A question about balance transfers

pinkarsenalprincess

At the moment I have two cards, a Tesco CC which I used to pay my car insurance (0% which runs out in July 2011) and an MBNA card (0% until October 2011) which I used to SBT my overdraft.

I make regular payments on both cards, always more than the minimum amount, as I am clearing my silly debts that I got myself into.

MBNA are offering a 0% balance transfer until Dec 11 from other cards. I am considering transferring the tesco balance onto the MBNA card so that I only have to do one large monthly payment to one place. My question is - will this have any sort of negative impact next year if I need to transfer what is left of my balance onto a different 0% card (when MBNA 0% runs out)?

pinkarsenalprincess

Anybody?

CLAPTON

will you have cleared the Tesco CC by July?
if so there is no point in BT to the MBNA card and will cost you money if there is a BT fee

YorkshireBoy

If you plan on closing the Tesco card down your used credit ratio may increase...depending on the payments made between now and next October/December.

Then again, if you don't close Tesco down the next lender you apply to may think you already have enough available credit.

In other words, it's impossible to say without knowing your income and other financial circumstances.

Agree with CLAPTON, it's pointless paying a circa 3% fee to enjoy the same 0%...albeit for another 6 months. Why not get another card in June for the remaining Tesco balance?

pinkarsenalprincess

My intention is to close the Tesco CC down once the balance has been transferred.

I will need to get another card in October for the remaining balance on my MBNA card (the one that has the overdraft on it). I am throwing more money at the Tesco CC at the moment to hopefully clear the balance before the 0% period runs out. If I don't clear it I don't really want to be trying to open a card in June to BT that one and then another card in October to BT the MBNA card.

The tesco card has quite a high limit (£7K) So I was assuming that closing this down would be much better, as I won't have as much credit open/available to me when I need to do the BT in 2011.

pinkarsenalprincess

Thankyou for the responses so far.

So....transfer fees/paying it off quickly enough aside....

....will moving this money over to one card have any adverse affect when it comes to applying for a new BT card next year?

YorkshireBoy

pinkarsenalprincess wrote: »

So....transfer fees/paying it off quickly enough aside....

....will moving this money over to one card have any adverse affect when it comes to applying for a new BT card next year?

I refer you to the 3rd paragraph (and the scenarios in paragraphs 1 & 2) in my post #4 above, namely...

What will your income be next year?
What will be the MBNA credit limit next year?
How much will you still owe to MBNA next year?
Will the MBNA card be your only card next year?
What are your other financial circumstances, ie debts elsewhere, mortgage, loans, etc?

pinkarsenalprincess

Income is 32,630 per annum at the moment, rising to 35,115 in september 2011.
MBNA credit limit is £4500
If I base MBNA on set payments per month it should only have around £2000 left on it to pay off, which is what I will then need to transfer to another 0% card. If I transfer tesco onto it and then close, then yes MBNA will be my only card when it comes to BT time.

No loans or other debts. Mortgage is fixed for the next 4 years (£250 per month)

YorkshireBoy

pinkarsenalprincess wrote: »

My question is - will this have any sort of negative impact next year if I need to transfer what is left of my balance onto a different 0% card (when MBNA 0% runs out)?

Based on the information you've subsequently added, my answer is no.

pinkarsenalprincess

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Based on the information you've subsequently added, my answer is no.

Thanks for your replies.