Overdraft classed as balance xfer??

tallulah

hi folks - this might seen like a realyl stupid question - sorry if it is!!

Is or can an over draft be classed as a balance xfer?

I don't have any credit cards (after getting bably burnt as a student i got rid) however i have been thinking about getting a credit card simply to use for purchases on the internet and paying off full amount each month :T , but i have an overdraft that i really want to get rid off and was thinking of using maybe the MINT 0% balance transfer til 1st Aug as an option of paying off the over draft - its only £700 but really want to get rid asap!

Or i was thnking of using a rewards/cashback card but don't think my spending will be worth it - want to try and get the best one and use it to my advantage....

Any advice would be great - thanks very much xx

Bokkens

Yes is the short answer.
But,I would select your cards for different purposes and and not mix them up with rewards and Balance Transfers.
Have a read up on Martin's credit card articles about allocation of payments to your credit card .
Mint allow " Balance Transfers" to your Bank account ,you can do this over the phone with CS or you can request some cheques and you write one out to yourself and put it into your bank account and the transfered amount will then appear on your Mint account as a debt.
Check carefully or ask if there is a Balance Transfer fee normally 2% but can be as high a 3%. Make sure you do not then use the card for purchases like food,fuel etc as you will probably then incur interest on the purchases.This is where it becomes important to understand the allocation of payments so you are no unnecessarily charged interest.
If you get stuck post here again.

tallulah

thanks very much bokkens - think i understand that!

will check it out some more

i did read :money: info on it but there is soooo much on there it takes w while to digest it all - will give it another shot

get what you mean, i need to decide do i want balance tranfer for rewrds - i think the balance xfer wud work for me in the first instance to get rid of the over draft and then once that is sorted maybe a reward one!!

Decisions decisions!!!

CLAPTON

whats the APR of your overdraft?

moving it to a CC isn't getting rid of it, its merely moving it some where else and it still needs paying off each month

if you are struggling to clear a 700 OD then be very very very careful with a credit card.. so easy to spend too much then you'll be even worse off than you are at the moment.... in fact i'ld say just dont get one.

ajames4RL

Hello! :hello:
I've been reading up on MSE about the best balance transfer and I wanted to do a similar thing by transfer my OD to a 0% CC. I know I would find it alot easier having monthly repayments than having to live in my OD and trying to reduce it. I know I could always xfer to a OD like A&L but like I say, I don't want to live in a OD... I want to pay it off Atleast when it's on a CC, I can xfer to another CC. What I'm trying to say, what CC are they that allow you to xfer an OD to a CC. Current OD is with HSBC.
Thanks
Andy

YorkshireBoy

CLAPTON wrote: »

moving it to a CC isn't getting rid of it, its merely moving it some where else and it still needs paying off each month

if you are struggling to clear a 700 OD then be very very very careful with a credit card.. so easy to spend too much then you'll be even worse off than you are at the moment.... in fact i'ld say just dont get one.

100% agree!

A £700 overdraft (at 18.9% EAR and assuming it's returned once a month to zero when your salary is paid), will be costing around £5 per month in debit interest.

Moving the overdraft to a credit card will mean your minimum payments will be between £14 (at 2%) and £21 (at 3%) per month and you'll incur a (£21) fee for doing so (and each and every time you shift the debt, because I can almost guarantee that, if you can't address a £700 overdraft, you'll only ever pay the minimum on your cards).

Personally, I'd suggest addressing the reasons for the overdraft, ie start to live within your means. If you feel the pain (if £5 is a pain), then you're far less likely to run it up again.

YorkshireBoy

ajames4RL wrote: »

what CC are they that allow you to xfer an OD to a CC.

MBNA (inc. Virgin, A&L, Abbey, et al) - 2-3% fee
Egg Card - 2.5% fee
Egg Money (via 0% donor card) - cost depends on donor card fee
Mint (via 0% cheque) - 3% (?) fee
M&S (via the Sterling travellers cheque loophole) - 1% fee

ajames4RL

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

MBNA (inc. Virgin, A&L, Abbey, et al) - 2-3% fee
Egg Card - 2.5% fee
Egg Money (via 0% donor card) - cost depends on donor card fee
Mint (via 0% cheque) - 3% (?) fee
M&S (via the Sterling travellers cheque loophole) - 1% fee

Thanks :thumb: I'll have a closer look at these later when I get home from work Heard about the Egg CC use it as a mule but not the M&S Sterling traveller chqs... will look that up.
Thanks again! :thumb:

naughtilus

I am currently contemplating what to do with my HSBC CC which i have just received.
let me explain a little more....
I know that you cannot do a balance transfer to a current account with this card (i applied for it in store to get a 4yr 4.9%) however, i was going to do a transfer to an EGG CC then close the EGG account and get them to transfer the funds to my current account. only thing is i am not sure about how much credited balance can be transfered. someone on another topic mentioned that she transfer a balance of +£200 from an egg card to her current acc when she closed the EGG, has anyone transfered more than this before?

YorkshireBoy

ajames4RL wrote: »

M&S Sterling traveller chqs... will look that up.

http://www.stoozing.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1159043738

It's long!...but very informative.

YorkshireBoy

naughtilus wrote: »

anyone transfered more than this before?

Over £14,000 ...but not the way you propose.

It may be possible to do what you propose, but it sounds a bit messy and involves closing a card that may be useful to you in the future.

The Egg Card allows transfers from an overdraft, ie it's a Super Balance Transfer (SBT) card. However, there will be a BT fee payable during the introductory period, the anniversary month, and at any other time a special promotion has been applied to your account.

So, perhaps the best approach is to ask Egg if a) you're in your anniversary month, and b) if there's a special promotion applying and if the answer to both is 'no', then simply do the transfer online yourself and keep the card open.

Is there a BT fee on the HSBC card?