First Time Credit Card for a Personal Career Development Loan

ACTM

Hi Guys,
I'm lucky enough to be relatively secure as I am now, but as I am also wanting to move forward with life, I've been looking into as much information as I can about the costs of moving out and living independently. As such, I’m reducing as much as I can from my outgoings, especially if I’m unnecessarily paying more overall than I need to.

I took out a personal career development loan (PCDL) with Barclays to fund my Masters Degree. Since finishing the course I've been paying £190 a month and still have £5300 left to pay off. I have saved £3000 which just sits in my current account. The Loan has no early settlement fee.

As far as I can see, I cannot make a balance transfer on a credit card and must instead do a money transfer into my current account and then use that current account to pay off the loan.

Using the Virgin Money card, 0% interest down from 9.9 sounds like a no brainier to me, but I’m hesitant because I've never owned a credit card and therefore have a couple of questions.

• Does the amount currently held in my current account affect my credit limit. So for instance, would it be better to pay my saved 3000 into my PCDL before opening an account with virgin?
• Does the repayment date on credit cards get decided before or after you make the first transaction? Will there be a scenario where if i transfer money a day before a repayment date, I'll have to make a repayment that same day to keep the promotional interest rate of 0%?
• Is this the best route for me or am I not considering something better?

The current plan: Virgin Money Transfer £2300 in my current account, then use that with the savings to pay off this PCDL.

Apologies if this information has already been made clear somewhere else. I just want to be 100% I’m doing the right thing; the PCDL worked out surprisingly expensive.

Thanks for any advice!

[Deleted User]

ACTM wrote: »

[*]Does the amount currently held in my current account affect my credit limit.

No.

ACTM wrote: »

[*]So for instance, would it be better to pay my saved 3000 into my PCDL before opening an account with virgin?

Yes, as it will reduce the interest you're paying and potentially increase the chances of getting a card, by lowering your debt.

ACTM wrote: »

[*]Does the repayment date on credit cards get decided before or after you make the first transaction? Will there be a scenario where if i transfer money a day before a repayment date, I'll have to make a repayment that same day to keep the promotional interest rate of 0%?

It's set when you open the account. You may be able to change it. You'll have at least two weeks between transaction and pauyment due date, depending on timings.

ACTM wrote: »

[*]Is this the best route for me or am I not considering something better?

You need to consider that you may well not get a 0% card, with a limited credit history. In which case, you may need to do it the old fashioned way, through cutting back costs and overpaying.