The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

Mids_Costcutter

I was fortunate enough to have one of the original life of balance 0% / £1 minimum monthly spend Barclaycard Visa accounts (opened in 2003). However with an outstanding balance now of around £500 and sneakily introduced interest charges on part of the balance, any stoozing interest earned is outweighed by charges and £1 minimum spend (though of course a charity does benefit from the latter).

If I were to close this account, how likely would I be to be successful fairly soon afterwards in applying for a new 0% 14 month Barclaycard Platinum card (assuming reasonable credit scoring etc.)? Any experience with Barclaycard in opening another account?

bricklayer1

Moggles wrote: »

Not at all. IMO, it's better to wait until safe receipt of your card & credit limit (Please see previous post #863 )

just got a call from virgin who asked me if i had received my card which i havnt yet got, but i have a pin number sent.the rep asked if i wanted to b.t any money from a card.so i obviously agreed.they gave me a £5k limit which he says i can transfer over £4k from the barclaycard which is good.

im due to make payment on the barclaycard on 20th.will they adjust payments i need to make on the 20th or will i still owe the amount on the last statement

lyne_2

Hi

I am looking at the HSBC 2 year @2.9% balance transfer deal. I would like to transfer £3000 from my credit card and £1000 from my bank overdraft. Can I do this? The only way I could think was to withdraw £1000 from my credit card, pay it into may bank and then tranfer £4000 from the credit card. Is that correct? Or would I set up the balance transfer of £4000 from my credit card FIRST (therefore leaving the old card balance at £1000 in DEBIT) and then withdraw the money to pay into my account. What I want to avoid is paying too much interest on the cash withdrawal.


Hope this all makes sense!

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Mids_Costcutter
I was fortunate enough to have one of the original life of balance 0%/£1 minimum monthly spend Barclaycard Visa accounts (opened in 2003). However with an outstanding balance now of around £500 and sneakily introduced interest charges on part of the balance, any stoozing interest earned is outweighed by charges and £1 minimum spend (though of course a charity does benefit from the latter).

I had one of those too (sigh). Didn't keep it going as long as you, but I still have Barclaycard Platinum card.

If I were to close this account, how likely would I be to be successful fairly soon afterwards in applying for a new 0% 14 month Barclaycard Platinum card (assuming reasonable credit scoring etc.)? Any experience with Barclaycard in opening another account?

Provided that your present account has been closed down, you would be treated as a new customer.

As with all credit cards, it's advisable to check your credit report first to make certain your account is actually closed down and marked "settled" before you apply.

Note: Barclaycard has become rather stringent with credit ratings and available credit. Currently, this lender turns away some 50% of applicants and credit limits tend to be low so, if I were you, I wouldn't rush to do this. If you either paid off or transferred your balance to another credit card, you would receive regular existing customer offers in the post from Barclaycard

Moggles_2

Cancellation of credit cards in order to re-apply

Some lenders will not consider applications from former cardholders in the 6 months following closure. The Royal Bank of Scotland stable (which includes Mint, NatWest, Tesco & Ulster Bank cards, as well as RBS itself) makes former customers wait 8 months and in the case of Egg, it's 12 months.

Exceptions are Capital One, HBOS and Marks & Spencer. They accept applicants a month or so after closure.

In all cases, it's advisable to check your credit report first to make certain the account is actually closed down amd marked "settled" before you apply.

Moggles_2

bricklayer1 wrote: »

just got a call from virgin who asked me if i had received my card which i havnt yet got, but i have a pin number sent.the rep asked if i wanted to b.t any money from a card.so i obviously agreed.they gave me a £5k limit which he says i can transfer over £4k from the barclaycard which is good.

im due to make payment on the barclaycard on 20th.will they adjust payments i need to make on the 20th or will i still owe the amount on the last statement

Congratulations!

Once Virgin has completed the balance transfer, no further payment to Barclaycard is required for that statement period.

That said, best practice is to make at least the minimum payment, just in case there's a hold-up of some kind.

For peace of mind, you can monitor the process online via the Barclaycard and Virgin sites.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by lyne
I am looking at the HSBC 2 year @2.9% balance transfer deal. I would like to transfer £3000 from my credit card and £1000 from my bank overdraft. Can I do this?

You can shift your £3000 credit card balance to another credit card (such as HSBC), but not the overdraft.

The only way I could think was to withdraw £1000 from my credit card, pay it into my bank and then transfer £4000 from the credit card. Is that correct?

I wouldn't try this - not unless you have money to burn. There are better options (see below).

Or would I set up the balance transfer of £4000 from my credit card FIRST therefore leaving the old card balance at £1000 in DEBIT [I believe you mean CREDIT] and then withdraw the money to pay into my account.

You don't say which credit card is involved, but most will not allow this. They would simply return the £1000 to HSBC and you may well incur another balance transfer fee in the process.

What I want to avoid is paying too much interest on the cash withdrawal.

Right, so I would forget about cash withdrawals. A few rather special credit cards will allow you to transfer an overdraft to them, in other words, transfer cash from the credit card to your current account:

A card issued by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin) Egg Visa or the Post Office card

Alternatively, you can use Egg Money [not to be confused with the Egg Visa card] in conjunction with any low-rate balance transfer card like HSBC.

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

Former_MSE_Dan

Hi folks,

The Balance Transfers article has been fully rewritten and updated, so I've begun a fresh discussion area for it. Please go here to continue this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=7701659#post7701659

Thanks!

Dan