<prompt> Human: One of this the first actual credit card I have from Citibank. I move in to an apartment and almost maxed it out. I wasnt to fix up my credit score from it being such a high utilization rate. The balance is about 4500 out of 5600 limit. I was wondering if getting a personal installment loan to pay it off would benefit me more than just a balance transfer to a new card since I only have revolving credit cards and no loans on my credit history. Thank you for your timeAssistant: If the interest rate is lower when you account for fees, yes, it will save you money.It will be a disaster if you lack the self-discipline to not charge it up again and end up with even more debt than you started with. How long will it take you to pay off the card at your current rate? How long will it take you to pay off the proposed installment loan? What are the interest rates of the two instruments? Are there any loan origination fees for the personal loan?Your debt is an emergency Treat it as such and dont put yourself if such a position again.Human: The credit card is 22 and the personal loan is 5.49 for 24 months. My calculator says thats about 180 monthly payments plus I could do 200 extra payment a month. So Ill pay it off 13 months early. I made the mistake of changing everything when I first got the card 20yr old and since have learned from it. The balance, high rate, and high utilization rate is taking a hit on my credit score which I would really like to fix.  <response>: the personal loan is 5.49 for 24 months.Are you certain you can get that? While the savings achieved by a rate drop that big will be huge one potential risk is how the personal loan would be secured. Since the credit card is unsecured its a lower risk in the event that youre unable to make payments. 