We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Expert advice needed

Hi all
Just joined this site and currently need some advice.
I've currently a £1750 overdraft with HSBC from my student days. And i am about to start getting charged interest from the bank a/c (Roughly will be £20 a month). I am not a graduate, so cannot get the graduate account.
I'm thinking of getting a credit card and paying off the overdraft (or most of it) and then paying the credit card amount back bit by bit every month. Does this mean i need a 0% for purchases for a number of months. After that period i will shift it to a 0% balance transfer and keep shifting it until it is paid off
What you all think??
Am i on the right track? I need some expert advice.........Martin anyone??

Many thanks in advance

Comments

  • dhassen
    dhassen Posts: 759 Forumite
    Hi all
    Just joined this site and currently need some advice.
    I've currently a £1750 overdraft with HSBC from my student days. And i am about to start getting charged interest from the bank a/c (Roughly will be £20 a month). I am not a graduate, so cannot get the graduate account.
    I'm thinking of getting a credit card and paying off the overdraft (or most of it) and then paying the credit card amount back bit by bit every month. Does this mean i need a 0% for purchases for a number of months. After that period i will shift it to a 0% balance transfer and keep shifting it until it is paid off
    What you all think??
    Am i on the right track? I need some expert advice.........Martin anyone??

    Many thanks in advance

    the first reply is spam, and has been reported.

    If you want to pay off your overdraft with a credit card you need one that has a SBT (Super Balance Transfer) facility. The cards that currently have this are listed here: http://www.stoozing.com/sbt.php

    But unless you've had a credit card in the past you're unlikley to get one on a 0% deal, because you have no credit history. You generally need a good credit history to get one of these. Do you have any credit cards that you've used in the past?
    Official DFW Nerd Club - Member no. 784 - Proud to be dealing with my debts
  • dhassen wrote: »
    the first reply is spam, and has been reported.

    If you want to pay off your overdraft with a credit card you need one that has a SBT (Super Balance Transfer) facility. The cards that currently have this are listed here: http://www.stoozing.com/sbt.php

    But unless you've had a credit card in the past you're unlikley to get one on a 0% deal, because you have no credit history. You generally need a good credit history to get one of these. Do you have any credit cards that you've used in the past?

    Unfortunately, no. I am a home owner (mortgaged) and i do have a next store card. My credit rating is good by all accounts, so i thought i'd stand a chance of getting a decent card.
    I've been enquiring about the egg card. 0% balance transfers for 15mths and 0% purchases for 3 months (not bothered about that as wont be using the card)
    What you think?
    Thanks for the link...
  • dhassen
    dhassen Posts: 759 Forumite
    Unfortunately, no. I am a home owner (mortgaged) and i do have a next store card. My credit rating is good by all accounts, so i thought i'd stand a chance of getting a decent card.
    I've been enquiring about the egg card. 0% balance transfers for 15mths and 0% purchases for 3 months (not bothered about that as wont be using the card)
    What you think?
    Thanks for the link...

    If you've got a mortgage and a store card which you pay on time and never miss payment etc you should be OK.

    I recently went for the Egg Card (Make sure it's Egg Card and not Egg Money), and I got accepted online and they gave me a 3.5K limit. Not bad, and I've not been with them long but I like the customer service. Worth a try, but if you look I think Egg are only offering 0% for 14 months with a 3% fee, while Virgin and MBNA both have smaller fees, and Virgin is 15 months 0%. (MBNA is the same length as Egg, but cheaper fees).

    I'd go for one of those first! Good luck, and if you get one, remember don't use a 0% BT card for spending, and close that overdraft straight away!
    Official DFW Nerd Club - Member no. 784 - Proud to be dealing with my debts
  • dhassen wrote: »
    If you've got a mortgage and a store card which you pay on time and never miss payment etc you should be OK.

    I recently went for the Egg Card (Make sure it's Egg Card and not Egg Money), and I got accepted online and they gave me a 3.5K limit. Not bad, and I've not been with them long but I like the customer service. Worth a try, but if you look I think Egg are only offering 0% for 14 months with a 3% fee, while Virgin and MBNA both have smaller fees, and Virgin is 15 months 0%. (MBNA is the same length as Egg, but cheaper fees).

    I'd go for one of those first! Good luck, and if you get one, remember don't use a 0% BT card for spending, and close that overdraft straight away!

    What a ledge!!
    Don't worry it's getting closed. MBNA is the same as virgin, so that's not too bad. Although i doubt i'd get their platinum card. Sounds very scary!!!
  • dhassen
    dhassen Posts: 759 Forumite
    lol don't worry about the platinum tag....... it's not as flashy as it sounds! The really posh one's aren't even advertised to 'normos' like us

    good luck
    Official DFW Nerd Club - Member no. 784 - Proud to be dealing with my debts
  • Richard019
    Richard019 Posts: 461 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    dhassen wrote: »
    lol don't worry about the platinum tag....... it's not as flashy as it sounds! The really posh one's aren't even advertised to 'normos' like us

    good luck

    You're not kidding about them being easy to get. For the OP's benefit I think when they gave me the platinum card with a £2k limit I was still at uni and working part-time on minimum wage (20 hour contract with OT). That was also my first credit card, the only debt I'd had on file before that was my student overdraft which I'd put in savings. (Your student loan doesn't show up on their checks)

    EDIT: On reflection, it being my first card isn't strictly true. About a month earlier my bank had given me one with a £400 limit that I'd not even used yet. That wouldn't have made much difference on my file though.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.5K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.6K Life & Family
  • 259.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.