Direct Debits and EOL v 0% Introductory CCs

john10001

A few quick questions if anyone is able to help I appreciate it:

If you decide to pay your credit card by standing order instead of direct debit, do you lose any introductory or promotional rates on balance transfers on your 0% deals or low rate end of life (EOL) deals?

Are there many credit card companys that still offer low rate EOL cards?

Which do you prefer or think is better a low rate EOL card or 0% introductory?

I notice a lot of the latter seem to be increasing the length of the deals more and more now so much so that we can almost see cards offering deals close to 2 years at 0%. In the past I have favoured EOL cards as I have found it too much of a hassle to keep transfering from one 0% rate to another every 12 months or so. And 12 months does still seem to be the timeframe that the extremely limited number of companies that make new offers once your card is paid off then offer.

Would love to hear your thoughts,

John

chexum

EOL? Perhaps you mean LOB (Life of balance?) They are still common, even for existing users, Barclaycard for example seems to have it on offer for me all the time (6.9% with 2.9% fee if I remember correctly), and indeed, it all depends whether you just want to have a peace of mind, or have no problems chasing deals near the end of the old one - the latter usually costs less in interest, but may cost more in your time.

I'm not aware of any card that *required* direct debits, not even anecdotally. Paying with standing order is just as fine. There are some catches though:
- Some card issuers vary the statement issue and/or the due date so you need to be careful to make sure there's always one payment after each statement issue but before its due date.
- Sometimes the minimum payment value can vary - maybe you purchased something accidentally, so the interest that they need to charge increased, or the regulations require them to increase it.

Any accident, and you're at their mercy. If you check your statements with those in mind, you can pay however you want - but if you do that, Direct Debit could be just as safe (you would know of any changes in payments with at least 10 days notice, but they are responsible for the payment being taken at the right time, and you are eligible for an immediate refund if any party involved makes a mistake). Also, usually the Direct Debit allows you to keep your money for the longest time. Case in point - my card has a payment due date of 13 Nov (Sunday), the payment is told to be taken on or after that day, which will be the 14th (Monday), and it will be considered on time. For a BACS standing order, it would need to be sent on the 9th to be in time...