Are Barclaycard effectively offering me cash @ 2.5%?

DeepDooDoo

A recent letter from Barclaycard is offering 0% interest on balance transfers until Jan 2012 (2.5% handling fee applies).

An interesting paragraph in the letter states:

"To allow you to pay someone who may not accept credit cards, for example a tradesman, you can now also transfer a balance directly into your UK bank account. Simply decide how much you want to transfer then call customer services..."

So, if I ring them up and ask them to transfer £5K to my bank account so I can pay a ficticious window fitter, will they do it or will they be expecting to see invoices and proof of payment from the 'tradesman'?

Anyone attempted this?

nomoneytoday

Sounds like it - However there are only 2 months until Jan 2012, so you probably wouldn't earn that much in an ISA or Savings account...

nomoneytoday

Doh - forget that - there are 14 months - I can't add up

lisyloo

A recent letter from Barclaycard is offering 0% interest on balance transfers until Jan 2012 (2.5% handling fee applies).

Juse sure there isn't a different rate for money transfers (as opposed to balance transfers).

My MBNA card offers the same facility but balance transfers and money transfers are different fees, so check out the small print or ask them on the phone.

DeepDooDoo

lisyloo wrote: »

Juse sure there isn't a different rate for money transfers (as opposed to balance transfers).

My MBNA card offers the same facility but balance transfers and money transfers are different fees, so check out the small print or ask them on the phone.

There isn't. The letter offers a 'traditional' balance transfer from other cards along with the offer of a transfer to a bank account.

It states:

"You won't have to pay any interest on either type of transfer as long as you repay it before January 2012 (although a 2.5% handling fee applies). Any outstanding balance at this point will go back to your standard purchase rate of 5.6% p.a."

chattychappy

Yep ... pretty good deal, and your standard purchase rate is good too.

Of course you will have to meet minimum repayments, so it's not quite as good as "2.5% for 14 months" as by the end of the 14 months you will have already have paid some of it back already - perhaps as much as a quarter of it.

If you also put purchases through on this account you might pick up some purchase interest. Although payments will be applied to purchases first (or at least will be soon as Barclaycard shift to the new payment hierarchy rules), the normal mechanism by which interest is not applied if you pay the balance in full each month may not apply here as you will not be paying off in full each month.

lisyloo

Yep seems pretty good if you need to borrow money.
Not sure you'll be able to make a lot stoozing especially if you are a tax payer.

DeepDooDoo

Tonight, I've increased my credit limit (online) by 25%. Request accepted immediately with no fuss/credit check/or other. I've now got £8500 available to me at 5.6% (standard purchase rate, variable) or £8500 on a balance transfer at 2.5% until January 2012.

Seems as though Barclaycard like me!

As I have no other balances on any other cards, no mortgage, no overdrafts, no loans, no nothing, what would others recommend regarding distributing this available (cheap) credit in order to turn a profit?

lisyloo

What tax rate do you pay?
Do you have ISA allowances left?
What level of risk are you prepared to take with the money.

It will be pretty hard to turn a profit in totally risk free manner.