The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

travelling_light

Hi can anyone advise I have 2 cards - virgin and sainsburys bank and need to balance transfer @ £1500 asap to longest 0% with lowest fee - a familiar story I know. Which cards can I apply to?
Thanks for your help.:o

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by travelling light
I have 2 cards - virgin and sainsburys bank - and need to balance transfer @ £1500 asap to longest 0% with lowest fee .... Which cards can I apply to?

Have you considered the Royal Bank of Scotland deal which offers 0% for 13 Months? A 2% handling fee applies.

Alternatively, Barclays Platinum would be 0% for 14 months. There's a 2.5% BT fee

YorkshireBoy

Moggles wrote: »

Alternatively, Barclays Platinum would be 0% for 14 months. There's a 2.5% BT fee

Be careful with this one. It's a moneysupermarket.com special offer, and you have to apply by 31st August...which gives you approximately [strike]5[/strike] 4 minutes (as I type)!

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/cards/credit_card.asp

nicola_b_3

Moggles wrote: »

It's worth a phone call, IMO, to complain. You may not be charged in subsequent months. After all BTs are advertised as interest free for 13 months.

Thanks for this - I did phone and complain as soon as I found out but got nowhere. They even told me that too many people just take out the card for the interest-free period and then close the account so unless they charge the fee + interest they don't make any money! (Awww, poor credit card company!)

I'll just have to live with it - it's not much money after all. It would be useful though if Martin could flag up the cards that do this on his tarting page.....

Squirrel29

Seems like quite a good deal although there is a hefty 3% charge.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Squirrel29
Goldfish - 3% until 2010
Seems like quite a good deal although there is a hefty 3% charge.

A minimum monthly payment of 2% makes this deal popular with MSEs who want to reduce their repayments.

That said, the 0% cards keep monthly repayments to a minimum & save even more money, provided that you're prepared to ditch & switch when the 0% promotion ends.

jeemer

I currently have a lloyds tsb gold card with about £3,500 on it.

I'm looking for a credit card with 0% on balance transfers, and I aim to transfer as much as I can to it and pay off as much as I can (hopefully all of it) before the 0% period runs out.

Any recommendations for a card to apply for?

Also, did I read it right, that if I do need to make any small purchases in the mean time (i'm talking tickets, the sort of thing that can be paid off immediately) that I should make them with the old lloyds tsb gold card?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

JackRS

Moggles wrote: »

I believe the current HSBC deal offers 4.9% on BTs until January 2012.

If you would prefer 0% for 12 months, you may want to compare the Alliance & Leicester card or, to maximise the 0% period, 15 months is available from Virgin. Both cards are issued by MBNA.

OK i've been looking into the Alliance & Leicester card which like most with 12m 0% there is a BT fee 2.25%. In the T&C it states that interest is charged on the BT until fully paid, is this the same with all the others?
I've pasted the relevant bit from the T&C below:

'

2c We will charge the following handling fees. For all balance transfers and cheque transactions, 2.25% of the amount of each transaction (minimum £2.50). For all cash transactions, 2.25% of the amount of each transaction (minimum £2.50). There is an annual fee of £0.

2d We will charge interest on handling fees, and on interest you already owe, at the rate which applies to the relevant transaction. We will always charge interest on any annual fee, service charges and default charges at the rate which applies to card purchases. We will not charge interest on the card purchases shown on your statement if you pay off the whole balance shown on that statement, and on the statement before, by the date the payment is due. Otherwise, we will charge interest on all transactions, handling fees, service charges, default charges and interest starting on the transaction date and ending on the date you pay the bill in full. We work out interest each day, so the earlier you make a payment, the less interest you will have to pay.

I'm looking to BT around £2000 for 12m, is there a better option? (Currently card is Tesco (RBS group)

Also how long does it normally take to get these cards when applying on line, I'll need to BT by the end of September?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by jeemer
I currently have a lloyds tsb gold card with about £3,500 on it.
I'm looking for a credit card with 0% on balance transfers, and I aim to transfer and pay off as much as I can (hopefully all of it) before the 0% period runs out. Any recommendations for a card to apply for?

There's always a trade-off between duration and charges but, if you want to maximise the 0% period, 15 months is currently available from Virgin. A 2.98% BT fee applies.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Capital One Platinum card offers 0% until 1 May 2008. There's a 1.7% handling charge.

Did I read it right, that if I do need to make any small purchases in the mean time, I should make them with the old lloyds tsb gold card?

Well, this doesn't apply across the board actually. The Capital One Platinum card offers 0% on purchases until 1 May 2008 as well, so you could safely spend on that one.;)

Generally speaking though, it's wise to keep your balance transfer(s) and purchases on separate credit cards. This is because under the terms of most of these 0% promotions, monthly repayments are allocated to the transferred balance(s) first, while retail transactions sit on successive monthly statements attracting interest at the standard rate.

This is exactly the poo-trap Virgin calculates some customers will fall into and it's the main way, IMO, the company stands to make money! Those taking up the current offer of 0% BTs for 15 months, are offered 0% on purchases for just 3 months and then bombarded with advertising aimed at persuading them to spend on the card.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by JackRS
I've been looking into the Alliance & Leicester card which like most with 12m 0% has a 2.25% BT fee. In the T&Cs it states that interest is charged on the BT until fully paid. Is this the same with all the others?

Yes, this applies to virtually all credit cards but, if you visit the website & apply online, the A&L card currently offers 0% p.a.on any balances transferred in the first 12 months from your account opening date.

2b Balance transfers: In the first twelve months from the account opening date, we will charge interest at the rate of 0% p.a. After that, we will charge a standard rate of 15.9% p.a.

As you say, there's a 2.25% handling fee, so you'll pay £45 to shift a balance of £2000. Provided that you keep within the Ts & Cs, there are no other charges.