another 0% balance transfer offer

juxta_3

Surely, if they are treated as 2 separate accounts, then I would need to set up a fresh direct debit for at least the minimum amount for the new account.

sfax

juxta wrote: »

Surely, if they are treated as 2 separate accounts, then I would need to set up a fresh direct debit for at least the minimum amount for the new account.

They aren't. It's one account and you have to pay at least the minimum based on the total balance. When they take your payment, they then allocate it internally for the purposes of calculating your interest

gglaze

sfax wrote: »

They aren't. It's one account and you have to pay at least the minimum based on the total balance. When they take your payment, they then allocate it internally for the purposes of calculating your interest

Exactly. Think of it as a single account with multiple "tranches", which are the outstanding balances at each different rate. Depending on which card you have, this might show up towards the end of your statement in a nice summary each month - although not all cards do this. If your card does it, you'll see something like "Purchases £XXXX 29.99%; Balance Transfers £YYYY 0%" etc.

But in short - for one card, you have one account, one statement, one minimum payment due, one payment date, etc. But multiple balances at the same or different rates, within that one account.

Credit card T&Cs do typically specify the order in which payments are applied to balances of *different* rates - and in the last few years, by law I believe, this has to be to the consumer's advantage, i.e. highest rate balance paid off first. On the other hand, T&Cs typically do *not* specify the order in which payments are applied to balances of the same rate (and if you think about it, the wording would have to be rather complex to do so). Therefore, yes, card companies are likely to apply the payment in the order that works in their favour.