Best way to pay off my credit card 5 August 2018 at 6:57PM in Credit Cards 7 replies 734 views

Marchant2651

Hello All,

I apologize in advance as i'm sure this comes up all the time, but I cant seem to find a thread that answers my circumstance.

I currently have a credit card with around 4600 remaining on it. I am paying the minimum payment each month and will take me approx 31 years to pay off.

So the question is this, whats the best way to pay it off? Im cutting on my bills so may be able to pay a little more off each month but also going through a divorce so who knows whats going to happen.

Ive looked into BT cards but I can only seem to get a small limit. Is this a good approach? Take out chunks with small BT cards, bit by bit?

Thanks

scott_lithgows

Marchant2651 wrote: »

Hello All,

I apologize in advance as i'm sure this comes up all the time, but I cant seem to find a thread that answers my circumstance.

I currently have a credit card with around 4600 remaining on it. I am paying the minimum payment each month and will take me approx 31 years to pay off.

So the question is this, whats the best way to pay it off? Im cutting on my bills so may be able to pay a little more off each month but also going through a divorce so who knows whats going to happen.

Ive looked into BT cards but I can only seem to get a small limit. Is this a good approach? Take out chunks with small BT cards, bit by bit?

Thanks

Have you tried for a creation backed card? They are good for decent credit limits.
But BT as much as you can and overpay any card which is attracting interest

eskbanker

If you've already applied for multiple BT cards then by all means use them to reduce the interest burden, but the more hard searches there are on your credit files, the less likely it is that you'll succeed in further applications.

No harm in checking your credit files to see if they're accurately reflecting your status, as small limits may signify that lenders see you as relatively high risk: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/check-free-credit-report/

To avoid more hard searches you can use the MSE eligibility checker to ascertain which cards you're most likely to get: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

However, if refinancing (enough of) your debt isn't viable then that only really leaves the two less palatable answers, i.e. earn more or spend less.

You could also try posting on the debt-free wannabe board for ideas on that front: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

Marchant2651

Hey hey,

I haven't applied for any yet and haven't got any yet. I just have the one BarclayCard and didn't know if it was a good idea to get a BT card, knowing that I cant move the whole amount onto it. I suppose the more I think about it, I cant see why this would be a bad idea.

So I would get a card for a thousand and pay off the BTcredit card, then once the BT one has been paid off, get another BT to cut another thousand of the BarclayCard. Is that the best option? (apart from winning the lottery)

Marchant2651

Sorry I should have mentioned, my credit rating isn't great (CCJ is haunting me). So the credit cards available to me aren't the best options out there.

scott_lithgows

Try for asda card (creation backed)) or debenhams (newday backed).if the majors offer you cards then these companies are more likely to offer you higher limits

Marchant2651

Thanks, will these shows up on this site's eligibility calculator? Or will I have to go direct to the creation or newday site?

scott_lithgows

Marchant2651 wrote: »

Thanks, will these shows up on this site's eligibility calculator? Or will I have to go direct to the creation or newday site?

Need to go direct.