Why can't I do this?

timesup

Can any-one please tell me why you can't take out a credit card to pay off a bank overdraft? We changed banks approx 6 years ago and all d/d and s/o are now with this bank.
Unfortunately at that time we also had an Advantage Gold account with o/d of £3400 intending to pay it off....but with car bills,accountants fees, tax to find (cuz o/h is self-employed) it's been creeping up to the max of £4500 o/d and all I seem to be doing is paying off the interest plus the AG £12 fee each month.
I think my only option is to convert it to a loan, but why can't I use a credit card to pay it back?
Can some-one please help me?

pinkkaz

Hi timesup, you can't usually transfer current account balances onto your credit card, but you can with an egg card - I got an egg card for that very reason!

warburtonrichard

It depends on your credit card provider; some issue you with balance transfer cheques to pay your bills on, but these can be paid into a bank account. Also any card issued by MBNA (there are lots, including MBNA's own, Virgin Money, Alliance & LEicester) you can use to pay money as cash into your current account, but as a balance transfer.
The Egg Money card (not the Egg card) can also be used in this way.

What I will say though is that after the initial balance transfer period is over, the rate will revert back to a rate as bad or worse than your overdraft rate, so you should try to get as much paid in the e.g. year.

If you think that a year of a balance transfer at 0% is enough to get most of it paid back, then go for it. If you think you'll be nowhere close, maybe a Loan could be better

BUT

You get nowhere if you don't spend less than you earn; make sure you've sorted that, post your SOA etc to get help here on what you can do to make in-roads to the debt before you take on a new borrowing; otherwise you'll be in the danger zone of running up both and being twice as bad.

Good luck

Warby

GreyPilgrim

I've just done my first ever bit of stoozing with the virgin credit card. They let me do a cash transfer to my bank account (supposedly to pay off an overdraft, which didn't actually exist but they never checked).

it was a surprise to me too - i was always under the impression that balance transfers only happened from credit card to credit card.

GP

Doctormiracle

I was sent some "credit card cheques" by Sonycard (MBNA) offering an interest-free period till next June up to my credit limit, so I paid myself £8000. My next statement listed the £8000 plus a credit card fee of £240 plus an overlimit fee of £12 (because the credit card fee had taken me over the limit) plus an interest charge of £83.99 (on the £252) making a total of £8335.99. This certainly makes a dent in any interest I might earn by investing the £8000 and all in all I don't think it was a very good deal. I shan't do it again.

duchy

OUCH !!!
You're right not a good deal