Unoffical Existing Customer Balance Transfers

Yorkieds

Applied for a new Abbey 0% for 9 months.

Call from Abbey (issued by MBNA) last evening, would I like to transfer the current unused credit limit on my MBNA (£11,000) to the new Abbey Card.

Yes please, I said.
Ok, the new card will be with you in the next few days!

YDS ;D

d04

Sainsbury's Bank are doing balance transfers for existing customers at 6.9% for the life of the balance.

Need to quote B69LOB and apply by 30/9/04.

Mountain_3

I got a Virgin card (MBNA) 10 months ago with £5000 limit. I used it at 0% balance transfer for the 6 months and then transfered it out again to another card at 0%, just like we all do! Unfortunately I spent about £80 during the time I had it which incurred some interest.

After I transfered out before the 6 months were up I received a statment saying they had worked out my interest wrongly and was due a £9.80 refund ( surely interest on £80 for about 2 months does not come to that much?).

Anyway about a month later the usual phone call comes along asking is everything all right and can they do anything for me (red flag in front of bull) I told them I had transferred the balance to my wifes card (really mine or mayby she thinks they are all hers) I was offered various rates down to about 2% to transfer back after saying new card is 0% and wouldn't consider it I was offered 0% for a further 6 months again with an increase of the limit to £8500

Four months later a further call which resulted in a 9 month 0% balance transfer with a charge or £35 per transfer. Could this be a coinsidence just when the current card was running out. Anyway took the offer transfered cash to bank and about to pay off 2 cards
Can anyone beat that offer of 15 months total 0%?

Now the problem is I got my wife to apply for cards in her name to take my pending transfers and they are sitting here on the shelf, one with six and 2 with 9 months 0%( she still thinks they are hers!)

planetf1

I was offered 0% for 9 months by MBNA when I reactivated my card . I called with a few enquiries over the following week and every single time the agent was helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, efficient.

Just actually arranged it (and swapped limits between cards) - couldn't get out of the £35 fee (didn't try too hard I guess), but given the large amount that was noise. Yet again performed really efficiently.

MBNA always seem to offer excellent service! Although egg were ok, capital one so-so (very good when card fraudently used BTW), goldfish efficient, mbna seem to go the extra mile..

Just a happy customer!

planetf1

BTW my MBNA accounts had been idle for a while - I tend to change every 1 or 2 years or when moving BTs (between existing cards). I may get a permanent balance for life card like capital one as a backup/temporary home in case I ever get stuck without immediate offers

musicman1951

I had £3,500 at 0% for 9 months with [glow=red,2,300]MBNA Platinum[/glow]. I paid it off on time and within one day they phoned me, said they had noticed that I'd paid it off, then asked if I would like to 'extend' the offer. I actually didn't need it but when offered £4.500 'free' for another 9 months, I said 'yes', transfered 98% of it to Current account and it's now in Cahoot gaining 5.65% ( [glow=red,2,300][/glow]= £186.87 interest![glow=red,2,300][/glow]) The only problem was that I HAD to pay the £35 fee. Tried getting out of that, but they say it's now the 'rule' ! Thanks to Martin Lewis for the information about Super Balance Transfers AND the tips about Cahoot's Savings accounts! The whole process took about 30 minutes which means I 'earned' nearly £400 an hour. I cannot believe this Balance Transfer Loophole will last much longer.

Hobo_2

Don`t get upset that AMEX blue has cut the cashback, just ring up to close the card (foreign call centre person)
WHY?
Oh thinking of getting a 0%card instead!
Then put through to customer retention & repeat,
SIR we can give you O% 6mths at your credit limit,
Oh can you !

Ta very much

peterbaker

Four calls I made recently:

1.MBNA are tops for repeat low interest or even 0% deals if you have a decent credit limit with them. Just ensure you pay off the loan before you get hit with the "normal interest rate" and then just ring up the Customer Loyalty Department and ask for another deal. The £35 fee is of course insignificant if you have a high limit and can get 0% for another 6 months.

2.I got a new M&S "&more" card which gave me 0% for 6 months in April. I called them recently to double-check the exact date that "normal" interest would begin to apply so I could pay off the whole loan in time. The nice lady in Bombay told me that actually, as a "selected customer" I could still do a further transfer at 0% for 6 months and that I might qualify for a limit increase. On further investigation I agreed to pay off the entire balance early and then to do a brand new transfer for virtually the whole credit limit thus extending my original 5 months or so at 0% by a further 6 months. She even agreed to call me to do the new transfer the moment the computer told her my Delta payment had cleared!

3.This week I also called Tesco Personal Finance (part of RBS) to pay off my balance by Delta and was offered 6.9% for the life of the loan transfers. I also established that they would do a transfer to another RBS card after first being told that they don't do that any more.

4.I also spoke with Goldfish who confirmed that their recent 5.9% "life of loan" offer to me (also obtained during a "fishing" call to them a couple of weeks ago) would be extended for me to November which is when I said I thought perhaps I could use it.

The UK credit card market certainly offers fantastic flexibility on this kind of thing for those who can trust themselves not to go daft with spending power!

Might I suggest that as a great Christmas present, you savvy moneysavers out there look around you in your extended families and help out anyone still suffering under the weight of a 21.9% interest rate or whatever and help them through a couple of switches onto one of these low low "life of the loan" type deals? Get them onto a good one (it may even be and "in and out" job on the card they already have (especially if its a Barclaycard). Of course don't forget to tell them to stop using that card until the original debt is paid off and to do their normal purchasing on something else!

It's amazing how many households are slavishly resigned now to paying, month-in month-out, three figures in interest alone on quite modest card debts. Do them a favour if you have their ear, and hold their hand through a couple of switches

WaltD

More credit card firms are jumping on the "2% fee for a balance transfer" which MBNA now applies as standard. I received an email from Morgan Stanley VISA, offering 1.9% annual interest on balance transfers for five months ... but in the small print it said they would charge a one-off 2% fee, capped at £35, for each balance transfer. This has the effect of making the "special offer" interest rate a lot less attractive.

Galstonian

"This has the effect of making the "special offer" interest rate a lot less attractive."

The larger the BT the better the offer though.

For anything up to £1750 it is 2% but after that it is capped.
£35 for £17500 would only be 0.2% which is pretty good.