Is Santander same as MBNA?

reynom1

I want to apply for the Asda Reward Credit card because it is offering 0% on balance transfers for 12 months (with a fee). However, the small print says you cannot transfer balances from a card provided by Santander Cards UK Limited or Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited. Since Santander bought Abbey, whose cards are provided by MBNA, would I be right in thinking that transfers from Abbey are precluded? Also, I was turned down for a Virgin card (again, provided by MBNA) because despite having a very good credit score, the underwriter thought I already had enough outstanding debt. He wasn't even prepared to give me a Virgin card to transfer a Capital One balance onto the Virgin 0% deal, thereby giving me a better chance to reduce it quicker. My problem is that I don't want to apply for the Asda card, get another credit search against my name, only to be turned down because Asda has the same underwriting criteria as Virgin or considers MBNA cards to be the same as Santander. I hope this makes sense. Can anybody advise me, please?

seeya23

Asda Reward Credit card has note to do with mbna has it.s run by Santander

CannyJock

reynom1 wrote: »

Since Santander bought Abbey, whose cards are provided by MBNA, would I be right in thinking that transfers from Abbey are precluded?

Old Abbey and A&L cards were provided by MBNA, but they've been Santander backed for a while now.

Because the new Asda card is provided by Santander (used to be GE Capital) you can't transfer the balance from any other Santander backed card to it.

Nothing to stop you transferring a balance from an MBNA or Cap One card to the Asda card though.

dustyspringboard

This may not apply to you but just a little note of warning. I applied for the Asda credit card myself last week with the intention of doing something similar i.e to transfer my outstanding balance of around £4500 from my Virgin credit card. The online application form for Asda asks if you wish to transfer a balance and, if so, how much. I then received an email to say that my application had been approved. Only AFTER clicking on the link to 'sign' the terms and conditions, was I presented with my credit limit.....£500!

Calling the customer service number was a painful experience - everybody seemed to read from a script and couldn't really answer any of my questions...and it costs 10p per minute.

Eventually I spoke to somebody who said that my credit limit could be increased....after a year!

My 0% balance transfer rate for my Virgin card ends next month and, although not entirely sure about this, I don't think I am going to be successful in applying for another credit card so soon after my application for the Asda card.

If possible, try to check what your credit limit would be before you apply!

CannyJock

Remember there is a trick pretty much exclusive to MBNA backed cards where you can move your credit limit from one card to another, so even a small credit limit on a 2nd or 3rd card isn't always a problem.

You wouldn't be able to move a balance directly from one MBNA card to another (though you can transfer money from one MBNA card to your bank account for a 4% fee and then use that money to pay the other MBNA card )