I am sorting out my credit card balances today by shuffling but need help

redballoon_2

Ok. Here goes.

Balance one : 5504.06 on Barclaycard (most of it a balance transfer with a few purchases on it) Limit £6500. They are offering me 6.9% for life of the balance or 0% with 2% handling fee

Balance two : 2118.96 with HSBC most of it a balance transfer with a few purchases on it) Limit £7500

they are offering me 3.9% for six months with 2% handling fee

Balance three : 307.01 with the post office. limit £1000

I would like the debt on one card as one balance transfer so i know where I am.

Can any one give me some advice on how to swop these around so i am getting the cheapest deal. And i wont spend on them after I have done the balance transfer

Summary:

Balance Limit %
£5504.06----£6500

---

6.9 for life or 0% oct with 2.5% fee
£2118.96----£7500

---

3.9% for 6 months with 2% fee
£307.01

---

£1000

The_Boss

Who do you Bank with? I'd consider getting a new card with 0% on transfers and if you bank with NatWest, they wont charge a transfer fee. They will charge a capped fee of £48 if you are not.

Then transfer as much from the Barclaycard onto the NatWest and the rest onto the HSBC. Then when the Barclaycard balance has registered as zero, transfer all from the HSBC card and Post Office onto it to take advantage of the rate for life.

If you cant get a new card, it could be a bit more fiddly. You will have to pay about £200 onto the HSBC card, transfer as much as possible from the Barlcaycard to the post office card and HSBC card, and then transfer back from both of those cards to the Barclaycard to benefit from the new rate.

Hope this helps and doesnt sound too muddled.

redballoon_2

thanks. I am with HSBC.

I got a new credit card which was the post office one and they have only given me £1000 credit limit. i havent had the card long.

I understood the "muddled" bit and think that is what i will end up doing then.

Thanks

The_Boss

The only problem with this is you are going to end up paying two lots of balance transfer fees, and need to take this into account when transferring.

redballoon_2

yeah i know. bit of a pain but hopefully i will get it cleared in eight months or so

Moggles_2

Hi Redballoon

It's a shame your Post Office card has a low credit limit. All the same, you could request a fee-free 0% balance transfer over the phone from your most expensive card and save money straight away. What's more, for the entire 6 month promotional period, every time you make a monthly payment, you can request another BT right up to your credit limit. This doesn't cost you a penny and reduces the BT fees/interest payable on your other cards.

HSBC normally allows customers to borrow up to their credit limit as well but, as always, check your Ts & Cs.

Barclaycard insists customers leave a 10% margin for fees, so you need to include this in your calculations.

Very best
M