Credit Card Balance Transfer Discussion Area 2

seahorsejockey

i have just under 3000 on an abbey card, at 0% until end of feb. i pay the minimum of a fiver every month. the money is 'hidden' away in a mini cash isa. i have a mint and an egg card with zero balances, though the 0% offer ends in jan/feb respectively.

i have recently been snubbed by other companies when applying for new credit cards. obviously i would like to replace the abbey card when its 0% offer ends to maximise my isa gains.

have the credit card companies cottoned on to this free cash making trick (paranoia is setting in), and are they refusing me because they know they will not make much/any money from me if they give me a new card? should i leave it until next year before applying again, or will the refusals from the last couple of months still be listed on my credit history?

johnllew

Who knows why you've been refused? You could try looking at your credit files to see if there is anything detrimental there. If you've had a few searches recently, I'd leave any new applications for 4 or 5 months or you're likely to keep getting bounced.

I'm curious though, as to why you still have 3 or 4 months left of 0% promo periods with Mint & Egg but you've got nil balances on those cards. You could be using them to make money.

zcaprd7

I'll give it a go (Galst can come in if he wants):

1.  Err, the 7th of February - ring them up and check - in my experience they sometimes give you a bit of extra time.  Make sure the money hits the card before that date e.g. make the payment 5 working days before hand.

2.  The fee is applied to your card (and you pay it off in your first months minimum payment along with the £5 minimum monthly payment)

3.  MBNA will transfer the limit to another MBNA stablemate card - make sure you do this before making the balance transfer  - some people close the card, I prefer to leave £100 limit on it in case they make another balance transfer offer?

I think its worth doing - £15k will earn a fair bit (£150ish) over 3/4 months - enough to justify a phone call?

(EDIT: too late, just read that you have done a transfer already so you'll get hit with a second transfer fee now - so the £35 will eat into your profits)

4.  I can never understand this - balance transfer rates ARE purchase rates once you have shifted the cash into your bank account - you would be better off stoozing any offers and using a cashback card for everyday spending with a direct debit to pay off the full amount (using the money from your stoozing savings account).

You then get cashback, 56 days (ish) interest free credit and the interest from the savings account.

However as you have the Sainsburys Platinum you may as well spend on that (as quickly but sensibly as you can) and then just make minimum payments to it - might as well get the nectar points but they're not that great?

5.  Generally apply a month or so before the offer runs out to give you time to sort out transfers + paper work

deemy2004

1. I would action the repayment 2 weeks before expiry.

2. It will be added to your account and you will be charged interest on it as though it was a spend. Do act now as the charge is going up to £50 in Nov 1st.

3. Call them up and say you want to close the account, they may offer you a 0% deal. I don't think you can transfer between MBNA's so would have to be another card.

4.You need and EGG card ! so you can bal transfer the mint to the egg and then from there to your current account. Use sainsburies for spend

5. You NEED an egg card ! Which has the anniversary bal transfers, very useful if you time it right !. You need to start applying a couple of months before payback date. To ensure your covered.

zcaprd7

Deemy, if I recall, the fee doesn't act as a purchase?

You can't balance transfer between MBNA stablemates (who would anyway when it can go into your bank account?) but you can move credit limts...

Figment

I'll give it a go (Galst can come in if he wants):

1.  Err, the 7th of February - ring them up and check - in my experience they sometimes give you a bit of extra time.  Make sure the money hits the card before that date e.g. make the payment 5 working days before hand.

Sorry, my original question sounds like a no-brainer, so please let me reword it.

The offer expires on 7th February, my statement date is 7th of the month. Do I need to repay by the 7th of Feb or by the payment date indicated on the Feb statement?

Thanks

johnllew

1. I would action the repayment 2 weeks before expiry.

Far too soon - you're wasting money. I pay off MBNA balances from my Smile current account by BACS - I arrange the payments to leave 4 working days before the due date. They are always there at least a day before the due date.

I pretty much agree with everything else in zcaprd7's post.

johnllew

The offer expires on 7th February, my statement date is 7th of the month. Do I need to repay by the 7th of Feb or by the payment date indicated on the Feb statement?

By the 7th Feb. But do as zcaprd7 suggests - check a couple of months before this date (you can do it online) - MBNA have a habit of extending the due date.

Figment

I'll give it a go (Galst can come in if he wants):

I can never understand this - balance transfer rates ARE purchase rates once you have shifted the cash into your bank account

I must be missing something blatantly obvious here. I don't understand how a balance transfer rate can also be a purchase rate?

Unbelievable_2

Figment

I assume zcaprd7 means that once the cash is in your bank account you can use it to make purchases ??? But he is right - use a Transfer and Save cheque to move your MINT balance into a savings account, and then use the Sainsbury card for purchases.

zcaprd7 and johnllew

Thanks for the tip about checking the offer expiry on MBNA - very useful.