The Best Balance Transfers Article Discussion Area

*zippy*

Please can I ask if those that have applied for the Marks and Spencers &more card were offered a generous limit?

mrslawrence2003

hi all,

as some of you may have seen in the other thread, egg have been increasing some peoples interest rates (mine included). therefore, i could do with a new credit card to transfer the remaining balance along with my overdraft. ( i dont need to apply for a card that will accept my overdraft as i can bounce this through the egg card) but i currently have about £35K worth of debt. as i can only apply for the card in my name, and all of the debt is in my name will this cause a problem in applying for a new card? i think i have a reasonable credit history - i dont miss payments etc. any thoughts or ideas. am very reluctant to apply for one and be refused as this will appear on my credit history....

yunus

Moggles wrote:

The Union card issued by Bank of Scotland is the current market leader. This offers 0% balance transfers for 9 months with no handling charges.

In April, I applied for the charity version (not so attractive now, as BoS has reduced the promotion period)

Alternatively, I can vouch for the Post Office card issued by Bank of Ireland. This card offers 0% balance transfers for 6 months with no fees.

Generous credit limits in both cases. The PO card allows customers to borrow right up to their credit limit. BoS insists on a margin of around 8% for possible late payment, over limit fees.

I'm an Amicus member and need to do a balance transfer by October. You mention 0% balance transfers and no handling charges for the union card but on the website it says 'A balance transfer fee of up to 2% will be charged'. So will I be paying something to tart?

mrslawrence2003

mrslawrence2003 wrote:

hi all,

as some of you may have seen in the other thread, egg have been increasing some peoples interest rates (mine included). therefore, i could do with a new credit card to transfer the remaining balance along with my overdraft. ( i dont need to apply for a card that will accept my overdraft as i can bounce this through the egg card) but i currently have about £35K worth of debt. as i can only apply for the card in my name, and all of the debt is in my name will this cause a problem in applying for a new card? i think i have a reasonable credit history - i dont miss payments etc. any thoughts or ideas. am very reluctant to apply for one and be refused as this will appear on my credit history....

oh well, i have now applied for a barclaycard flexi thingy - fingers crossed!

mpazza

cliveap wrote:

Thanks for the reply Moggles. I'll let everyone know about the Capital One balance transfer period once I have the paperwork and have checked it out. As a matter of interest I first applied for a GE card but they turned me down. This despite a spotless payment record and good salary. The advice about them is definitely right. Capital One no problem. As there is no cap on the fee I will only be transferring the balance that is out of interest free and will put the other one on Egg on the anniversary in January.

Is the Egg aniversary still a good deal?
Uncapped 2.5% fee for 5 months 0%, is that equivalent to an apr of over 5%?

Also have any existing virgin customers been offered 0% with a fee after clearing their balances recently? They gave it to me earlier in the year but last week only offered 4.9% with (get this) a 2% fee!

Moggles_2

Hi there

Originally Posted by mrslawrence2003

i currently have about £35K worth of debt... and all of the debt is in my name will this cause a problem in applying for a new card? i think i have a reasonable credit history - i dont miss payments etc. any thoughts or ideas. am very reluctant to apply for one and be refused as this will appear on my credit history....

This is not really a best balance transfer question. If you have further queries, you may get replies more quickly, if you post on the main credit card board.

Hope your Barclaycard application proceeds smoothly.

Very best
M

Moggles_2

Hi Yunus

The wording on the website was changed this month, which is ominous, although Bank of Scotland customer service staff still insist that balance transfers are fee-free during the introductory period. Please read this thread before you apply:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=259932

Cheers
M

Smudgeboy

Hi all,

Very irregular poster, but in preparation for moving house soon, I thought I'd get my credit cards sorted out. I have rate-tarted for a couple of years and very successfully managed my CC debts down to less than £1,000, which I'm paying off on the lowest rate card I had.

This meants that I had a couple of old cards lying around (namely a Virgin Money Mastercard and an RAC Platinum Visa - both MBNA ones) which I'd used specifically and only for the length of the 0% period and then never touched.

However, I didn't bother to close the two accounts.

To avoid worrying about change of address hassles when I move, I decided to phone and cancel the accounts today. Phones the RAC card first and told the chap I spoke to straight out that I was closing it because I had other cards with better rates.

At which point he said they didn't want to lose my custom, so how about he took the standard rate down to 7.9% (forever) and would I like a 0% (no fee) balance transfer through to March 2007?

He changed the standard rate there and then and gave me a number to call for the balance transfer - I think I've got a result.

Does this suggest that keeping old cards "dormant" is better than cancelling them - I'm going to keep the Virgin one and call them if I have a balance to transfer in March. What's the worst that could happen?

Anyone got any thoughts, comments?

Moggles_2

Hi Zippy

Please can I ask if those that have applied for the Marks and Spencers &more card were offered a generous limit?

You may want to read this thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=257145

Cheers
M

Moggles_2

Hi mpazza

Is the Egg aniversary still a good deal?
Uncapped 2.5% fee for 5 months 0% ... ?

IMO, uncapped balance transfer fees are best avoided unless the 0% promotion period is protracted as, for instance, the current Capital One deal.

Like many MSEs, I made the most of Egg's Anniversary offers when they were fee-free, but I wouldn't touch 'em now with someone else's barge-pole.

Also have any existing virgin customers been offered 0% with a fee after clearing their balances recently? They gave it to me earlier in the year but last week only offered 4.9% with (get this) a 2% fee!

Did you pay up yourself? Shifting the balance to a rival card usually triggers a sizzling offer.