Credit Card Tart Advice

comfy_coxy

Hi All,

Wife and I are looking to do some work on our home at need around £9,000 for it. I have been reading up on the credit card tart process of taking a card out with 0% for 9 months or so and then transferring the balance after the 0%.

Looking at the two recommended cards, the M&S one and the Halifax one. My credit quick check on the score came out as Average/Good. I need to get better check with one of the credit companies. Has anyone signed up and got any of these two cards?

I am worried about failing the check. Will it make a bad mark if I try applying for a loan or another credit card within a few days after failing for either of the above cards?

My other concern about being a credit card tart is being able to move the balance over to another card. In theory, if I pass for one of the M&S or Halifax cards and make minimum payments for the 10 month 0% interest free period, should I be able to apply for another card and transfer the balance no problem? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can spare!

CLAPTON

the chances of getting a credit limit of 9k is very small unless you have a high income and excellent credit record
on or two credit checks won't hurt your credit rating.

better to save up for the work

comfy_coxy

Really? Ok thanks for the heads up. I may try and see if you say one or two won't hurt.

Would a loan for £9000 be the better route to go rather than credit card tarting?

anotherpaul_2

comfy_coxy wrote: »

Would a loan for £9000 be the better route to go rather than credit card tarting?

Credit card tarting would be a cheaper route, if you can get them to lend you enough. Even if you can only borrow some of it through tarting and have to take the rest as a loan, you're up. It's worth trying.

(Of course, it's only cheaper if you move it to another card (or pay it off) at the end of the initial interest free preiod - if you don't, it will quickly become a more expensive option.)

Moggles_2

If you will have savings to pay off your credit card balance before the 0% period expires, that's great. The risk in paying for home improvements this way is that you can't be sure of another 0% credit card offer with a sufficient credit limit when your current deal ends and the interest rate leaps to anything from 16.9% to 34% APR variable. For all we know, 0% BT deals may not be around in 12-15 months time and BT fees could have jumped to 5% or even 6% :eek:

Bear in mind that the reason the card companies can afford to lend you money at 0% for X months is because, more often than not, customers do not clear the debt and end up paying crippling interest when the promotion period ends. This is the main way lenders claw back the cost of these promotions. If this were not the case, these 0% offers would have dried up long ago. If 12-15 months - the industry standard - isn't long enough to clear the debt, I would think again.