Can I 'prepay' my credit card and use it like a debit card?

lockheed

I have two credit cards. One a regular one (Tesco), and the other one with balance transfer offer, 0% interest for 20 months (NatWest).

I was wondering if I could balance-transfer money from the later, to the former so that the former ends up 1000 or 2000 in credit, so that I could use the regular card in a similar way to a debit card, while paying no interest or charges at all (due to positive balance).
Several times in the past I ended up with positive balance (on my old Barclaycard) of up to ~200GBP, and it was not an issue.


I asked it once Barclaycards advisor and he wasn't sure about it, but he mentioned it could be reviewed under suspicion of money laundry.
However, if the money come from one bank to another, then I don't really see a problem. Was the advisor ill-informed? Or is just Barclaycard more paranoid than Tesco?

I'd appreciate your thoughts on that.

jamesml

I'm pretty sure that technically you are in contravention of the T&C's, as you aren't supposed to put the account in credit.

bengal-stripe

It is against the rules of a Credit Card to have a positive balance. The occasional positive balance (due to a refund) is one thing; the deliberate shifting of money is another.

Probably the Tesco card wouldn't even accept the transfer, but if it did, it's a pretty fast way to get the account closed.

ic

My partners parents tried this with their Santander Zero card when away on holiday, Santander blocked the card and waited for them to call up. They had to have the money paid back to their current account.

lockheed

I see... How about doing a Balance Transfer into a PrePaid card like Post Office Travel Money Card, ICE Travellers Cashcard or AA Travel Prepaid Card? Would that work?

jonathon

i think thats classed as a cash withdrawel not a balance transfer

Hominu

lockheed wrote: »

I see... How about doing a Balance Transfer into a PrePaid card like Post Office Travel Money Card, ICE Travellers Cashcard or AA Travel Prepaid Card? Would that work?

It'll be refused by the prepaid card issuer. They are under strict rules about who can place money onto the card and how much, due to money laundering regulations.

However, you could make a purchase from a credit card onto the prepaid card, but you'll be charged a fee.

YorkshireBoy

Surely you'd be better to get a 0% on purchases card? After all, why pay circa 3% (in BT fees) on the full amount of money that you haven't even spent yet? And if Tesco bounce it back you won't get your BT fee back from NatWest.

So, let's look at another option...

Are you currently paying off the Tesco card in full each month? If so, what's the credit limit?

lockheed

No, 0% purchase card is not better for me. Besides, I already have one - it's Tesco.

Anyway, I found BC and Halifax seen to have more lenient terms in this respect so I will see how it goes with them rather than with Tesco.

xxdeebeexx

I have prepaid my Tesco credit card in the past.

I phoned up to say that I was planning to make a 'big' purchase but my credit limit was too low to cover the cost. I prepaid about £500 2 days before buying my big purchase. It took a couple of phone calls but it went through ok.

dx

Lou67

Why not put it in a savings account or just a normal bank account?