BT questions

pagan705

I have two credit cards (one high interest & one 0%) and have only ever used my cards for purchases so please forgive me if my questions are stupid.

1) If i do a balance transfer to a new card does it have to be done within a certain time period ie when the card is 1st applied for or within a few weeks of opening the account or can it be done at anytime .. for example halfway through a 9 month 0% deal ?

2) I know you can make BT's from cards when opening a cc account but are they treated as one BT or several ...each with corresponding charges ?

and finally 3) If I did a BT when the card was applied for & then another within a few weeks or months would this affect my 0% offer ? also why should I not do purchases on a card used for BT's ...how does this affect my 0% ?

... mmm think that was 4 questions really :rolleyes:

YorkshireBoy

1) It depends on the card's T&C's. Some (Post Office) must be requested with the application. Others (HSBC, LTSB) give you up to 6 weeks. There are some (M&S, Co-op, Yorkshire Bank I *think*) that have no restrictions at all.

2) They are treated as multiple BT's, each with it's own BT fee (if one applies). If there are fees, it's better to try and get the money into your current account first - and settle your other cards by debit card/online banking from there. This is where your Super Balance Transfer (SBT) cards, such as Egg Money, Egg Card, Mint, and some MBNA run cards come in handy.

3) (a) See 1) above.

3) (b) The 'order of payments' *normally* means that your payments go towards reducing the lowest interest debt first. If the 0% did not apply to purchases, then these would incur interest at your normal rate until you completely cleared your card's balance.

grumbler

pagan705 wrote:

I have two credit cards (one high interest & one 0%) ...

0% on what? BTs? Purchases? Both?

1) If i do a balance transfer to a new card does it have to be done within a certain time period ie when the card is 1st applied for or within a few weeks of opening the account or can it be done at anytime .. for example halfway through a 9 month 0% deal ?

This is differend for different cards.

2) I know you can make BT's from cards when opening a cc account but are they treated as one BT or several ...each with corresponding charges ?

As several

3) If I did a BT when the card was applied for & then another within a few weeks or months would this affect my 0% offer ? also why should I not do purchases on a card used for BT's ...how does this affect my 0% ?

This is correct if you have 0% on BTs only.

I think it is time to read your credit agreement and the Summary Box.

Bokken_2

1/ Applying for a BT soon after the reciept of the card is normally best so as to maximise the 0% offer on the card,but there are normally some restrictions on applying several months later.
2/Depending which card you will have as to whether the BT is fee free,if it isn't you will incurr a charge for each BT.
3/BT doesn't affect the 0% .The later you leave it the less of the 0% offer is left this isn't an advantage for you.
4/Purchases and BT's should for simplicity be kept to different cards until you know what you are doing .The problem arises with the allocation of payments to the BT and the Purchase ,leaving the highest interest on your account this can be a real problem if you are transfering several thousand pounds and then your payments are being allocated to the purchase instead of the BT.
Have a read up on Martins credit card articles and all should become clear.

pagan705

grumbler wrote:

0% on what? BTs? Purchases? Both? This is differend for different cards. As several
This is correct if you have 0% on BTs only.

I think it is time to read your credit agreement and the Summary Box.

My 0% is on both but it was more of a general question about BT's in general really.