Credit Cards That Can Balance Transfer From a Personal Loan

These cards allow balance transfers from personal loans.

Rather than only allowing transfers from other credit cards or store cards, these cards also move debt from personal loans and buy now pay later debt.

• Citi
• Coles
• Kogan Money
• Qantas Money
• Virgin Money

Balance transfers take up to 10 days to process. Once the 0% period ends, the cash advance rate will usually apply to the remaining balance.

An example of a balance transfer from a personal loan

Let’s say a person named Katie had a personal loan of $3000 charged at 12% p.a. She wanted to transfer the balance to the Qantas Premier Everyday card, which was offering 12 months interest-free on balance transfers.

Katie could save $360 in interest by transferring her personal loan and paying it off during the interest-free period.

Here’s what the process would look like:

• Katie would make sure she’s eligible for the new credit card and that the card allows transfers from a personal loan.
• She could apply for the balance transfer during the credit card application when prompted or after she’s been approved, depending on the card.
• To complete the transfer, Katie needs to provide details of her personal loan including the BPAY number.
• If there is a balance transfer fee, it will be added to the total amount transferred.
• The credit card provider will process the transfer.
• It’s up to Katie to cancel her personal loan.

What information will you need to provide?

You’ll need to provide an account name, number and BPAY biller details. If there is no BPAY biller code, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to do a balance transfer.

The account must be in your name, and can’t be from an overseas line of credit.

Important things to know about balance transfers

• There are limits to the amount you can transfer. This will depend on the card, but expect to be able to transfer between 70% to 95% of your available credit limit. There may be a minimum amount too, typically $500.
• You can’t do a balance transfer between the same brand of card. For example, you can transfer ANZ to NAB but not NAB-to-NAB. The same applies for personal loans; you can’t transfer a Citi personal loan to a Citi credit card.
• You may not get interest-free days when you have an active balance transfer. That means you’ll pay interest on new purchases immediately.
• There may be a balance transfer fee. It’s not uncommon now to pay between 1% and 3% of the amount being transferred.
• You won’t earn rewards points on balance transfers.

Choosing a credit card for your balance transfer

There are a few simple steps to comparing cards with balance transfer features.

1. Look at the length of the 0% balance transfer offer. Choose a length that gives you enough time to pay off your balance before the interest kicks in again.
2. Look at the annual fee. Make sure the annual fee doesn’t cost more than you would be saving in interest on the balance transfer.
3. Check if the card accepts your type of loan. Remember, not all credit cards accept balance transfers from personal loans or other lines of credit.
4. Compare extra features to see if you’ll get more value out of one card over another. Other features might include no foreign fees or travel insurance.