Everyone makes mistakes and unfortunately some people make the mistake of getting into credit card debt. If you have $10,000 in credit card debt and you have an APR of 20%, it will take you 33 months to pay off this debt if you pay $400 a month. The total interest you’ll pay is $3,081.88. Ouch! As I hope you can see, you really shouldn’t be travel hacking or even traveling if you have debt like that. Travel hackers do not carry a credit card balance (unless it’s 0% APR and they know that they have a lot of self-discipline). These APRs are so high that any benefit you get from credit cards will be wiped away several times over by the interest that you are paying. This is why travel hacking even exists. The credit card companies know that a lot of people will get enticed by points and miles, overspend and then pay a massive APR. Travel hackers turn the tables on the credit card companies by not paying any interest and thus getting travel points for free!
I suppose one could argue that you can pay off your debt and earn points by your regular spending at the same time. I really don’t suggest that though. Somewhere along the way something went wrong. While you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it, I think you need to diagnose the problem and handle it before you mess around with too many credit cards. I think you should give credit cards a break and learn about responsible money management. One of my favorite money gurus is Clark Howard. His website is Clark.com and he has a ton of content on his website in addition to books, videos, podcasts, etc. I would put all of your energy and attention into learning about money and finances. By the time you have dug yourself out of debt, you should have learned enough to make sure that you never fall into this trap again.
So how do you dig yourself out of this credit card hole? The Chase Slate Edge. This card was literally built for people that need to fix their credit situation. You won’t earn any points on the card for spending or balance transfers (balance transfers never earn points for any card) but you can get 0% APR on balance transfers. That’s important because if you pay $400 a month, your balance will be reduced by $400. That is what you need to get out of debt because if you pay any other card with a typical APR, so much of your payment is just going to interest. That’s why it is so difficult for people to get ahead. With the Chase Slate Edge, you’ll have 18 months of 0% APR on your balance transfer. Hopefully that’s all the time you need to pay off your debt. Even if you have some left over, you’ll still put a massive dent into your credit card debt. Note that I do not suggest that you put any spending on the card as it serves no purpose whatsoever. This is a balance transfer card and that’s it.
To apply for the Chase Slate Edge, you can use this link.
For more information on getting out of credit card debt and staying out of credit card debt, here are some resources for you:
–How To Get Out of Debt in 7 Steps
–How To Avoid 10 Habits Of Credit Card Debt
–12 Tips to Use a Credit Card but Not End Up in Debt (nomoredebts.org)
Also consider joining our Facebook group. It’s a safe space for new people to ask questions. If you would like to post anonymously, you can do that too. No question is a bad question.