The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

Moggles_2

Hi Genfink

Welcome to the Credit Card boards!

If i were to open a NatWest credit card in order to take advantage of 13 months 0% interest on balance transfers, and subsequently transferred my current HSBC credit card debt of about £150 onto it, could i then spend some more money on the HSBC card, and then transfer that balance onto the NatWest card too?

Yes. You can do this as often as you like, provided that you do not exceed 95% of your NatWest credit limit.

Even better, 6 months from account opening, the 2% BT fee no longer applies!

YorkshireBoy

Moggles wrote: »

Lowest BT fee at the mo would be the Capital One Platinum deal with 0% on balance transfers and purchases until 1 August 2008. A 1.7% handling charge applies.

Btw, the Capital One Balance Transfer card offers 0% on balance transfers only (purchases 15.94% pa) with no BT fees, but only until 1 April 2008. Still, well worth considering IMO.

It may be possible to squeeze an extra month out of these Capital One balance transfer deals Moggles.

Whilst the 'main features' pages state "until 1st April 2008" or "until 1st August 2008", the T&C's actually state, for example...

For balance transfers:
An effective rate of 0.00% p.a. fixed until the day after your April 2008 monthly statement

...so, choosing an 'appropriate' statement date during the activation phone call could be a wise move.

Moggles_2

Many thanks for this, YB.
:beer:

briggsy9

Hello,

I'm new to this board... Just wondering if people can share their wisdom and advice on the following.

My debts currently are as follows: 2 x £500 overdrafts in 2 different bank accounts and £500 on an MBNA credit card. The overdraft accounts have both recently lost their interest free elements, so I'm paying around £3 a month on each of these, and the MBNA card is only interest free for a further 2 months.

I think I can pay off these debts over the next 6 months, but would obviously prefer not to be paying interest on these while I do so.

Is it possible to do balance transfers into bank accounts or does it only apply to credit cards? Are there any bank accounts offering interest-free overdrafts that anyone would recommend? Any other tips?

Many thanks in advance,

John... hopefully soon to be debt-free (except for that dreaded student loan!)

Chichiuaua

Moggles wrote: »

Hi Chichiuaua

Congratulations on landing a new job (& payrise) & welcome to the Credit Card board!

Have you looked at your credit file lately? This is the information potential lenders see when you apply for a new credit card, so it's worth checking whenever you're rejected. Mistakes do happen. (For help, see the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky.)

Virgin is underwritten by MBNA, so it may be that MBNA scores applicants for both cards in much the same way. I would steer clear of cards issued by this lender for a bit.

Sounds good to me.

Best of luck
M

Thanks Moggles - sound advice. I have applied for access to my credit rating using the free trial. I can't wait to see what they've got their mitts on!

Cheers for that

Moggles_2

Hi Briggsy

Welcome to the Credit Card board!

My debts currently are as follows: 2 x £500 overdrafts in 2 different bank accounts and £500 on an MBNA credit card....The MBNA card is only interest free for a further 2 months. Is it possible to do balance transfers into bank accounts or does this only apply to credit cards?

You can shift a credit card balance to another credit card. Transferring an overdraft to a credit card is not so straightforward. Only a few rather special cards, like Egg Money and cards issued by MBNA, have this capability. Luckily, you already have an MBNA card.

MBNA periodically issues credit card cheques which can be paid directly into your current account or you can request a transfer of funds to your bank. There's a 2-3% handling charge, depending on the brand of MBNA card involved.
Caution: IMO, it's best to request the transfer by phone (as opposed to online), so you can check the 0% interest rate will apply. Otherwise you risk being charged for a money transfer, which is very expensive.

As your interest-free period on the MBNA card ends in two months, I would select another 0% BT card ASAP and transfer the remaining balance to that.

When comparing BT cards, you'll notice there's almost always a trade-off between the duration of the 0% promotion and the charges payable. Which deal's best also depends, to some extent, on the cards you already hold of course.

absfabs

Thanks Moggles to previous advice to post # 509.

I'm afraid Capital One have just declined application for new 0% card and my current 0% deal with Mint/RSB is coming to an end in 7weeks.

Am baffled and will check credit report, but meanwhile the clock is ticking and I want to get another application started.

Am currently with Mint/RSB, so their partners are out. Still got a Liverpool & Victoria Card for back up/purchases which I pay off in full every month. Closed Barclaycard and AMEX approx 6 months ago, Halifax and Virgin approx 18 months ago.

Hoping to transfer £5500, so would prefer not to have BT fee or at least a capped one. Don't thing there is any chance of more than 6 month 0%.

Is it worth applying to Ulster? I don't want to dent my credit score further with no hope applications.

Not aware why I was turned down, the only flaw on my record as far as I am aware, may have been accidentally exceeding credit limit by £36 for 5 days last month.

Or are people having difficulties getting accepted if they have been "tarting" successfully for a few years?

Am grateful for any advice, cards with a lower credit limit would be acceptable as I am able to pay off at least 2/3 of the debt.

YorkshireBoy

absfabs wrote: »

Hoping to transfer £5500, so would prefer not to have BT fee or at least a capped one. Don't thing there is any chance of more than 6 month 0%.

Start at the top of this table and work down.

Is it worth applying to Ulster? I don't want to dent my credit score further with no hope applications.

Ulster would be a "no hope" since they are part of the RBS group.

Not aware why I was turned down, the only flaw on my record as far as I am aware, may have been accidentally exceeding credit limit by £36 for 5 days last month.

May not have been reported yet, or at all if you swiftly got it back under.

Or are people having difficulties getting accepted if they have been "tarting" successfully for a few years?

Still getting accepted, but limits are significantly lower these days.

absfabs

Thanks YorkshireBoy, very helpful link. Especially the stoozing calculator, though not quite acurate for me as I don't have the full funds saved yet.

Giving ICICI a try, 0% for 3 months and no fees. Not a long period but gives me time to save a bit more. Also read somewhere on this forum that Mint offered renewed 0% deal to a customer after balance was transfered out.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by absfabs
I'm afraid Capital One have just declined application for new 0% card ... Am baffled and will check credit report.

Sorry to hear you were turned down. This card requires an "excellent" credit rating. Do you meet the criteria listed on the Capital One website? (e.g. held credit card(s) for at least 5 years, have a credit card with limit of at least £5000 etc.)

Giving ICICI a try, 0% for 3 months and no fees. Not a long period but gives me time to save a bit more.

I have no experience of this lender personally, but MSEs have reported extreme inefficiency in processing applications and a balance transfer (minimum 6 weeks, sometimes longer). Some have encountered difficulties transferring the remaining balance to another card as well.

Hoping to transfer £5500, so would prefer not to have BT fee or at least a capped one. Don't thing there is any chance of more than 6 month 0%.

Capped fees will certainly save you money on a balance of £5500.
Currently, the longest 0% period available is 9 months. See Citi Platinum Mastercard, BT fee capped at £75.
The Virgin Atlantic and the John Lewis cards offer 0% BTs for 6 months, fees capped at £50.