Transferring a balance from an Irish to a UK Card

lainey_loo

Hi Guys, I'm hoping somebody can give me some advice on this... I have moved over from Ireland and want to transfer my balance to a card over here as it will be much easier to pay off etc. However as I haven't been in the country that long I won't have much of a credit history which might be a problem in getting a card. Has anyone been in a similar situation that can recommend one? And also is it possible to transfer balances from one country to another
Thanks

opinions4u

I doubt you'll get a credit card. I'm not aware of anybody offering balance transfers cross-currency either. If they did I have no doubt they'd exploit exchange rates and make you worse off.

InsideInsurance

Presumably they would send the money in stirling and your old card issuer would convert it to euro which will make getting exactly the right amount next to impossible but you should be able to get fairly close.

As to if they will allow a BT to a foreign card I must say I dont know.

Who do you actually bank with in Ireland? I think you will struggle to get anything having just turned up in the UK unless you bank with the likes of HSBC or Citi or have a card with Amex which allow you to automatically transfer or qualify in your new country

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Thinking outside the box...

If you could get an M&S Card with a 0% on purchases offer this would let you buy commission-free Euro travellers cheques from M&S. You could then use these to pay off your Irish CC.

Thoughts, anyone?

marathonic

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

Thinking outside the box...

If you could get an M&S Card with a 0% on purchases offer this would let you buy commission-free Euro travellers cheques from M&S. You could then use these to pay off your Irish CC.

Thoughts, anyone?

I'd imagine the '0% on purchases' cards would be the most difficult to get for someone new to the country - and even the '0% on balance transfers' ones.

First things first, get yourself on the electoral registrar - if you don't do this ASAP, you'll regret it later as it can impact credit card/mobile contract/loan/mortgage applications.

You'll want a high interest credit card - but not to spend on, just to build a credit history. I was going to apply for one of these but, luckily, I've had a UK bank account for years (since my student days) and my bank approved me for one of their own cards. Do a search for "Capital One" credit cards.

In the meantime, I'd set up a regular savings account in the UK and, assumming you've got a good Irish credit history and still have an Irish address, apply for a 0% on Balance Transfers card in Ireland http://www.moneyguideireland.com/credit-card-offers

That'll give you up to 10 months interest free so, you could transfer the balance to another card after 10 months and, when the regular savings account in the UK has enough to pay the balance off, close the Irish account and apply for a '0% on purchases UK card' (the fact that you've 0% on purchases in the UK for 12 months or more will allow you to put more of your UK earnings towards paying of the Irish card).

Of course, applying for the UK card will be reliant on you building up a UK credit history whilst working on clearing the Irish card.