Applied for a Debt Consolidation Loan
By maezee
@maezee (41985)
United States
January 30, 2017 4:14pm CST
Ok, I would love to hear what you all think on this. I have some credit card debt that has been pretty stagnant due to poor spending habits and also very high interest rates that make it so I barely pay any of the balance with my monthly payments. I have about 5K in credit card debt from student tuition and other things. I have no idea what my APR is but I know it has to at least be 15% (since when did APRs get so high, even with good credit? Is this a new thing? I remember when I started out with credit cards 8+ years ago interest rates were much better....like 10%. Hmm. A discussion for another day I suppose).
Anyway, I had one loan with my credit union when I bought my car - took out a 5 year note and paid it off in less than 2 - and the interest rates were great - 2%. I noticed the other day that they offered "Debt Consolidation Loans" with an interest rate of 7%. Less than half of what my credit card is, which would surely help me pay it off much more quickly....
There's a catch. After emailing with my credit union loan guy, he says one condition of the consolidation loan is that you close your credit cards. HUH?! I told him I really didn't want to close both of them - especially since the Visa I have, I've had since like 2008. I know that helps your credit to have credit accounts with longevitiy - plus, when I first opened it, I had a credit limit of $250. I have built that up to almost a credit limit of 15K. Not that I need that much of a credit limit, but it sure feels like a nice safety net. The loan guy is going to see if they would make an exception for me to keep one card.
So here's my question for you - would you rather:
A) Have ONE monthly loan payment (they figured out it would be $175 a month) at a 7% interest rate - and possibly have to close both of your credit card accounts?
OR
B) Have your same debt split between two credit cards paying 15% APR - but still be able to keep your cards open?
I'm really split on this issue. Have you ever gotten a debt consolidation loan? What would you do?
3 people like this
3 responses
@carebear29 (32002)
• Wausau, Wisconsin
31 Jan 17
never got one but sorry to hear this
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
30 Jan 17
I have never done debt consolidation but I know people who have. I would not want to get rid of the credit card. You worked hard to get a limit that high and you might not get another one of you cancel it. It is a good safety net to have.
@jstory07 (148764)
• Roseburg, Oregon
31 Jan 17
You could always pay off your credit cards and close them and get the loan and than have the cards reissued to you to use in an emergency only.




