Shuffling Credit Card Debt

SparciaM

I have 5 CC cards with balances on them and I also have savings to clear some, but I'm trying to work out the best way to do it, or how to pay off some and shuffle the rest.

FD Gold 5.9% LOB £800.00
FD Classic 0% till June £640.00 14.9% APR
Mint 0% till March £1400.00 14.9% APR
Citi 0% till July £1300.00 15.9% APR
Virgin 0% till August £3600.00 14.9% APR

Total Savings: £4000 + Interest (currently in a fixed bond ISA, but expires in April)

My biggest query is, should I wait till August to start paying some off, as I've read that Virgin tend to really hike up the APR after the 0% finishes. Or should I clear the smaller cards and then come August, see if they'll do a LOB or 0% transfer and move the Virgin to them?

Robert_Sterling_3

FD Gold 5.9% LOB £800.00 FD Classic 0% till June £640.00 14.9% Mint 0% till March £1400.00 14.9% APR
Citi 0% till July £1300.00 15.9% APR
Virgin 0% till August £3600.00 14.9% APR

Total Savings: £4000 + Interest (currently in a fixed bond ISA, but expires in April)
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Total Debt £7,740

This is a tricky one to call.
We do not know what the Virgin Rate will be.
You have milked them ( No offence I have been a stoozer in my time ) and they may think it is pay back time in August or failing that get rid of you time.

My judgement is this if you thingk the virgin rate is going to be for example 30%+ then make sure you will be able to clear the card from the £4000 ISA money.

Meanwhile you could take the mint card down to near zero and then pur your purchases on it thus bringing it up again so that you can be sure of enough to pay off virgin in August.

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A little private though out loud.

Why don't other credit cards introduce high rates like virgin for customers who have milked them. Just a thought.

withnell

You could always clear off the cards as the offers expire, but keep the accounts open - that way if Virgin shoot their rate up, you can BT onto one of the other, lower rate cards.

Moggles_2

Provided that you have a good credit history, I wouldn't wait until August. Once the four 0% promotions expire, your cards revert to standard rates, all of which are variable and could be raised at any time.:eek:

As the Mint deal ends first, I would pay that off in full. This lender has a reputation for regular, existing-customer offers and will sometimes waive BT fees if you're prepared to negotiate over the phone.

Conversely, Citi and First Direct are not known for good, follow-on offers. It's worth a phone call of course, once you've paid these off in June and July - courtesy of a BT to Mint perhaps - but, it they don't come up with the goods, it may be time to think about closure.

A new 0% balance transfer is, IMO, what you should aim to do then in time to transfer any remaining Virgin balance. Like Mint, this lender has a reputation for good, existing-customer offers. Once you've paid off/transferred the balance, Virgin may offer you another promotional rate, so this one's worth keeping in your deck