I have three credit cards. 2,000 balance 1800 and 1700. All with at least 30% rates. What do I do?

Question

Many late payments and actually still getting late fees because I am over the limit but have been on a plan with all of them for a couple of months. would like to pay them all off with a lower interest loan.

Answer 1

Get a new credit card with a 6month 0% rate for balance transfers. transfer all 3 credit card balances to this new card. Then cancel the 3 of them. Cut the new credit card up (you cant handle them... you know this) Pay as much as you can off the credit card in 6 months. After 6 months go to another credit card company and transfer the balance again. If you can't cut up the credit card and are still using it, your kidding yourself and someday soon you'll owe two years wages.

Good luck.

A loan from a bank is another option but only if you will cancel the credit cards forever as otherwise your just doubling your debt.

Answer 2

Call a credit fixing company. Try American Consumer Credit Counseling. These kind of people can help you get lower rates and set you up with a plan that you can live with. Credit is so easy to come by and the only ones making money are the credit card companies and they want to keep you in dept. You should only use a credit card as a last resort or for a big purchase that you have a plan to pay it off. If you keep going the way you are you will not be able to get out from under the mountain.

Answer 3

Contact the credit card company. Explain your situation. Suggest that you close the account and arrange to have a lower interest rate during repayment. They will do this. Also, for future reference, if you have a good payment history you can also call your credit card company and tell them that you want your interest rate lowered. 90% of the time they will do it without question. They only charge high interest rates because people willingly pay them. So tell them you won't.

You could also try to get a credit card through a credit union with a rate of around 10% and transfer the balance.

Good luck.

Answer 4

IF you are on a plan with all of them-- are they cutting fees and APR? If they arne't, call them and negotiate. If you set up payments in advance they should be helping you by reversing late charges or overlimit fees-- or ATLEAST cutting your interest rate.

If you are making progress- even slow progress- keep working at it. It sucks, but you'll be proud when you get those cards below their limit. Then if you can still afford it, continue to do the larger payments-- but shift most of the excess over to the lowest balance card and focus on that. Get it paid off, and then roll ALL that monthly money over to the next lowest. This is called the "snowball method".... eventually the payments on yoru remaining debt gets bigger and bigger and you pay things off faster.


DO NOT close the cards when you are done-- assuming you can handle not charging again. Your priority is to be debt free first and foremost-- and then second, to have agood credit. Good credit is made by keeping good standing accounts open long-term-- not by closing and opening things. You might be able to request that they lower your limits after they are paid off, so that you limit your future spending habits.

A big part of your score is overall utilization-- so dont lower those limits (again, assuming that you can handle not using the cards) until you've got everything paid off, or your overall ratio will be raised.

Answer 5

You might want to try credit counseling once your hardship plans with your creditors expire. They can do some of the same things, except it would be permanent until you eliminate the balances in full.

Try meeting with a credit counselor in your local area. You will want to make sure they have a satisfactory rating with the Better Business Bureau. Here is a directory of local agencies by state:

Answer 6

Continue on making payments and stop using the cards. Do it for a while to establish a good history and then ask them to lower the rate. If they don't then consolidata all of your balance into a new card that you will be applying for.

Answer 7

See if you can have the remaining to cards added to one and see if you can get a cheeper intrest rate by doing that . Most credit card companys will do this for you and give you a cheeper intrest rate.

Answer 8

I totally completely agree with survivals suggestions. Do your homework when researching the CC companies...and compare each and every one of them.

Once you clear your debt, and you still think that you MUST have a card, reduce the amount avail. to the amount of your weekly income...this way you will still have emergency money available but at a limited amount that you can easily afford to pay back.

Answer 9

you are aloud to pay on the interest and the principle. just write on the checks in the memo section principle only, and the same goes for interest only. you need to send to checks each specifying this. the amount of your regular payment should at lease be triple and the in terest payment could be one regular payment. if your credit cards offer checks to pay off bills and other credit cards use them, you wont be paying all that interest.

Answer 10

contact your bank and get a consolidation loan, try to avoid the ones advertised on TV. The best thing to do is to get all your debt into one place and work on it from there.