Define account opening date?

Oompa_Lumpa

I am going to apply for a M&S Card as they have a "0% pa on balance transfers for 6 months from date of account opening".

When is the date of account opening? If I apply on line today, does the 6 month period start today or does it start from when the card is activated?

I rang M&S, but not surprisingly the lady in India didn't understand my question :rolleyes:

schiff

OL - probably when the card is activated. Some CC companies have taken to showing the specific expiry date of a 0% offer on the succeeding monthly statements, which I find very useful.
It also formally cuts out any argument about starting dates. Always as well incidentally to clear the outstanding balance a couple of weeks before that final date.
And you need to start several weeks before that date if you are arranging to clear your balance by another BT with another provider!

Oompa_Lumpa

The reason I ask is that I applied for an Egg Money card at the tail end of last week. As I will be doing the BT to my Egg Money card I don't want my 6 month M&S clock to start running just yet as I don't have the Egg Money card yet.
If however, the 6 months don't start until the M&S card is activated then that would be fine as I should have me Egg Money card by that time.

HGLTsuperstar

Had similar discussion with M&S, and finally got clairification. 6 months starts from when they open the account, despite it probably being a further 7-10 days before it reaches you and you cant ring to do BT until you get card and activate it.
However you can do fee-free 0% BT at any point within that 6 months, subject to your available credit of course, and the 6 months on each individual BT starts from the date of transfer.
HTH

Milarky

HGLTsuperstar wrote:

However you can do fee-free 0% BT at any point within that 6 months, subject to your available credit of course, and the 6 months on each individual BT starts from the date of transfer.
HTH

Does that not make it a '12 month card' if used aptly then? (eg pay of the BT close to 6 months and BT as much again for a further 6 months. Have I got that right?)

Oompa_Lumpa

Does that not make it a '12 month card' if used aptly then? (eg pay of the BT close to 6 months and BT as much again for a further 6 months. Have I got that right?)

Indeed. HGLT can you confirm that what Milarky said is possible under your description?

HGLTsuperstar

Cant confirm something I havent personally done, only relaying what I was told, if didnt help answer your question, then you better ask them yourself and get written confirmation

Milarky

http://www6.marksandspencer.com/pdf/CCT&C.pdf

Fixed Term Balance Transfers for balances transferred within 6 months of Account opening

Which seems to suggest by the wording that separate transfers do have different end dates. It would be nice if someone could confirm this though..

YorkshireBoy

Milarky wrote:

It would be nice if someone could confirm this though..

Having seen it discussed on the Fool website earlier this year, I put it up for discussion on the stoozing website here...

http://www.stoozing.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1139270276

...and it seems one of the members has indeed taken advantage of this 'loophole'.

Stonk

The opening date might be irrelevant. My promotional period with RBS of supposedly "9 months from the acount opening date", beginning on 25 June 2005 (which I have confirmed with them was indeed the account opening date), recently inexplicably ended on 13 March 2006, resulting in some unexpected interest being charged!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=185235

Moral: Don't ask them the opening date - ask them the ending date.