Personal loans vs credit cards

When you’re looking for a means of credit to fund an upcoming expense like a holiday, revamping your home or paying for your big day, two main banking products are likely to come to mind - a personal loan or a credit card.

Choosing between the two can be tricky because they both have their pros and cons and both suit different types of borrowers.

Let’s start by running through the first option of taking out a personal loan and the associated drawcards:

Set borrowing amount

When you take out a personal loan you will be approved for a set amount, which means you won't be tempted to spend more like with a credit card.

• Example: Jenny is looking to renovate her kitchen and has been quoted a fixed price by a contractor. As she knows how much the kitchen reno will cost and only needs the money for this purpose, she decides that a personal loan is her best option.

• Mozo tip: To ensure you’re always paying off your personal loan in full each month, set up a direct deposit to match your pay day from your bank account to the lender.

Interest free cash withdrawals

Unlike credit cards that come with the slap of a high cash advance rate if you withdraw money from an ATM, with a personal loan withdrawing cash is far cheaper, as you won’t be penalised for making this transaction.

• Example: Engaged couple David and Maggie need to pay some of the suppliers for their upcoming wedding in cash. As they know they’ll be charged a steep cash advance rate with the credit card option, David and Maggie decide taking out a low rate loan is their best bet. They look for a personal loan that allows them to make extra repayments and pay it off early, so once they receive their wishing well money from guests they can pump it into the loan.

Repayments remain consistent

If you decide to opt for a fixed rate loan, you’ll easily be able to budget for your repayments as they’ll remain the same over the life of the loan. By comparison, credit card interest rates are variable, which means they can change with the market.

• Example: George is planning his first big overseas vacay and is on a tight budget. A personal loan means he’ll be able to budget for his repayments each month and can travel with the peace of mind they won’t change.

• Mozo tip: Just be mindful, if you’re thinking of making extra repayments on a fixed rate loan some come with the bite of a break cost fee, which can often be quite high.

Compare personal loans here:

Now that you've had a quick rundown on the benefits of a personal loan, let’s turn our focus to the plastic option. Here are some of the pros of a credit card:

Honeymoon periods

One of the biggest reasons to apply for a credit card is to take advantage of an interest free offer, which means for a set introductory period you will pay no interest at all, as long as you make the minimum monthly repayment.

• Example: Kelly has some car maintenance coming up and needs to pay for everything from the rego through to the green slip. While she doesn’t have the money upfront, she knows that she can pay it back over a period of 12 months. So she applies for a credit card with a 0% intro rate offer for the first year and works out how much she needs to pay each month to pay it off before the card reverts to a higher rate.

Flexibility

Credit cards provide great flexibility as they act as a line of credit that you can draw on when you please. Whereas, personal loans are very structured, as they only allow you to borrow a set amount and pay it back over an agreed period.

• Example: Amelia is planning on giving her home a refresh and wants to undertake the small reno herself. As she will be tackling the jobs on the weekend, she estimates that the refreshes will take a good 6 months to complete. Since she doesn’t have a set budget, she decides that a credit card is her best borrowing match, as she can pay as she goes.

• Mozo tip: While you don’t need to pay the balance in full each month with a 0% interest free offer, make sure you pay at least the minimum repayment amount and before the intro rate period comes to an end, pay off the balance in full.

Freebies

If you love something for nothing then a rewards credit card ould tempt you to choose plastic over a loan, as there are options that are linked to rewards programs offering generous point schemes or even cash back offers.

• Example: John travels for work to meet clients on a regular basis and needs credit to pay for his upcoming trip. With a platinum credit card, he will rack up points that he can put towards reducing the cost of his upcoming flights.

Insurance

Many premium and reward credit cards offer a variety of shopping and travel insurances to their cardholders. You can shop ‘til you drop, confident that your purchases are covered by the extended warranties and price protection offered by some providers. Some premium and reward credit cards also offer free travel insurance options, such as interstate flight insurance and transit accident insurance cover.

• Example: Kyle flew from Melbourne to Brisbane to visit his mum. Unfortunately, his flight was cancelled and rescheduled. Then, once he arrived in Brisbane, he learned that the airline lost his luggage. Luckily, as he booked his travel on his credit card, he could file an interstate flight insurance claim and was reimbursed for his losses.

Personal loans vs credit cards

The data above is correct as of 18 January, 2022

** Based on the Mozo database

Of course, Aussies don’t just use credit cards and personal loans for making purchases, as they are also a means of ditching debt for good. When choosing between the two, you’ll need to decide whether a debt consolidation loan or balance transfer card will be your weapon of choice.

Debt consolidation loans

Pros:

• Allows you to merge varying debt from credit card through to car loan balances over to a single personal loan
• Set repayments of a fixed interest rate makes it easy to budget, as you’ll know what your ongoing monthly repayments will be each month

Cons

• You could be charged a break cost fee if you try to pay out a fixed rate consolidation loan early
• Debt consolidation interest rates are often higher than balance transfer intro rates

0% balance transfer cards

Pros

• If you work out how much you need to repay each month during the balance transfer period, you could clear yourself of debt without paying any interest
• May pay off debt faster, as you’re not paying interest like with a debt consolidation loan

Cons

• You can’t move personal loan debt over to a balance transfer card
• If you don’t pay off the debt within the BT period the card is likely to revert to a much higher rate, which sometimes is the cash advance rate that could tip over the 20% mark
• May be tempted to spend on the balance transfer card, pushing you deeper into debt

The number one rule when it comes to choosing between personal loans vs credit cards is thinking about the way you will use the product. For instance, if you know exactly how much you want to borrow and want repayment consistency, then a personal loan could be your borrowing match. Alternatively if you prefer to pay as you go and know you won’t be tempted to spend more than you need to, then a credit card could be for you.

The same applies for ditching debt, as a personal loan may be a good option if you’re on a strict budget, whilst a balance transfer could save you big bucks in interest if you know you can diligently pay the debt back within the interest free period.

Whichever option you choose make sure you conduct due diligence by comparing either the personal loan or credit card markets to find the best deal for you.