Large Positive CC Balance

chrisall

Hi, apologies if this has been asked before:

suppose I have an old CC with a clear balance & a new CC which offers 16m interest free for balance transfers (in the first 3m). Could I BT say £10K onto the old card thus giving me effectively 16m interest free for new purchases?

Cheers,
Chrisall

Eydon

It really depends on the old card. Some will just return the payment because they won't allow a positive balance. That will mean you'll have paid the BT fee for nothing.

What are the cards in question?

Moggles_2

Personally, I wouldn't risk putting a credit card in credit. Credit cards - other than Egg Money - are not designed to carry a positive balance. Small amounts that arise temporarily (due to a refund, for instance) are okay, but the Ts & Cs of some cards specifically prohibit payments that deliberately place the account in credit.

As above, you could be hit with two BT fees and accomplish nothing, but it gets worse. The larger the sum involved, the greater the risk that you'll trigger anti-money laundering procedures and your card could be blocked. From feedback here, these issues are seldom resolved quickly.

Moggles_2

P.S. Additionally, section 75 wouldn't apply if you spent from a positive balance, because technically it's not credit. Also, if your card were stolen, you wouldn't be covered for fraudulent transactions.