The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

n3phi1im

Ollybean wrote: »

Hi all.
I was just wondering if you could tell me if there is any specific reason why the barclaycard balance transfer for it's flex rate card (0% for a year with a 2.5% fee) is not listed as a good one? Am I missing something?
Thanks

Sounds OK but unless the fee is capped, the Tesco Clubcard Credit card is better - 12 months 0%, 2% fee.

Editor123

Hello MSE fans!

I have a current credit rating of 762 which is considered 'fair' and I have had only 2 late payments in the past 9 months.

I have 2 credit cards with an outstanding balance of £1800 and 3 graduate accounts with £4,600 outstanding.

I would ideally like to transfer the whole lot onto a 0% balance transfer credit card so that it is a lot more manageable and cheaper.

I have 2 questions:

1. With a credit rating such as mine - which are the best credit cards to apply for that offer 0% balance transfers?

2. Am I able to transfer bank account overdrafts as well?

Many thanks y'all!

Goutetsuu

Hi peeps,

i'm confused.com. I applied for an M&S credit card thinking i had 0% on balance transfers, but i didn't. I'm paying 3.9% p.a. (i believe), but i'm not paying this annually but monthly as i received my statement with £7 interest on top of my usual monthly payment.

Is this correct or should i be really paying the interest annually? Additionally i was briefly reading on the forum that Tesco provide a 12 months 0% on balance transfers, but with a 2% fee, is this a better card to go for, as i assume monthly i shouldn't or won't be paying and interest for the next 12 months?

Sorry if the questions are obvious, but i'm just starting to get ahold of this card tarting.

Thanks for anyone's help in advanced

gallacat

...if you need a balance transfer in a hurry!!! Having gone through the process of getting the new card I rang up looking forward to putting off major payments yet further! Sadly tho', I was told that I had to send them the bill that I wanted paying off! I've never heard o such nonsense. I've been a BT tart for a number of years & never had to do anything except lift the phone to get a BT. What if the bill gets lost in the post, what if the bill is due soon, how do you know if the process will be completed on time?? Is it me??!!

whetherornot

Hello,

I'm new to all this, so I hope this question doesn't irritate!

Can I transfer a Nat West bank overdraft to a 0% credit card using a credit card cheque?

If so, can I do this with Morgan Stanley Buy and Fly as recommended in the BT article?

I dread to think how much the Nat West have made out of my financial phobia :eek: but, no more, I have discovered the wisdom of this site (and the headache of navigating around it!)

King_Weasel

Goutetsuu wrote: »

i'm confused.com. I applied for an M&S credit card thinking i had 0% on balance transfers, but i didn't. I'm paying 3.9% p.a. (i believe), but i'm not paying this annually but monthly as i received my statement with £7 interest on top of my usual monthly payment.

Is this correct or should i be really paying the interest annually? Additionally i was briefly reading on the forum that Tesco provide a 12 months 0% on balance transfers, but with a 2% fee, is this a better card to go for, as i assume monthly i shouldn't or won't be paying and interest for the next 12 months?

Goutetsou, M&S currently offer 0% on purchases (until next January), not BT's. They also offer 4.9% on BT's, but it could have been 3.9% when you applied, for all I know. Maybe you got these two offers confused (.com), but that's history.

If there is any interest to pay, I'm sure they would apply it monthly. A charge of £7 implies a balance of just under £2,200 at a 3.9% annual rate. Does that look right?

If so, a rate of 3.9% isn't bad as a life-of-balance rate. Of course, 0% is better, even with an upfront 2% charge - PROVIDED you can either clear the balance within the 12 months or become a tart and switch to another 0% provider. Otherwise, it seems you should stay put.

But I've one big caveat: I see a rate of 17.9% pa lurking there for balances on purchases after next January. (It might be sooner on your card.) I reckon MCR applies here (that's Martin's Cardinal Rule): NEVER NEVER NEVER use the same card for purchases and BT's. If you've been doing this, you need to clear the full balance (including BT) by the end of the 0% period on purchases.

So you might be needing that Tesco card in any event.

Hope this is helpful.

andrewj100

Remeber to calculate what you'll pay back and how long you have the debt for. I was looking to move a balance over to an interest free card with a 3% fee a while ago but actual found shifting it to a Sainsburys fee free card with 5% APR cheaper as I was planning on paying the balance off in 6 months. As it was I payed it off in 4 so saved even more. 0% isn't always best!

mazmoo

Hi there,
Can someone please tell me-can I BT if I am already on a promotional BT rate on the card I want to BT? I have an MBNA card, which I'm quite happy to keep until the BT rate is up in October-but I am now incurring purchase interest-it was just a 3 month interest free on purchases. Even though, since I've had the card I've always cleared what I have spent... I just use the card on-line, instead of using my debit card. Yes, I know I should've never have used it-and just kept it for the BT... but this is me.... I do first, panic later!
I pay off £120 a month (Minimum payment is £25 odd on a £2255 or so debt)-but, would obviously clear quicker if I wasn't incurring that interest, which is about £26 a month.

I did try a couple months ago-but stupidly I picked a virgin card-and got the 'you can't transfer as MBNA own virgin' or something or other-I asked will it affect my credit score if I decided not to go ahead with the card... as he suggested me splitting my limit on the MBNA between the two cards (my credit limit is £4500) I didn't want to do that, he assured me it wouldn't. Although, I took that with a pinch of salt.

Or quite simply-do I have to wait until this promotional rate is over, before I can balance transfer?

Thanks in advance

yorkshirerose

I currently have a barclaycard which is nearly maxed out, so i cant bt to their existing customer 0% offer.

Yesterday I applied for an Egg card to bt but got declined. I think probably because i have another 2 different cc's. My credit rating is fair.

Thing is, it's just looking like I am applying for another cc, as it does not give you the opportunity to say you want it just to transfer the balance from your present card to a better rate of interest.

Has anyone any ideas as to what I can do if anything, because im sick of paying this high rate.

Sades_2

I've just been trying to apply for the Morgan Stanley credit card as I have about £3000 I want to transfer. I've just seen however that although it said the balance transfer fee is just 1%, their website also then notes that there is a minimum fee of £250! Have I understood this right? Not such a good deal after all...?