approximately 4 months of 0% interest on this card before it jumps to 34.9%.

The other is Virgin credit card which has a balance of £3,100 and an interest rate of I think around 19%.

My question is, which card should I focus on paying first?

I don't have a lot of spare cash to pay more than the minimum payment, so I know I won't be able to get the balance transfer card paid off by the time the interest free period is over.

Just a bit confused as to what would be best!

unimaginative_user_name

I think I would pay any extra to the Virgin card and then try and get another balance transfer card when the existing deal runs out. You could try the eligibility checker on this website to see how likely it is you would get another deal. Others may disagree though.

zackyv6661

unimaginative_user_name wrote: »

I think I would pay any extra to the Virgin card and then try and get another balance transfer card when the existing deal runs out. You could try the eligibility checker on this website to see how likely it is you would get another deal. Others may disagree though.

I had considered this, and have used the eligibility calculator (there were a few cards I'd have a 70% chance of success), but I'm not 100% convinced that I would be accepted for another credit card as I only have a fair credit rating?

engineer_amy

Whats your credit file like? Would it be likely that you could obtain a new balance transfer card and transfer the virgin balance to it? This would save the monthly interest charges and free up some spare cash to pay towards the first card with £1500. If provided with a decent limit, there may be enough capacity to transfer both balances to the new card.

If you arent successful in getting a new card, i would pay the one i am currently paying interest on, ie the virgin card

zackyv6661

engineer_amy wrote: »

Whats your credit file like? Would it be likely that you could obtain a new balance transfer card and transfer the virgin balance to it? This would save the monthly interest charges and free up some spare cash to pay towards the first card with £1500. If provided with a decent limit, there may be enough capacity to transfer both balances to the new card.

If you arent successful in getting a new card, i would pay the one i am currently paying interest on, ie the virgin card

My credit rating is fair. I have the 2 credit cards and a loan that I'm paying back too, so not 100% convinced that I'd be accepted for another card. Is it worth risking being declined in the hopes that I can get a longer 0% interest rate?

midnitegremlin

zackyv6661 wrote: »

The other is Virgin credit card which has a balance of £3,100 and an interest rate of I think around 19%.



I don't have a lot of spare cash to pay more than the minimum payment, so I know I won't be able to get the balance transfer card paid off by the time the interest free period is over.

!

I had a virgin card, and rang their helpline for financial difficulties, and they put it on a 5 year repayment programme at 0% interest. So you caould call them? It might have some impact on your credit rating of course.

datlex

Stop paying the minimum amount on your Virgin card and start paying a fixed amount if you can currently pay the minimum you can clearly afford to pay the same every month- what was the highest "minimum" amount that has come out of your account? Could you set your monthly payment to that? If you stick to minimum payments you actually end up paying a lot more. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/minimum-repayments-credit-card

MFWannabe

zackyv6661 wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice.

I have 2 credit cards.

One is a balance transfer card, which has £1,500 on it. I still have approximately 4 months of 0% interest on this card before it jumps to 34.9%. - See comments below on Virgin card. If you can't get a new card now then look to change to another 0% card when this one is due to run out. If you can't get a 0% offer they may offer you a low % for the remainder of the balance

The other is Virgin credit card which has a balance of £3,100 and an interest rate of I think around 19%. - I would look to see if I can get a 0% credit card to transfer this balance to; or if can't get a 0% then a low % for the remainder of the balance. Then when the first one is due to end in 4 months you may be able to transfer the remaining amount to this card also.

My question is, which card should I focus on paying first? The Virgin one if you can't get another lower balance transfer

I don't have a lot of spare cash to pay more than the minimum payment, so I know I won't be able to get the balance transfer card paid off by the time the interest free period is over. - Are there any other bills you could cut back on to free up more cash?

Just a bit confused as to what would be best!

You also mention in another post that you have a loan; how much do you pay on the loan each month and when is that due to end?

zackyv6661

datlex wrote: »

Stop paying the minimum amount on your Virgin card and start paying a fixed amount if you can currently pay the minimum you can clearly afford to pay the same every month- what was the highest "minimum" amount that has come out of your account? Could you set your monthly payment to that? If you stick to minimum payments you actually end up paying a lot more. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/minimum-repayments-credit-card

That would work. I know that it's no good only making the minimum payments, but some months that's all I can afford.

I'll look into setting up a regular direct debit with a fixed amount (above the minimum payment)

Thanks!

FREEZ wrote: »

You also mention in another post that you have a loan; how much do you pay on the loan each month and when is that due to end?

I still have 3 years on my loan at £118 per month.