Should I add another CC and shuffle?

mummybearx

I have a Virgin cc with approx £350, and a Halifax visa cc with about the same. Halifax have offered me a 'guaranteed cc', with 12 months interest free on balance transfers. This doesn't let me transfer balances from other Halifax cards.

So, I'm thinking, do I apply for the new cc, transfer my Halifax balance to my Virgin card, then transfer that balance to the new CC?

And then cancel the Halifax and the Virgin CC's

I've never actually 'shuffled' before, just want to make sure I'm doing it the right way :-) And I know there is fees to do this, think it's 3% of the balance, but it's still worth it to get the 0%, isn't it?

mummybearx

Can anyone help with this? x

CLAPTON

what are the APRs of the current cards
how much are you paying off each card each month
will virgin allow you to do a BT ; what fee is it ?

mummybearx

Virgin is 25.9%, Halifax is 24.9%

Virgin payment is £25 per month (minimum) and Halifax is approx £11 per month (minimum). I pay an extra £20 to each card a month.

Virgin has asked me to call to hear about 'promotional' balance transfers, can't call when Im at work x

glawster_2

The cheapest is to pay off the £700 if you can. It's currently costing you about £180 a year interest to have £700 on these cards.

If Hfx are pre-authorizing credit cards you've probably got a good chance of getting new credit. Hfx usually charge 3.5% and it looks like you'd need to transfer twice to get the Hfx balance onto another card.

Go with Barclaycard Platinum, 0% for 21 months and a 2.6% transfer fee and transfer both balances onto this (You will need a good credit rating and a minimum annual income of £20,000). Once you have it don't spend on it as there will be no interest free period (because you aren't paying the balance of in full every month)

Might be worth keeping the cards open once you have transferred the balance off and spending a little on them and paying off in full, this builds/maintains a good credit record and gives you access to funds in an emergency.