0% ending in Sept ... what to do to get another one?

Cookiee

Hi lovely MSE'ers :wave:

I have a barclaycard 0% balance card which will run out at the end of August (actual date 2nd sept). It will have a balance of approx £3,800 (from original balance of £6,500 :T)

I need some advice on what card to get next? I applied for a 0% purchase card with M&S (plan was to pay off a loan but it didnt work :mad: as it would have been classed as a cash advance) and got it (with a stupid amount offered - £6k!! :eek:) I reduced this to £2k and to be honest I proberly wont use it as I need to reduce my debt - not increase it!

However, after reading some old posts it seems like a good idea to spend a little on the M&S card each month and pay it off in full. This would then show as positive on my credit score and hopefully will enable me to get a new 0% deal in August.

Is this true? If so what amount each month would you recommend? I was planning on doing our weekly shop on it (£30ish) then paying it off so approx £120 a month.

Also do you think I should reduce the limit even more so it shows that my available credit is not too high?

Sorry one more ... I really want to get rid of my loan at a whopping 29.9% apr. Should I go for a 0% balance and cash advance to pay this off? Obviously this would depend on what type of limit I would get ... but even if it's £1k towards paying the loan off, it would reduce the balance and the £1k would be on 0%, so less interest paid :T

Sorry the post is long and thanks for reading xx :beer:

YorkshireBoy

Cookiee wrote: »

I applied for a 0% purchase card with M&S (plan was to pay off a loan but it didnt work :mad: as it would have been classed as a cash advance) and got it (with a stupid amount offered - £6k!! :eek:) I reduced this to £2k

You missed a great opportunity there to get the loan onto 0% for 15 months for a very low 1% fee!

How? M&S treat travel money bought from them as a purchase, not a cash transaction. So you could have bought Sterling travellers cheques from M&S with your M&S card (online, phone, in-store bureax de change) and paid them straight into your bank account from where you could have repaid the loan.

Anyway, to your current situation...

What's your income, total available credit, and total used credit?

Same question for any financial associate/partner?

TeaForOne

Was about to ask same questions as Yorkshireboy.

Re improving your credit rating, you may not need to as you sound like you've been using your 0% card sensibly. However you could do as you suggest BUT make sure you set up a DD now to take the full amount to avoid any interest charges (card was probably not 0% for purchases too).

Cookiee

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

You missed a great opportunity there to get the loan onto 0% for 15 months for a very low 1% fee!

How? M&S treat travel money bought from them as a purchase, not a cash transaction. So you could have bought Sterling travellers cheques from M&S with your M&S card (online, phone, in-store bureax de change) and paid them straight into your bank account from where you could have repaid the loan.

Anyway, to your current situation...

What's your income, total available credit, and total used credit?

Same question for any financial associate/partner?

Hi. I have only had the 0% purchase card for 2 weeks so this could be possible. I never even knew I could do this!!

My income is £20k. Below is my current outstanding:
Barclaycard - £6,000 limit - £4,800 outstaning but this will be down to £3,800 by end of August.

Black Horse - Loan of £5k. Current balance is £3,880. Paying £150 per month.

Creation finance - Car loan of £7k. Current balance is £5,650.

OH has no credit cards but this is because he is not working due to a back injury. However on the plus side, he will be returning back to his old job by April on a part time basis, building back up to full-time by December.

Cookiee

Re improving your credit rating, you may not need to as you sound like you've been using your 0% card sensibly. However you could do as you suggest BUT make sure you set up a DD now to take the full amount to avoid any interest charges (card was probably not 0% for purchases too).[/QUOTE]

Hi the M&S card is 0% on all purchases

Cookiee

Oh forgot to mention the M&S 0% purchase is for 15 months

YorkshireBoy

Cookiee wrote: »

Oh forgot to mention the M&S 0% purchase is for 15 months

Just as well I mentioned it in post #2 then.

I have only had the 0% purchase card for 2 weeks so this could be possible.

It won't be possible to get either of your loans on there if you've lowered the limit to £2K though.

Your debt will probably be deemed as significant (£13K on a £20K salary is approx 65%) when you come to apply for your next card. You should probably consider closing the M&S card to put yourself in the best position for acceptance (with a decent limit) in order to shift the Barclaycard debt.

However, you may wish to consider a Virgin card, which will pay 0% cash into your current account for up to 20 months for a 4% fee, and get the 29.9% loan on 0% rather than the Barclaycard debt.

Cookiee

Thanks yorkshireboy. As you said it's a missed opportunity!

Oh well lesson learned. I will have to wait till end of July and start looking at 0% cards then. Thanks for your advice though.