Questions regarding balance transfer on santander credit card

RTSFirebat

Hello,

I've recently got a santander credit card which will give me 0% for 17 months on balance transfers (3% fee applies) - with a £2000 limit.

Now I was hoping to use this to pay off my overdraft as well (£500), but I'm not sure if I can do that kind of balance transfer.

Therefore I wanted to know, if I use my HSBC credit card to do a cash withdraw of £500, wait for the balance to appear on the HSBC card, and then do a balance transfer to the santander credit card, will that work?

Then I can use the £500 to simply pay off the overdraft.

Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance.

thenudeone

it would work but:
- HSBC will charge a cash withdrawal fee and interest until the balance is repaid
- Santander might withdraw the offer or reduce your limit before you can complete it
- Cash withdrawals are often shown separately on CRA reports and my be interpreted as a sign of instability

RTSFirebat

Hi,

Ok that makes sense. I was planning to work fast but yes I have a think about this. Thanks again

webbhost

***CORRECTION*** (Thanks NickX)

The below will ONLY work if you also have 0% on purchase aswell. My mistake, sorry about that.

***


Consider this:

for the next £500 that you spend that "would" have been using your current account with the overdraft.. put it on your credit card instead (understanding that you must not spend more than you would have otherwise).

By doing this you should effectively be able to shift the £500 overdraft into your credit card without doing a direct transfer... you save £500 on your current account by not using it, and spend £500 on your credit card instead.... make sense?

It's not going to clear the £500 overdraft instantly, but it might be a better option than doing a cash withdrawal.

Just another quick thought but if you have any trusted relatives or really close friends and they are going to make a big payment... get them to use your credit card instead, and have them give you cash in hand, which you can then put into your current account. Do this entirely at your own risk through... Theres usually always a workaround, you just got to look for it


P.S. the above would work nicely if a relative is making an internet purchase... mention to them that if "you" buy it for them and they give you the cash in hand (or wire transfer), that because they've bought it on your credit card they get much better protection should the company they're buying off goes bust, or the item does not turn up or is damaged. - The olbvious downside being if something does go wrong, you may be waiting a while for your money, and might have to fight for the money back with the credit card company (althrough from what I hear, this is pretty easy thing to do)

NickX

webbhost wrote: »

for the next £500 that you spend that "would" have been using your current account with the overdraft.. put it on your credit card instead (understanding that you must not spend more than you would have otherwise).

By doing this you should effectively be able to shift the £500 overdraft into your credit card without doing a direct transfer... you save £500 on your current account by not using it, and spend £500 on your credit card instead.... make sense?

I think the OP wants to make use of a 0% Balance Transfer promotion on the Credit Card which would not cover such purchases.

I think their plan should work, but they should factor in the additional fees\interest.

webbhost

NickX wrote: »

I think the OP wants to make use of a 0% Balance Transfer promotion on the Credit Card which would not cover such purchases.

I think their plan should work, but they should factor in the additional fees\interest.

Thanks NickX, I made a little mistake there didn't I...

I have corrected original post, but yeah... my method is only effective if you also have 0% on purchases AS WELL as the 0% on balance transfers.

StuC75

If you cant do transfer to bank account (like MBNA \ Virgin). Then Transfer £500 extra to your credit card (essentially putting into credit), then proceed to use that in place of £500 that is in your bank account - ensuring that the actual £500 in your bank account (or from your next pay) will not be spent in that time - and so provide the equivalent of £500 into your account (This is the part that requires restraint!)..

The benefit Being :
No Cast Advance fee on your credit card, since that would only be spending on your old account that is in credit and so no concerns as to whether have 0% on purchases.