The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by samara
I have been told by a fellow investor that it may be possible to apply for several credit cards all at once.

Provided that your credit file is in good shape and you've made no other applications for credit in the last three months or so, there's nothing to stop you from submitting a couple of credit card applications - say Egg Money and an interest-free balance transfer card - at the same time.

.. it may not show up as multiple applications on my credit report as the agencies' software is not that sophisticated and may not pick it up.

Not so. Credit checks appear on your credit file more or less in realtime.
However, lenders will not see the credit limits they each give you so, if your credit report can stand it, there may be some advantage in doing applications together.

niceshoes_2

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Not any more Moggles.

8 months fee-free now available from Capital One...

http://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/cards.jsf
(3rd card down)

Is capital one, one of the credit card companies that allow you to pay money into your current account (which I could then use to pay off my cahoot loan??)

Thanks

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by niceshoes
Is Capital One one of the credit card companies that allows you to pay money into your current account (which I could then use to pay off my cahoot loan??)

Unfortunately, not. Only a handful of rather special credit cards have this capability.

A credit card issued by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin) Egg Visa or the Post Office card, will allow you to transfer cash from the card to your current account. From there you could pay off the loan.

Alternatively, you can use Egg Money in conjunction with any low-interest balance transfer card to move funds to your current account. (Please see #782 above)

Mint periodically issues credit card cheques, which can be paid directly into a current account.

niceshoes_2

Thanks Moggles, Can i just confirm that I have this right;

If I open an Egg VISA card which has 15months 0% with 3% BT fee until April 2009 and request a BT to my Current Account, I can then issue a cheque to Cahoot the loan company, thus TX'ing my loan to the Egg VISA card. I can then pay as much as I like into the Egg card to get rid of the debt quicker?

Is this right or have I missed something obvious?

samara

many thanks for this info moggles.Is the egg money card a member of the mbna group as later on I want to apply for another card(mbna one ) to get as high a limit as possible.cheers and all the best for 2008

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by niceshoes
If I open an Egg VISA card which has 15 months 0% with 3% BT fee until April 2009 and request a BT to my Current Account, I can then issue a cheque to Cahoot the loan company, thus transferring my loan to the Egg VISA card. I can then pay as much as I like into the Egg card to get rid of the debt quicker?

Right. The risk in paying off a loan this way is that you can't be sure of another 0% credit card offer with a sufficient credit limit in 15 months time when your Egg deal ends and the interest rate leaps to anything from 16.9% to 27.9% APR variable. In fact 0% BT offers could be a thing of the past in 15 months time and BT fees may have jumped to 5% or even 6% :eek:

Always bear in mind that the reason Egg can afford to lend you money at 0% for 15 months is because, more often than not, customers do not clear their debt and end up paying extortionate interest when the promotion period ends. This is the main way lenders claw back the cost of these promotions.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by samara
Is the Egg Money card a member of the MBNA group?

No. Egg, a spin-off from Prudential, is now owned by CitiGroup

samara

Thanks moggles.
When you say 'if your report will stand it',I'm presuming you are refering to me losing some points when I apply for (2) cards? Will the impact be lessened if I apply for 2 egg cards for example, instead of an egg money and mint?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by samara
When you say 'if your report will stand it', I'm presuming you are referring to me losing some points when I apply for 2 cards?

In itself the effect of two credit checks on the same day would be insignificant but, in the context of your credit history as a whole, could certainly have an impact.

Think about how many applications for things you've made in the past 3 months. Include car insurance, mobile phones etc. not just credit cards, as all can leave footprints on your file. Then consider your plans over the next 3 months. Credit checks appear on your credit file more or less in realtime. Too many in a short space of time will harm your credit rating.

Will the impact be lessened if I apply for 2 egg cards for example, instead of an egg money and mint?

IMO, it's never a good idea to apply for two credit cards from the same stable at the same time. What other credit cards do you have at the mo?

YorkshireBoy

Moggles wrote: »

Include car insurance...

Aren't these searches of an ID type* only Moggles? If so, they should be classed as 'unrecorded enquiries' and, as such, will not be seen by other lenders.


* I seem to remember that there's no credit involved, even if you pay monthly by direct debit, because they take a payment equal to two monthly payments from a credit card followed by the balance via monthly direct debit.