0% balance transfer shuffle?

chris_kcp

Hello all, pretty new to the site and to moneysaving and credit card swapping and changing in general, so please excuse what might be a stupid first post question

I have 2 credit cards, both with a £10k+ limit and both with debt on. HSBC with around £3.5k and Barclaycard with around £5k. Now i've never missed a payment, always make the minimum and whenever i can, pay whatever extra i can afford.

Both of the cards have now offered me a 0% balance transfer rate for next year. At the moment i haven't phoned them up to find out what fee applies to this transfer or the length of 0%, and it's conveniently not mentioned on their info flyers so it may not be worthwhile, however...

Is there anything you know of stopping me from transferring all debt onto one card, and then back to the 2nd? So that for the first transaction, i'll have for example ~£8k on the HSBC card and ~£5k of that is interest free, then transfer it all back to the Barclaycard so that i have all ~£8k interest free?

Help and advice greatly appreciated to make 2015 the first debt free year since i was in college lol

[Deleted User]

Why not just BT the balances in either direction, rather than paying the double transfer fee on part of it? (Assuming the promos are similar).

Paully232000

I would transfer 3.5K to barclaycard, wait a week or so until it shows up on your new card and gone from the other.
Then do another BT back the way for £5K assuming the 0% offer is still there.

Then you will have HSBC with £5K (plus fees) all at 0%, and on Barclaycard £3.5K (plus fees) at 0%.

Dont transfer the full amount both ways as you are paying a % fee for this and will be paying it twice unnecessarily.

chris_kcp

Ah, those replies have highlighted something i didn't know/hadn't thought of. If i do a balance transfer from one to the other i can just transfer the portion that is being charged interest? I'm assuming that's down to the companies saying in their T's&C's that the portion with the highest rate of interest is paid off first?

Paully232000

chris_kcp wrote: »

Ah, those replies have highlighted something i didn't know/hadn't thought of. If i do a balance transfer from one to the other i can just transfer the portion that is being charged interest? I'm assuming that's down to the companies saying in their T's&C's that the portion with the highest rate of interest is paid off first?

Yes, when you pay a CC by whatever means it may be, the CC company will pay off the part that is incurring the highest amount of interest first, second highest % rate next etc etc.

chris_kcp

Awesome, that looks to be the way forward then. Only just joined up and already saved me money. Thanks very much for taking the time to reply both of you