Don't spend on 0% Balance transfer cards (or is this THE exception)

bassman

I've adhered to this rule on my last 8 cards, slowly reducing my balance. I'm thinking of applying for a Tesco card....purely for the spending points(We use Tesco a lot). At the moment they are offering 0% on both BT's and Spending for 9 months, without a BT fee(i think)....

In this case where both BT's and Spending is 0% is it alright to(BREAK THE GOLDEN RULE)and spend on the card while having a 0% 9 month Balance Transfer, or is it still a NO NO. I would plan to tart the remaining balance during the 8th/9th month, and then use it for spending only.

I would pay my spend balance off in total every month, plus some of the BT.

If the answer is NO...DONT DO IT, theres nothing spoiling as ive already got it on a nine month 0% anyway.

Clariman

If the 0% period on purchases and BTs is exactly the same then you can use it for BTs and spending. If you are stoozing, you would earn more interest by doing a complete BT to the card for the whole 9 months rather than use it for spending. If you are planning to use it to pay off some other debts and you have headroom for spending, then making purchases on the card would make sense, particularly if there are other advantages e.g. Tesco points etc.

Clariman

YorkshireBoy

The current Tesco product is 0% until 1st September - effectively now a 7 month deal. There's a BT fee of 2% (max £50) payable for BT's made before 1st July.

On the subject of 'equal' duration, even if a product is advertised as 9 months 0% on BT's and purchases, there can still be 'catches'. For example, the current HSBC product has 0% on purchases from account opening, whereas the 9 months 0% BT period starts from the date the BT is made - which means you have 2 'end dates'. If you make purchases on the card, and do your BT towards the end of the 30 day window, you must settle the complete account balance by the earlier 'purchases' end date to avoid paying interest on the purchases balance during the last month of the 0% BT introductory period.

Thefunkygibbons

You need to be careful with the credit limit on 0% purchases cards as you may not realise how much you have spent, thereby exceeding the limit

Pay close attention to the online account manager if you have one and keep a running total of the balance once you begin to close in on your limit

YorkshireBoy

Thefunkygibbons wrote:

Pay close attention to the online account manager if you have one and keep a running total of the balance once you begin to close in on your limit

That's a good point TFG, and is especially important around the time the minimum payment is made as you need time for it to 'clear' before you commence spending again.

Some cards are harder to manage than others though. I've been exploiting a 9 months M&S deal 'on both', but I've had to be extremely careful as this card doesn't have online management facilities.

Bagger

I've got a question related to this. I have an Egg Money card which is in my name. I took out a second card (on the same account) for Mrs Bagger. In fact, technically speaking, Mrs Bagger does not have any credit cards in her name. I want to change this. I intend getting her an HSBC credit card. My question is this: Will HSBC allow Mrs Bagger to transfer money to the Egg Money card? After all, she has an Egg Money card with her name on it.

Has anyone done this before? Thanks in anticipation.

Bagger

Milarky

Bagger wrote:

I've got a question related to this. I have an Egg Money card which is in my name. I took out a second card (on the same account) for Mrs Bagger. In fact, technically speaking, Mrs Bagger does not have any credit cards in her name. I want to change this. I intend getting her an HSBC credit card. My question is this: Will HSBC allow Mrs Bagger to transfer money to the Egg Money card? After all, she has an Egg Money card with her name on it.

Has anyone done this before? Thanks in anticipation.

Bagger

It should work on the basis that balance transfers aren't required to go to another account in the name of same person.

On the point of whether (or not) to spend on a card as well as carry a transferred balance - it's primary use - in general it ceases to be worth making purchases in the last 56 days of the 0% period anyway. That's because any other credit card you have will give you this long on purchases. Earlier than this, there is some point in doing so..

Bagger

Thanks Milarky. I was unaware that BT can be between different cardholders. I always thought the BT had to be between cards belonging to the same person. Glad to hear. My plan is not to spend on the card, but simply BT to the Egg Money card to earn some interest.

Bagger

PS I noticed that another poster has started another thread on exactly this.

bassman

YorkshireBoy wrote:

The current Tesco product is 0% until 1st September - effectively now a 7 month deal. There's a BT fee of 2% (max £50) payable for BT's made before 1st July.

Hi...thanks for the above advice....The 2% BT Fee (which i couldnt find any details about) is enough to put me off(as I already have it on a 9month BT free card). I still intend getting the card, but will just use it for the points, now that my recent Nectar card has served its initial purchase. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.