{"id":70647,"date":"2026-07-07T21:03:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=70647"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:03:41","slug":"consolidate-car-loan-credit-card-debt-personal-loan-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/consolidate-car-loan-credit-card-debt-personal-loan-i","title":{"rendered":"RM58k in Car Loan and Card Debt? Here’s How a Single Personal Loan-i Could Simplify It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your car loan instalment lands on the 5th. Your credit card statement closes on the 20th, and the minimum payment is never quite enough to stop the balance from creeping up. On paper, both are just \u201cdebt.\u201d In practice, they pull against each other every month, one fixed and predictable, the other compounding quietly in the background.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re sitting on a combined RM58,000 across a car loan and card balances, there’s a simpler way to manage it. Fold both into a single, structured <\/span>Personal Loan-i<\/span><\/a>. Done right, it can bring down your blended interest rate and turn two moving targets into one fixed monthly number. Here’s how it works.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Can you combine a car loan and credit card debt into one loan in Malaysia?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Yes, many Malaysians use a Personal Loan-i to refinance existing car loan and credit card balances into a single facility with one fixed monthly instalment. If you’re carrying a combined RM58,000 across a car loan and card balances, this is typically done by taking out a new Personal Loan-i large enough to settle both, then closing the old accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The appeal is fairly straightforward: A car loan and credit card debt behave very differently, and paying them side by side often works against you rather than for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Why do car loans and card debt \u201cpull against each other\u201d?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

A car loan signed before 1 June 2026 likely still runs on the old flat interest rate, calculated upfront on the full loan amount and spread evenly across your tenure, regardless of how much principal you’ve already paid down. If your loan was taken out on or after that date, it’s now governed by the Hire-Purchase (Amendment) Act 2026, which requires lenders to use the Effective Interest Rate (EIR) with a reducing balance method instead, so interest is charged only on your outstanding principal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Credit card debt has always worked differently. <\/span>Bank Negara Malaysia’s tiered structure<\/span><\/a> caps credit card interest at 15% for cardholders with a clean 12-month payment record, 17% for those with 10 out of 12 months on time, and 18% for everyone else, and this compounds monthly on whatever balance you’re carrying.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, your car instalment is fixed either way, flat-rate or EIR, while your card balance can quietly balloon if you’re only making minimum payments. You end up managing two repayment logics, two due dates, and two very different cost structures, and the card debt usually wins the \u201cwho costs more\u201d contest over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>How does folding both into a Personal Loan-i help?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

A Personal Loan-i replaces both debts with one structured profit-rate facility, repaid over a fixed tenure with a single monthly commitment. The main advantages include:<\/span><\/p>\n