Customers who are trying to deal with debt should consider paying off more than the minimum monthly amount on their credit cards, according to a commentator.
Credit card customers could save themselves money by paying off their debt as quickly as possible, it has been claimed.
Lisa Bachelor, consumer affairs correspondent at the Observer newspaper, explained that consumers worried about their finances should focus on ridding themselves of debt, rather than creating more to help with purchases in the short term. As evidence, she cited the fact that one of the biggest credit card providers, Capital One, revealed last week that it was upping rates on its existing customers' cards by up to seven percent in April.
Ms Bachelor suggested that credit card holders try to pay more than the minimum required amount on their card each month. "This might sound like blindingly obvious advice, but it is all too easy with a credit card to make no more than the minimum payment each month," she said.
The reason for this is because the Bank of England has lowered its base rate to an unprecedented 1.5 percent and many analysts predict it will be lowered further on Thursday (February 5th). A lower base rate usually means mortgages become cheaper, meaning "a credit card or loan is likely to be your most expensive debt", said Ms Bachelor.
