Personal loans and loans against credit cards are both financial instruments that provide quick access to financial assistance.
A personal loan is an unsecured loan that is borrowed to overcome financial shortcomings but secured personal loans are also granted provided that the recipient presents some valid collateral against it. Whereas, loans against credit card is a quick pre-approved yet a type of unsecured loan that can be availed within the prescribed limit of the credit card held by the cardholder.
There is no right or wrong answer to which loan is better as both these tools have the same purpose of providing financial assistance to its applicants. But there are cases where individuals must take into consideration certain factors before determining which type of loan is better for them to avail.
The amount of loan needed:
The amount of loan one is applying to avail is solely dependent on the cash requirement of the individual’s financial need or urgency. Loans against credit card is a more rational option to choose if the cash required is a small amount and falls within their credit card limit. The application is more inclined to get rejected if the applied loan requirement is above the credit card limit.
In case, the cash requirement is more than a trivial amount then the individual should opt for a personal loan as the loans granted under personal loan have more flexibility and range from thousands to lakhs.
Affordable interest rates: One of the most important determinants to consider before availing a loan is the interest rates. Interest rates charged on loans against credit card ranging from 10% to 18% or more are way higher as compared to the rates charged on personal loans. The loan against credit card may be quicker, easier to avail and used but it will most definitely cause you to pay higher interest charges.
Lack of resources for quick repayment:
As mentioned earlier, loans against credit cards charge more interest rates, which means the longer it takes to repay the loan the costlier the repayment will be. Personal loans have more feasible interest rates and repayment will not be as much of a burden. So if an individual lacks the necessary resources to repay the loan taken within a short span of time, he/she should opt for a personal loan.
Consolidation of debt:
Debt consolidation indicates the process where an individual takes a new loan to repay previously borrowed loans. Since the loan against credit card is a limited fund which has steeping high-interest rates, the possibility to use this loan to consolidate previous debts is almost non-existent.
On the other hand, personal loans are considered to be the best option for debt consolidation. This is because a large amount of financial assistance can be availed at affordable interest rates without having to state the purpose of the loan.
It is better to opt for a personal loan if there are no urgent emergencies that require financial assistance because personal loan application takes longer to be accepted, processed
and disbursed due to mandatory background checks, credibility assessment of the applicant etc.
Loan against credit card is a more relevant option when you have more relevant option as it does not require any new documentation to be furnished by the applicant and the required loan amount is more likely to be disbursed as soon as the application has been accepted.