Compare credit cards that accept balance transfers from personal loans and save with low or 0% interest during the introductory period.
Many credit cards offer introductory low or 0% balance transfer rates but only a limited number of options allow you to balance transfer personal loan debt. Currently, there are only a few credit card providers in Australia that provide this option, including Citi, Coles Mastercard, Qantas Money and Virgin Money.
Use this guide to compare balance transfer credit cards that accept personal loan debt. This guide also covers the steps you need to take to transfer your personal loan debt to a credit card and the key factors to consider so you can find the right card to pay off your debt.
Compare cards that let you transfer a personal loan to a credit card
Citi Credit Card Offer
Citi Rewards Platinum Credit Card
0% p.a. for 26 months on balance transfers
with a one-time 2.5% balance transfer fee
Offer ends 30 June 2018
Eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, fees and charges apply
Citi Credit Card Offer
Earn reward points from the Citi Rewards Platinum Credit Card and a low interest rate of 0% p.a. for 26 months on balance transfers.
- $49 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($149 p.a. thereafter).
- 20.99% p.a. on purchases
- 0.00% p.a. for 26 months with 2.5% BT fee on balance transfers
- Cash advance rate of 21.74% p.a.
- Up to 55 days interest free
- Minimum income requirement of $35,000 p.a.
Virgin Money Credit Card Offer
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Bonus Points Offer
Receive up to 60,000 bonus Velocity Points
Offer ends 30 June 2018
Eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, fees and charges apply
Virgin Money Credit Card Offer
Receive up to 60,000 bonus Velocity Points in the first 3 months and a long-term balance transfer offer. Plus, a discounted annual fee of $64 for the first year.
- $64 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($129 p.a. thereafter).
- 20.74% p.a. on purchases
- Cash advance rate of 20.99% p.a.
- Up to 44 days interest free
- Minimum income requirement of $35,000 p.a.
What are the benefits of transferring a personal loan balance to a credit card?
- Save money. Balance transfer credit cards give you a chance to save money on interest charges by offering a low or 0% introductory interest rate.
- Pay off your personal loan debt faster. Paying low or no interest on a balance transfer card means that more of your repayments go directly towards the principal debt (rather than interest charges). This gives you a chance to pay off your debt in a shorter amount of time.
- Longer balance transfer offers. Balance transfer credit cards offer introductory interest rates for up to 24 months (or sometimes longer). Depending on the amount of debt you owe and the repayments you can afford to make, you may even be able to pay off your personal loan debt before this period ends, avoiding higher interest charges in the process.
- Pay off all your debts at once. If you’re dealing with several debts, you may be able to consolidate them onto one credit card so that you only need to make one repayment each month. Plus, you’ll only have to deal with one interest rate for all of your debt.
How can I make sure I'm eligible to transfer my personal loan to a credit card?
The requirements you'll need to meet can vary between cards, but generally include the following:
- Meet the credit card application criteria. You’ll need to meet the eligibility criteria for the specific credit card you’re applying for, including the minimum age, Australian residency status, credit score requirements, as well as the minimum income requirements.
- Request a balance transfer from eligible accounts. You are only eligible to balance transfer existing debts if they are from a different Australian financial institution to the one you’re applying with. For example, you can’t transfer a Citi personal loan debt to a Citi credit card. Citi may also refuse to process a balance transfer request when it is from another Citigroup account. This includes cards from Citi, Coles Mastercard, Qantas Money and Virgin Money.
- Make sure the debt is in your name. The name for your credit card and balance transfer debt must match. This means you cannot request a balance transfer from an account held by someone else, such as your partner. Check out this guide for options that allow balance transfers from a spouse or partner.
- Check the balance transfer limits. There may be minimum and maximum limits for your balance transfer. For example, Citi, Coles Mastercard and Virgin Money state that you must balance transfer at least $500 per request, and you can transfer up to 80% of your credit limit. This means if you were approved for a credit card with a $10,000 limit, you could balance transfer up to $8,000 to the account.
How to request a balance transfer from a personal loan to a credit card
Once you have compared credit cards and found one that you like, you can request a balance transfer when you apply for the card. This process could vary between credit card companies but usually there is a section in the application that asks you to provide details for any balance transfer requests. Here, you'll typically need to include details of the debt or debts you want to transfer, including:
- The name on the account
- The type of card or account (i.e. personal loan)
- The account number
- The amount of debt you're transferring
- The name of the issuing organisation
- The Biller Code and Reference Number
If your application is approved, you should get your new credit card in around 10 working days. After that, you'll need to activate the card so that the credit card company can begin the balance transfer process. This could take another 10 working days to be complete. Once that's done, you can close your old account and start paying off the debt on your new credit card.
What should I be wary of when transferring my debt?
- Balance transfer fees. Some credit cards charge a one-off fee for processing balance transfers. This fee may depend on the balance transfer offer and the card and is usually around 1% to 3% of the total debt you transfer.
- Fees and charges on your old account. As the balance transfer process can take a couple of weeks to complete, you'll need to continue making payments on your existing account/s until the debt is transferred.
- The revert rate. At the end of the introductory period, the low promotional interest rate for balance transfers will revert to a standard variable rate. This is usually the standard cash advance rate for your card, so aim to pay off your balance before this rate applies.
