Balance transfer and credit advice

priceey

Hello,

Like a fool i have managed to borrow too much on credit cards and now the monthly payments are getting pretty high.

I have managed to transfer a sizeable chuck to one new card on a 36 month interest free card but when i tried to apply for another interest free card i was only offered £480.

I suppose £400 on an interest free card is better than paying interest, but i am wondering am i best off not applying for any more cards interest free at the moment?

I'm not sure what other paths i can take to reduce my monthly payments.

Any help appreciated.

grumpy_codger

With the new cards your total available credit became too big. That's why you are unlikely to get big credit limits now. Close the old card that you transferred the balance from (or cut it credit limit to the minimum) and after a while you'll be more likely to get bigger credit limit with a new application.

priceey said:

...
I'm not sure what other paths i can take to reduce my monthly payments.

You have to think in terms or paying your debt off, not in terms or reducing monthly payments. With small monthly payments it will take years if not decades to pay it off.

Read MSE article - Debt problems  What to do & where to get support and head to  Debt-free wannabe   board for more help and advice.

ManyWays

Close the old card that you transferred the balance from (or cut it credit limit to the minimum) and after a while you'll be more likely to get bigger credit limit with a new application.
That is not necessarily true. An open, unused card contributes to a lower credit utilisation, which most lenders are interested in. 

But paying down the cards faster is usually the best way forward. If you cant stop using the cards completely, the DFW board is the best place to look at your options. 

priceey

i wasn't thinking of reducing the payments massively, just a little breathing space for the time being. Also a bit of peace of mind knowing that my payments are making a difference and not getting eaten up by interest will be nice

Thanks for the help :-)

Altior

You'd need to provide much more detail for the forum to provide the most prudent way to go.

As others have alluded to, you're best off going to the DFW board and posting your SoA. 

If you do anything that will have a negative marker on your credit report, that could close your access to mainstream lenders for a good while. 

In regard to the actual questions, you can't lower the payments below your contractual obligation (without impacting your credit report). There are no firm rules around whether you'll be offered credit or not, but eligibility checkers are only soft checks and provide a good indication, before making a hard application.