It is possible to get a loan with a relatively low interest rate in the UK if an amount over £7,000 is required. Typically, available loans have conditions in place which borrowers may not qualify in meeting and which may not suit every borrower. The best APR currently available is 7.6%, which only mortgaged homeowners of three years’ standing may apply for. The minimum loan is for £7,500 and it must be taken over a minimum of sixty months. The criteria thus lack flexibility.
Perhaps surprisingly there is the option of taking a low-interest credit card loan which is less expensive than the lowest available loan product. Although it is possible to obtain 0% APR balance transfer card deals, these are typically short-term, with the longest period available 16 months. They are limiting and intended for balance transfers between credit cards. The smartest way to obtain a loan is to use a credit card for a money transfer directly to one’s current account.
The MBNA Platinum Visa card offers unrestricted loan amounts with an APR of 5.9% fixed for the life of the balance. Providing the money transfer to the current account is made within the first sixty days of opening the card, then a reduced handling fee of 1.5% applies, thus making the effective APR a low 7.4%, the lowest APR for a loan available. Money transfers made after the first sixty days are charged at a fee of 4%, but the lifetime rate of 5.9% still applies.
Low interest money transfers offer the chance to make large purchases which would not typically go on credit cards. MBNA money transfers allow for the option to pay the balance off at one’s own pace, providing the minimum monthly payment of either the greater of £25 or 1% of the balance is met. Loans can be used for any purpose.
Applicants for the MBNA Platinum Visa card must have a good credit score and a four-year credit history. Ideally one should not use the card as a credit card as the current variable APR of between 16.9% and 24.9% applies to purchases. Those who do use the card for purchases though will benefit from the positive order of payments which MBNA have implemented prior to the law enforcing the change. Thus all payments go towards the balance with the highest interest rate first. Late payments are charged at the standard £10 fee.
Anyone with a good credit score who is in need of a loan will not currently find a better way of obtaining one than through a low-interest rate credit card loan with a low fixed rate for the term of the balance. The MBNA Platinum Visa is without doubt the best available product for savvy borrowers to utilize for loans.
Sources: www.a.mbna.co.uk
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