- Keeping your old account open. Once the debt is transferred to your new credit card, ideally you should close the old account to avoid any additional fees or charges.
- Making purchases during the introductory balance transfer period. If you use your new balance transfer credit card to make purchases, the standard purchase rate will apply to those charges, and any repayments you make will be allocated to these debts before your balance transfer debt. If that happens, you could end up carrying the balance until after the introductory period ends, so try to focus on paying off your existing debt before using your card for spending.
With competitive low or 0% introductory interest rate offers, balance transfer credit cards give you an opportunity to save money on interest charges and pay down existing debt faster. Now that you know which credit cards allow you to balance transfer personal loan debts, you can compare a range of options and find one that suits your needs.
Pictures: Shutterstock
Frequently asked questions about balance transferring a personal loan to a credit card
Pictures: Shutterstock
I applied for a Virgin Flyer Card with balance transfer 18 months interest free to clear a personal loan.
Upon activation and calling to arrange the BT, I was advised by the call centre that they are unable to transfer to a personal loan (even after I supplied the Biller Code and Ref No).
Instead they’re sending me a cheque for the BT amount!
Hello Jo!
That sounds a surprise for you! But don’t be! :)
Some credit card companies use “convenience checks” that will let you do balance transfer. If you sign and use that check to pay off your loan, the check amount gets drawn from the credit limit you have in your card, then the agreed rates and fees ensue.
You may want to talk with your credit card company to confirm if this is a valid alternative instead of transferring your loan to your card themselves.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hi! When applying for a card for balance transfer (24 months interest free), can I specify that it’s for a balance transfer and the amount, such as $20,000 personal loan. Also, can I be notified of the card’s maximum before actually going ahead? Or is it more-so that once I have applied, if they approve it I need to pay the fee for the card and have it regardless of the maximum amount? My fear is that they may give a low maximum when the point of applying might have been to balance transfer close to a $20,000 personal loan figure. Thanks.
Hi Ben!
Thanks for your inquiry.
Usually, during the application process, it is not necessary for you to declare the purpose why and how much you need when you’re applying for a card. The approval will depend on the bank’s internal criteria and this will determine your credit limit and how much you can transfer (most only allow 80% of your approved limit to ensure you don’t go over).
We understand it concerns you that you might be approved for a card with inadequate credit line and you need to bear with the fees, but take note that whatever balances you successfully transferred and get a 0% offer, would still translate to some savings on your wallet.
Another solution is you might consider talking with your existing lender to give you more friendly repayment plan for your personal loan, that way you don’t need to be concerned about transferring debt.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hi,
Can you please advise if there is any fee charged if you pay off the balance transfer amount prior to the allocated period expires?
Thank you
Hi Joan,
Thanks for your question.
There is no fee for paying off your bill before the end of the promotional period. It’s ideal to pay off the debt before the end of the introductory period so that you can avoid higher interest charges.
Best regards,
Liezl
Hi,
Once I transfer my personal loan to the credit card with Citibank, would this new credit debt, would it be considered a personal loan or a credit card debt? if it considered a credit card debt, after the 24 months period end, can I balance transfer this remaining amount to another credit card with another bank institution, to still keep going with the balance transfer with no interest?
Hi Moe,
Thanks for your inquiry.
Yes, once you have successfully transferred your personal loans to a balance transfer credit card with Citibank, that debt will be considered as a credit card debt. So if you want to transfer the remaining balance to another credit card from a different card issuer after 24 months, you may do so.
Cheers,
May
I have a personal loan and credit card with ANZ. Is it possible to do a balance transfer to Citibank or Virgin?
Hi Mibbies, thanks for your inquiry!
Yes, you can. It would be best to contact Citibank or Virgin before you apply for the balance transfer so you can discuss your options and chances of approval. Make sure to read the eligibility criteria and requirements as well before applying.
Cheers,
May
I have a personal loan with Citi, can I do a balance transfer to a Virgin card?
Hi Katie,
Thanks for your question.
Generally, with Citi and Virgin, you are allowed to balance transfer a personal loan to a credit card.
However, you may wish to speak directly with Virgin, to confirm if you are able to transfer a Citi balance over to a Virgin credit card.
I’ve emailed you the link of their contact information for your convenience.
Cheers,
Ysa
Can I use this balance transfer option to pay off an existing car loan?
Hi Lee,
Thanks for your question.
Whether you can balance transfer a personal loan on to a credit card will depend on the card.
Did you have a particular card in mind? If so, we could do some research and confirm that for you.
Cheers,
Sally
Hello, I have a $210k home loan through commonwealth bank at which i pay a normal home loan interest rate of 4.9%. I am wondering there is a way i can balance transfer from a credit card into a home loan offset account for 18 months? Any ideas and suggestions would be great.
Hi Dan, thanks for your inquiry!
Unfortunately balance transferring to offset accounts are not possible since you can only deposit funds in this type of account. You may like to compare balance transfer credit cards if you are looking to consolidate your debt.
Cheers,
Jonathan
What is the best deal to do balance tranfer on a personal loan plus existing card with minimum annual fee, 0% interest?
Hi Hon, thanks for your inquiry!
Citibank and Virgin Money are the only providers to allow balance transfers from a personal loan to credit card. You can compare the best deals for you on this page on the comparison tables we have provided.
Cheers,
Jonathan