Balance transfers

vwman_3

I have a Barclaycard with a limit of £2500 and £1500 outstanding APR 17.9%.
I want to transfer £900. ARP 20% from a Citi Card to the Barclaycard taking advantage of their 6,9% life of balance rate.
Is this a good idea as a last resort to save some money or should I try and get the Barclaycard down to zero by moving the £1500 Barclaycard balance first then moving it all back to Barclaycard for the 6.9 lob offer.
I suppose what Im asking is it really worth moving the £900 and having it at a lower rate and having another rate for my outstanding balance on the same card.

Any help gratefully accepted thanks in advance.

Bokken_2

ideally move it to another card with 0%,if you can't move it all to a new 0% card move what you can and then the remainder back to BC at LOB 6.9%.
Or move the remainder to another 0% card ,so all of the balance is at 0% shared between one, two or even three 0% cards.
Don't forget to watch out for BT fees as these could wipe out any saving your likely to make if you have to pay one or two fees normally at 2% no more than £50,make sure you double check before doing a BT.

vwman_3

Thanks for that, what concerns me is paying off two rates on one card, am I right in thinking that Barclaycard will pay off the lower 6,9% first then whats left at the 17,9%.

Bokken_2

i'm not sure.i would imagine so the credit card companies generally leave the highest debt on the card and apply your payments to the cheapest APR %.
To avoid this BT your balance to a 0% card.
Don't rush into this have a read of Martins articles on BT and SBT apply for a suitable card and move your outstanding balance off Barclaycard.
If you get a new card with a balance large enough you won't need to apply for another card ,as the whole balance can go on to the new card,and you can move the Citi £900 onto it as well.
Thats a £180 saving per annum on the Citi card alone in interest.
hope that helps.

vwman_3

Thanks very much thats what I will do, Ive got a Virgin card with 0% until November so I'll put it on there........

mountainofdebt

Won't Virgin charge you to move the balance to them - I think they charge 2%. Also are you sure that you can move the balance to virgin at 0%?

Depending on your citi balance (and whether they charge you a bt fee) why not move your barclaycard balance to citi and then once your barclaycard balance is cleared, move the citi balance that is now is now £2400 back to Barclaycard on their 6.9% LTOB offer????

vwman_3

Thanks very much for all your good advice, I think Ive finally got it, Im thick sometimes, this site is a godsend. once again thanks.....

COOLTRIKERCHICK

just reading this, i am with citi cards, and have a barclay card, because of my financial history, i am finding it hard to transfer my balances to a 0 % interest card, so what i done to try and lower the interest rate, is i asked citi cards what was the best they could do interest wise, as i was thinking of transfering my bal....and they give me a initerest rate of 5%, of 6 months, which would then be reviewed, i know its not 0 % but its a lot better than what they were charging me...

also does anyone know, or have any thoughts on what i can do about getting bal transfer to 0% ...the prob is when we had our own business things went a bit pear shaped financially, and regular payments went astray, but now over the last year we have been getting on top of things and making regular payments...... also does anyone contact martin for advice on certain finance problems..

Bokken_2

vwman wrote:

Thanks very much for all your good advice, I think Ive finally got it, Im thick sometimes, this site is a godsend. once again thanks.....

No your not thick .
It is better to be careful and double check everything,that also includes asking questions or advice from everyone on MSE.
As you can see in the thread below there are other options but if you always try and aim for the lowest interest payments possible you will be doing alright.
Once you have done that don't rest and try and get all your balances onto a 0% card.
This may take a few weeks it may take a year .If you strive for that and then try and make overpayments to those cards you will quickly see the debt tumble.It is a great feeling when you pay off accounts so stick with it and kept everyone here updated.

Bokken_2

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

also does anyone know, or have any thoughts on what i can do about getting bal transfer to 0% ...the prob is when we had our own business things went a bit pear shaped financially, and regular payments went astray, but now over the last year we have been getting on top of things and making regular payments...... also does anyone contact martin for advice on certain finance problems..

Here is martins e-mail
martin@moneysavingexpert.com.

If you go to the top of the page,green toolbar,contacts.
There is further info in there,

COOLTRIKERCHICK

thanks will do that, its so true A problem shared is a problem halfed ( i think that is what the saying is ) by openly talking and listening to other peoples experiences, and problems etc. it help you solve your problems...financial or other......i am so glad these forums are here...i think talking, and listening is lightening the load... and giving me the energy to go and sort those debts.....look out debt free here i come..... :heartpuls