anything better?

cityangel

I am looking for an unsecured personal loan. Has anyone came across anything better than the rate northern rock provides, 5.6%

nh

It depends on how much you want to borrow... The 5.8% is a great rate for a loan, but have you thought about using a credit card with a 3.9% life of balance offer (eg. Texaco) instead?

If you can't use the card direct ie. you need to get your mitts on the hard cash, you could get an Egg or Mint card with a 0% interest-free period, transfer the cash you need into your bank account (both Mint and Egg allow you to do that) and then transfer the balance onto a life-of-balance card (or even better, wait until the 0% period of the Egg/Mint card ends and then transfer the balance).

Obviously, if you need to borrow loads then you might not be able to do that. If that is the case, I don't think you will better 5.8% - but beware, not everyone gets that rate... it depends on your credit history and the amount you borrow.

cityangel

I was looking to borrow 15k.

Wouldn`t the repayment be high doing it the way you suggested? I am not familiar with this method.

deemy2004

As nh mentions the 3.9% is for the LIFE of the balance transfer, so is cheaper than 5.6%, you just don't use the card for any spending on.

Though the card limit you get is unknown until youve been accepted.

cityangel

what would the payments be though on 15k

Robert_Sterling_3

The interest on 15000 @ 3.9% per annum would be £585 a year   or £48.75 approx per month.

However you may not be given a credit limit as high as £15,000

cityangel

I`m sorry for sounding as if I don`t understand. What would I be required to pay each month on 15k. with northern rock it was £162 a month

MarkyMarkD

With most credit cards, the monthly payment is 2% or 3% of the balance. So on £15,000 that would be £300 or £450. Which is far higher than the repayments on a personal loan, but that's because the balance is coming down more quickly, not because you are actually paying more interest.

5.6% is an incredible personal loan rate - but won't be available to all customers as it's a "typical" rate. I've not seen anything lower.

cityangel

what would the criteria be to secure a rate of 5.6%

kragen_ironfist

look carefully at the information regarding the loans that your looking at.

it might advertise 5.6% on the front but its not until you read through their rates you find the rate you actually pay depends on the amount of the loan AND the term of the loan.

if you are still in doubt get someone more qualified to advise you - preferably someone who isn't interested in pushing their companies profduct on you AND won't charge you for it either

My Capital One card has the APR fixed at 3.9% for the life of the balance they gave me an £8k limit when I transfered £5.6k and had a guaranteed income of only £16k
Details of latest statement

£5,177.39 Previous Balance
£_,200.00 Paid In (Direct Debit from bank account)
£_,_16.82 Paid Out (interest charged)
£4,994.21 New Balance
£_,149.82 next minimum payment

deemy2004

I`m sorry for sounding as if I don`t understand.  What would I be required to pay each month on 15k.  with northern rock it was £162 a month

Well err, I would do the maths for you, but it might count against my final GCSE grade

You will save 1.7% in interest per year on the oustanding loan. As that is what the difference is between the two APR rates of 5.6% and 3.9%. The monthly payments depend wholly on the terms for repayment of the loan.

The rate at which you repay a credit card above the minimum monthlies is entirely upto you.