Consolidation loans could save you money by offering lower interest rates for paying off credit card debt.

Refinancing credit cards using a personal loan can offer a lifeline for paying off credit card debt at a lower interest rate. The trick is finding a loan to pay off credit cards that will save you money.

“If you don’t qualify for one of the top balance transfer credit cards, using a personal loan to consolidate debt is an excellent option. A loan gives you an opportunity to pay off your debt at a lower interest rate,” says Beverly Harzog, best-selling author, credit card expert and consumer finance analyst at U.S. News.

Here’s how you can find the best loan with the most favorable terms that you have the best odds of qualifying for.

When you shop around for the best personal loan interest rate, you can save. Compare your personal loan offers with national average trends for personal loans to know if you’ve found a good deal.

Select your desired loan amount and loan purpose, your credit score range, and your state to see estimated annual percentage rates and loan terms.

Credit card debt consolidation rolls multiple credit card balances into one loan.

The idea is that you borrow a lump sum of money, ideally at a low fixed interest rate. You then use that money to pay off some or all of your high-interest credit card balances.

Taking out a personal loan for the purpose of debt consolidation is a viable option for consumers who have substantial credit card debt, says Mark Victoria, head of personal lending at TD Bank. Going forward, you’d have a single payment to make each month toward the debt consolidation loan.

Credit card debt consolidation can offer several financial benefits:

There’s also a sense of relief. Debt consolidation gives you a concrete finish line when you know your debt will be paid off, says James Lambridis, founder and CEO of financial information site DebtMD. “An unsecured debt consolidation loan typically lasts from two to five years, so you can give yourself peace of mind that at the end of the term, you will be debt-free once and for all.”

You can use a balance transfer credit card to consolidate credit card debt at a 0% interest rate. But balance transfer cards can be more limited than debt consolidation loans.

You may not be approved for a high enough credit limit to cover all of your credit card balances. You should expect to pay a balance transfer fee, though this fee may be lower than the interest rate on a personal loan. Most balance transfer cards offer 0% interest for 12 to 18 months, which is a shorter term than the typical personal loan.

Balance transfer cards are best suited for consolidating small credit card balances that you can pay off within the 0% promotional period. Personal loans can be a better solution for larger debt than you can expect to be approved for on a credit card and may take more time to pay off.

Consolidating credit card debts using a personal loan can affect your credit score both positively and negatively. However, successfully paying off credit card debt using a personal loan should have a more positive than negative effect on your credit.

Applying for a loan to consolidate debt can trigger a hard inquiry against your credit report. Hard credit inquiries can take a few points off your credit score, so it’s important to be selective when applying for a consolidation loan. Most lenders allow you to check your rate and loan amount with a soft inquiry, which doesn’t affect your credit. Rate checks allow you to shop around for the best option before you submit a formal application, which does trigger a hard inquiry.

Once you have a new loan open, that can affect the overall age of your credit. As a general rule, the older your account history, the better. Newer accounts can cause a slight re-aging, which could trim a few points off your score.

But inquiries and credit age are smaller factors than payment history and credit utilization, which a personal loan for credit card refinancing can help with.

If you’re paying off credit cards, that can improve your credit utilization ratio, which counts for 30% of your FICO credit score. Credit utilization ratio is the percentage of your available credit limit you’re using at any given time. Using 30% or less of your credit line is recommended.

At the same time, you can continue building a positive payment history by paying your new loan on time. Payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO credit score.

But improving your credit score with a better credit utilization ratio and maintaining a positive payment history assumes you’re sticking to the plan of paying off your balances. The two biggest mistakes to avoid with credit card debt consolidation loans are paying late and running up new balances on the cards you just paid off. Doing so can hurt your credit score and push you farther into debt.

Victoria says some people go in with the best intentions of consolidating into one loan at a lower rate. However, even though the debt has shifted, consumers should keep in mind that they still likely have access to the credit cards that got them there in the first place.

“Consolidating is the first step,” he says. “Changing spending habits should be the next priority.”

If you’re interested in the best credit card debt consolidation loans, it helps to know how to compare them. As you’re shopping around for a personal loan to eliminate credit card debt, consider these factors:

When looking for the best credit card debt consolidation options, it’s important to figure out what works best for your budget. So that also means taking into account what your new monthly payment would be for a loan. Understand how long it will take you to pay it off and what you’ll pay in interest.

“You should only consolidate your debt if you’re able to lock yourself in at a lower interest rate and/or lower your monthly payment,” Lambridis says. He cautions that a lower credit score could translate to a higher interest rate on a consolidation loan, potentially overriding any savings benefit.

Other debt consolidation loans for credit card refinancing include home equity loans and 401(k) loans. These options can be problematic, as you risk losing your home or retirement savings if you default.