Paid off credit card - now what?

Methtical

Hi,

So last year I took out a Tesco Credit card with their generous 0% APR period. So I paid that off no problems earlier this week. As luck would have it I have just moved house and could do with buying a number of items soon that I don;t have the cash for right now after spending so much during the move. Therefore another credit card would be an ideal solution.

So would it be better to cancel this current credit card (as the 0% APR period I think is up right about now) and then take out a new one - I don't even know if this is allowed within their T&Cs - or shop elsewhere for a credit card with good 0% APR periods for purchases?

The missus' brother told me that his wife paid off her tesco credit card and went to cancel it and they offered her an extended credit limit with a further 16 (or maybe it was 22?) months 0% APR - is this usual practice??

In any case, if I do take out a credit card elsewhere, is there any benefit to me keeping the tesco credit card active from a credit ratings perspective?

Thanks!

alwaystryyourbest

I have been wondering the same thing lately and weather it is best to close down credit card, from what i have read on line is that it is best to keep credit card open as closing them has a worse efect.. banks seem to care more about how you have treated you credit card and did you pay on time etc....

also i have got a tesco credit card but my 0 % has run out as well, has anyone else had ther 0% extented ?? if you ask..

Methtical

I imagine if you phone up and ask for just that, you'd be turned down, however if you asked for it to be cancelled they might try and keep you as a customer and thus offer you the extension....however it's a risky manouvere because they might just oblige your request for it to be cancelled without any further questions, in which case I'd be closing a credit card that might be more beneficial to keep active even if not used.... hence my ponderings haha.

Eydon

The problem you may have applying for a new card is that you say you have just moved house. How recently? If it's very recently then the electoral register will still have you at your old address and that might cause new applications at your new address to be declined.

Who do you bank with and do they do a 0% card. It might be possible to get a new card with your bank as they will know you have moved.

As for closing the Tesco account and re-applying, I think there is a 6 month time restriction (it may be even 12 months).

Methtical

Yeah moved in last week, already changed the address associated with the Credit card but for sure the electoral register will have me at my old place. I imagine it will take months for the system to update me to my new address. I bank with Santander, their credit cards suck.

Wonder if I could apply for a credit card at my old address and just pay to have my mail redirected, could save a lot of hassle.

Doesn't surprise me that there's a time restriction between re-applying. Any pearls of wisdom as to whether it's worth keeping it active or not?

Eydon

Methtical wrote: »

Wonder if I could apply for a credit card at my old address and just pay to have my mail redirected, could save a lot of hassle.

Erm - that would be at best naughty (at worst fraud) as you would be deliberately supplying false information in order to gain credit.

Whilst I agree that Santander are rubbish, could you not apply for one anyway just to get you over the next 6-12 months. You can always cancel it later.

With regards to keeping your Tesco account active, that really depends on your circumstances. If it's your only card then I would defo keep it open and use it each month (paying off in full) just to keep your credit history ticking over.

Methtical

Yeah that did occur to me as well, and I'm not that desperate so not worth the possible bad outcomes that it might entail, so scratch that idea haha.

Just did an experian report for the first time ever out of curiousity and got a score of 906, 1 factor against being that I have no settled non-mail accounts - this being the credit card that is still active is not considered settled until its closed...but with the caveat that lenders also like to see what credit is already available to me - talk about cache 22! The other negative factor being age of accounts which only time will solve I suppose.

M&S have a 15 months 0% card on offer, since my credit score is good I might just apply for that and keep the tesco one active and just destroy the card and close the account in 12 months or so. Only thing that might count against me is not being on the electoral roll for my new address - how long does it take for this to get updated?!

Experian_company_representative

This recent Q&A might help a little. No hard and fast rules on this but, as others have said, best to not apply for credit just after moving. Can take a little while for your credit rating to recover.

James Jones

Methtical

Thanks for the input. Still no idea whether to keep my current credit card active though - on one hand it will allow future lenders to see what credit I already have access too, but on the other it looks negative because it classed as a non-settled account. Seems the only way to find out is to make a blind choice. I like a gamble as much as the next man but having no idea on the odds doesn't make it anywhere near calculated.....

[Deleted User]

Surely if the OP applied for the card at his old house and did the mail forwarding thing, National Hunter would pick it up?

Methtical

Yeah I'm not even entertaining that idea as an option anymore, was more of a thinking out loud idea rather than a cunning plan.