Getting on top of credit card debt

Enjoy the convenience of a credit card without paying unnecessary costs.

A credit card can be an easy and convenient way to pay for things. But if you don’t repay your credit card bill in full each month, you have to pay interest on the outstanding balance. Credit cards are an expensive way to borrow money long term because they’re not secured against an asset, e.g. mortgage against your home, and so the interest rates are generally much higher than a home loan.

Get smart about how you manage your card

  • To help pay off your debt more quickly and pay less interest costs, you should pay more than the minimum monthly amount due each month.
  • You’ll be more likely to avoid unnecessary fees and interest charges if you set up a direct debit to make regular monthly payments on time.

Control your credit limit

  • To avoid spending more than you can afford, make sure your card’s credit limit is no more than you could easily repay.
  • Tell your bank or credit card company that you don’t want to be offered credit limit increases unless you ask for them.
  • Ask your bank to reduce your credit limit if you think it is too high.

Move your debts into one low-interest loan

  • If you normally leave some of your monthly credit card bill unpaid you could be better off with a low-interest credit card like BNZ Lite Visa1.
  • If you transfer your outstanding balance from another bank's credit card to a BNZ card you could get a special interest rate for a promotional period on the amount you transfer2.
  • If you have several high interest debts, like hire purchase or store cards, talk to us about moving them all into one low-interest credit card or loan (consolidating) and setting a budget to pay it off.

Small print

  1. Lending criteria apply. A monthly fee and other account fees apply.
  2. Rate subject to change. There are no interest free days on balances transfers. Balance transfers are subject to approval, and terms and conditions. Only balances from non-BNZ New Zealand issued Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners, GE CreditLine, The Warehouse Financial Services Credit and Store Cards, Fisher & Paykel Finance issued Q cards and Farmers Cards are eligible for this special rate. After six months, any balance transfer amount still unpaid will revert to the standard annual purchase interest rate.