Transfering balance Newbie

Rick_1138

Hi all,

I got a credit card about 2 years ago.

It was for petrol only and insurance on my car\motorbike.

However it got used for odd little things and it eventually got to about 3200 of a £3.5k limit.

So i was getting a new bike helmet and a new car and a loan was taken out to get these things and pay off a big chunk of the loan, this was fine and it worked.

However not long after paying the C.card debt i got a letter from Barclaycard explaining their love for me and gave me a limit of £5k!!

I didn't want this, but thought i would never have to use it.

Unfortunately my dad asked for a payment of some £800 out of the blue (mis communication and mis understanding) as a result i had to use the credit card, and so my debt started to reappear.

Asa result after a year and a half of paying off £600 a month, but then having to use the credit card to pay for petrol etc at the end of the month i ended up ionly paying off about £100 a month and i have crept ever closer to my limit.

I have not used my Ccard unless it has been an emergency for the last 2 months, and my debt is down to 4.3k rather than 5, and i can afford to put 500 a month into the debt.

However as i am paying about £90 a month in interest it hurts to have £100 do nothing against the debt.

I looked at the Virgin card that gives 16 months at 0% with a 2.95% fee (about £135 at current balance i think).

I can pay off the debt within the 16 months, but its the lack of interest that would help me a lot.

I am 26 and have a good credit rating as far as i can tell, i only have 2 loans, never missed payments on either and never missed a payment on C,card, once went over my limit, as a result of Interest charge on my barclaycard, but money was transfered the next day and the woman at barclaycard was very helpfull.

Has anyone transferred £5k into this Virgin 0% card, and am i likely to be allowed a 5K limit to basically get rid of the circle of doom i am in with my bcard?

cheers all.

Rick_1138

Basically i am asking if anyone knows if Virgin credit card would allow a transfer of £4.8K to someone with a good credit history.

As i don't want to be told i can only transfer 2.5K as that would make the whole exercise rather pointless.

YorkshireBoy

Virgin will allow you to balance transfer up to 95% of your credit limit.

No-one here can tell you what credit limit you will be given.

latecomer

And surely transfering £2.5k to 0% is better than paying 15+% on it? Ok so its not the full amount but it would half the interst you were paying on your debt which is definitely a big improvement.

Rick_1138

Thanks for the replies.

My main concern with having 2 cards would be i would be making 2 payments to the 2 separate cards, and one of them would still have interest on it, although only about £40 a month at 2.5k etc.

I shall see what feb says as i have a few cheap months where i can put some bigger payments into the card and then look at a transfer.

YorkshireBoy

Rick_1138 wrote: »

My main concern with having 2 cards would be i would be making 2 payments to the 2 separate cards

Where's the concern? The payments will be less than you're paying now...and (other than the BT fee) everything goes towards the debt, ie zero interest.

and one of them would still have interest on it, although only about £40 a month at 2.5k etc.

Would burning two £20 notes each month be a stupid thing to do?...because that's just how "only £40 a month" reads to me!

I shall see what feb says as i have a few cheap months where i can put some bigger payments into the card and then look at a transfer.

I think you're making a big mistake. If not getting £5K bothers you, throw in two applications and hedge your bets.

Rick_1138

So applying for the Virgin card is basically fill out the online form, and make a note that you want to transfer your balance?

Then see if you are allowed a card etc.

If Virgin turn me down ( hopefully not as i apparently have a good credit rating) is there another card that offers longer term 0% or is it basically tart myself out for a couple of times?

I just don't want to end up with 2 cards and get stuck with the original one still making interest build up.

SJC08

Looks like today is the busiest day of the year for balance transfer searches!

Rick_1138

Applied for a Virgin Card, got accepted, asked for a transfer of 4.5K and got a limit of 5.3K...winner.

At least i can relax and get rid of this debt!

Infidel

SJC08 wrote: »

Looks like today is the busiest day of the year for balance transfer searches!

The turning of the year certainly made me realise my current 0% deal is set to expire soon.

Time waits for noone...........

jayjayuk

well done on the card!!!

i wasnt accepted for that

but apparantly a barclay card with 0% for 14 months is on its way

but i only have a balance of £700

so i hope it comes with a nice limit to do this and me to pay it off at £50 a mnth n ill set up a dd to take minimum payment