Bit of s daft BT question!

applestar

Hi

ok i think i know the answer to this but would just like to check with you guys who has more understanding of credit cards and little sneaky things than me

I have a virgin card with about £400 on (at about 1.2% a month)
And i have a LTSB card with about £710 on (at about 1.2% .. i think.. i hate this card with a passion and it's really hard to find info out about it!)

I'm not in a position to pay either or all off in one go!

However virign have a 6.2% APR life of balance BT offer on at the mo until october (think it's about 2.5% charge)

SO i would like to transfer over my LTSB card on to virgin - i know i'll be paying all that balance off before i even get to paying off my "virign" money

I think it'll be best to try and get as much of the virgin card as poss before i do the BT (i figure i can knock off about £200)

Do you think even with a £200 balance on the card a BT will be a good idea?

Sorry i am a bit rubbish with working out these comparisions any help (other than just pay it all off! ) will be welcome

ziknik

How much have you got on your Virgin card at the moment? What is the interest rate on it?

CannyJock

1.2% per month is 15.39% APR - there's an interest rate converter on the stoozing website.

If you transfer about £ 720 to cover residual interest from Virgin to LTSB, it'll clear that card.

Yes, clearing £ 200 off the card before doing the BT is the smart thing to do.

You'll then have a card with two balances:
£ 200 @ 15.39% APR
£ 749 @ 6.2% LOB

As you mentioned, all payments you make will go against the LOB balance and you'll continue to accrue interest on the 15.39% APR balance. MBNA have been known to increase rates so you might find yourself stuck with that.

Why not:
1. Pay £ 200 off the Virgin Card
2. Transfer £ 205 from LTSB to Virgin to clear the Virgin card, giving you roughly £ 961 on your LTB card but £ 0 on your Virgin card.
3. Wait till you get a statement from Virgin confirming a nil or credit balance.
4. Then do your LOB transfer of £ 973 from Virgin to LTSB to clear the LTSB card and leave you with a balance of around £ 1002 on the Virgin card all at 6.2% LOB?

Whether it's worthwhile incurring the £ 37 of BT fees depends on how long it'll take you to clear the cards in full.

Oh yeah, and once you've got your LOB balance you shouldn't spend on the card again.

CannyJock

ziknik wrote: »

How much have you got on your Virgin card at the moment? What is the interest rate on it?

OP mentioned:

I have a virgin card with about £400 on (at about 1.2% a month)

ziknik

CannyJock wrote: »

OP mentioned:

Opps

Why not:
1. Pay £ 200 off the Virgin Card
2. Transfer £ 205 from LTSB to Virgin to clear the Virgin card, giving you roughly £ 961 on your LTB card but £ 0 on your Virgin card.
3. Then do your LOB transfer of £ 973 from Virgin to LTSB to clear the LTSB card and leave you with a balance of around £ 1002 on the Virgin card all at 6.2% LOB?

Good plan

applestar

CannyJock wrote: »

Why not:
1. Pay £ 200 off the Virgin Card
2. Transfer £ 205 from LTSB to Virgin to clear the Virgin card, giving you roughly £ 961 on your LTB card but £ 0 on your Virgin card.
3. Wait till you get a statement from Virgin confirming a nil or credit balance.
4. Then do your LOB transfer of £ 973 from Virgin to LTSB to clear the LTSB card and leave you with a balance of around £ 1002 on the Virgin card all at 6.2% LOB?

Brilliant idea! Thank you that never even occurred to me to do :T

Oh yeah, and once you've got your LOB balance you shouldn't spend on the card again.

not a problem. i've had a few 0% and managed to resist


Thanks for the excellent help