Advice on managing credit limits and paying off cards

TheMysterious1

Hi

Would like some advice on how to manage my cards and debts a bit.

1. I have debt which is approx half my salary so have been unable to get a new card to help with 0% BT's. Barclaycard last month increased my credit limit by over £1000. Is this an indication that my credit rating is improving? Would it still be worthwhile applying for another credit card to see if I can get a 0% BT? It probably has been more than 6 months since I applied so I guess it cannot harm my chances can it? I don't have any late payment issues etc with my cards just my debt is high. Any suggestions which card to apply for to try and maximise my chances would be appreciated

Currently have Barclaycard and Egg card (now BC too and I have rejected their APR increase so cannot use this card). Also have a Halifax card, Virgin card and Creation card (same status as the egg-BC card). I understand that my options are limited due to the number of cards I have and the lenders they are tied in with but any help is appreciated.

2. With this increase in my credit limit it allows me to transfer some of my debts to this card (on a lifetime of the balance interest rate). Would it work more in my favour if I was to transfer the debt from a card which I cannot use i.e. the creation card thus allowing me to close down this card giving me 1 card less or do I transfer as much as I can from a high interest card (Virgin) and still keep the same number of cards. This is where I need a bit of help on which option will work best for me.

Doing my best to cut down my debt where possible and pay back more (even though the lenders are not budging on reducing the APR's) so need to be a bit more savvy on moving my debt around to maximise the actual amount I'm paying back without attracting more interest on top.

Any help would be much appreciated!

bigadaj

With that level of debt you might be struggling to get a zero per cent card, probably worth one application though. In reducing debt you need to pay off the highest interest cards first, once cleared i woudl be tempted to close those accounts so that you have no more than two or three open. Continue to make minimum payments plus one pound on all your accounts to keep markers off your credit file.

TheMysterious1

Hi. Thanks for the response. That was what I was thinking but was seeing if there was any benefit of transferring one of the smaller debts over and closing that card just to say I've got one less card whilst taking the hit on the higher interest credit cards.

TheMysterious1

as per the creation credit cards, are there any other similar cards around which may be more lenient in accepting applications? i think the BoS, HSBC, Tesco, natwest and the like are my current options but cannot see me getting accepted by any of them as have been refused in the past.