using a card for a BT and Spending

planteria

my Barclaycard Cashback card is offering a BT deal, and i have a healthy limit on the card. so, i'm tempted to use it for a BT, but would also still want to use it as a backup to my Amex for spending......and in December i would be using it for a 4%CB rate:dance:

is it practical to use a card for both purposes, as long as I ensure that all purchases are paid off by the payment due date? previously, i have always kept BTs and Purchases on separate accounts.

[Deleted User]

If you use it for purchases, then you will pay interest on those purchases, unless you clear the whole balance (BT included).

So it would be better to use a separate card for spending if you intend to clear those transactions in full each month.

planteria

thank you for your reply zx81....good name, by the way;)

are you absolutely sure? as i have always kept Balance Transfers and Purchases apart I have never had to address this matter, but I had understood that purchases would be cleared first when payments are allocated...i though card providers had to allocate payments to the most costly element of a statement nowadays:think:

Herbalus

planteria wrote: »

i thought card providers had to allocate payments to the most costly element of a statement nowadays:think:

Yes they do. But you only get an interest-free period if you pay off the balance in full. In full is key, because you have a very large balance which you are not paying off in full. So if you have £5000 on a BT card and buy a sandwich for £2.99, you will be charged interest on £2.99 - from the day of purchase until you pay it off - because you haven't cleared your balance in full.

planteria

thanks Herbalus....i have been using cards extensively for years now, and really didn't know that. appreciated.