MSE News: Don't ruin balance transfer savings by foolishly spending

splatt30

If you're clever with Virgin/MBNA (only for keen stoozy types) you CAN play this game. If all your balance is on 0% promotional offers it is the 0% offer which ends FIRST which is paid off first. (And I have had confirmation from them that this won't be changing in September). So you CAN spend if you have a 0% purchase offer (and pay no interest) as long as you pay off all of that spend before the offer expires, even if you have a BT offer which expires at a later date.

Rupert_Bear

I have an MBNA bt due to expire in January 2011. However I have also received an offer that if I spend over 250.01 on the card I can have interest free until March 2011. If I take them up on this offer and pay the bt off in January and let the March purchase stay until that time would I find they would start charging me interest from January. Any help appreciated.

CannyJock

Rupert_Bear wrote: »

I have an MBNA bt due to expire in January 2011. However I have also received an offer that if I spend over 250.01 on the card I can have interest free until March 2011. If I take them up on this offer and pay the bt off in January and let the March purchase stay until that time would I find they would start charging me interested from January. Any help appreciated.

The new spending will be at 0% until March 2011 or the existing BT due to end January 2011 will be extended until March 2011?

Assuming the former: From September you'll be paying against the highest APR, or where they're both on 0% the one that ends "first" which will be the one ending January 2011. Between now and then, your new purchases will go against the 0% ending in January 2011, but any existing purchases making up your balance will be trapped earning interest between now and September when the new allocation of payment rules kick in.

Though to be honest, and knowing how cleverly MBNA are at wording things and structuring these offers to catch people out, I'd be phoning them directly for clarification. And then phone back a day later to check you get the same answer.

splatt30

Rupert Bear - I have similar offers running with Virgin. My 0% on purchases runs out before my BT but as I understand it, provided I've cleared each offer balance before it's 0% runs out then there should be no interest to pay. Spent quite some time trying to be sure I couldn't find any tricks on the T&Cs and am pretty sure this is what they are offering

Fireboss

I appreciate the importance of never spending on a balance transfer card, but recently I have had notification from two of my providers( I hold a number of cards so I can do regular "balance shuffles" between them) that they are closing my account as I have not used my card for some time.
Would it make a significant difference to my balance transfer interest payments if I were to spend say £5 on it just to prove I've used the card and therefore keep the account open?
These companies seem to find every way possible to squeeze customers into a corner and force interest from them despite our best attempts to stay ahead!!

Rupert_Bear

Rupert_Bear wrote: »

I have an MBNA bt due to expire in January 2011. However I have also received an offer that if I spend over 250.01 on the card I can have interest free until March 2011. If I take them up on this offer and pay the bt off in January and let the March purchase stay until that time would I find they would start charging me interest from January. Any help appreciated.

Reply from MBNA.

Thank you for contacting us. Your repayments are allocated to balances at the lowest rates first. If you have balances attracting the same promotional rate we allocated repayments to the balance on the promotional rate which ends first. Many thanks.
Sent: 09/06/2010


UNQUOTE.

I am therefore correct in assuming if I pay the first bt debt off before January I would still not be charged interest on the 0% purchase provided it is clear by the March statement.