Nationwide interest free balance transfers - purchases?

itm2

I took out a Nationwide Select credit card last year to take advantage of the interest free balance transfer. This offer ends next May. In the meantime I would like to make a purchase on the card, but am having trouble getting clarification from Nationwide re. how/if the purchase would affect my existing interest free deal.

In their last message they have said:
"I can confirm that you must pay the previous statement balance each month to avoid interest charges. As you currently have an interest free period, you need to ensure that any purchases made on your account are paid in full by 27 May 2016. You do not need to pay the full balance plus the minimum payment, as long as the full balance is paid before the due date you will avoid interest charges."

If I interpret this correctly, it would seem that making a purchase on the card will effectively terminate the interest free offer that I have on the balance transfer, since the purchase would require me to repay the full card balance to avoid interest charges.

Does anyone know if this is correct?

[Deleted User]

[STRIKE]

Unless you pay the full balance (BT, purchases, everything) you'll be charged
interest at the prevailing rate for each part of the balance - ie on the
purchases.
[/STRIKE]

EDIT - scratch that. Nationwide appear to be the one that separate out promo and non promo balances - from their website -

Maximum 56 days for purchases if you pay the total of all non-promotional balances on your statement in full and by the due date

itm2

Ok so if I have a £4k balance transfer, make a purchase of £100, I will pay monthly interest on the £100 until the end of my interest free period unless I clear the full £4,100 balance? (but I will not pay any interest on the £4k in the meantime?)

[Deleted User]

That's how mosts cards work. But it seems NW do it differently, judging by the term above.

But that's a fairly recent development I believe, so you need to check the terms on your own conditions, in case it is different. See if referes to the full balance or the non promo balance.

But either way, you don't get charged interest on the BT balance. Or more accurately, you do, but you get charged at 0%.

itm2

I've sent them another question, phrased a different way, so fingers crossed they'll be able to clarify.

I just want to know if there's any way that I can make a £100 purchase, pay off the £100 to avoid paying interest on it, but retain the interest-free deal on the £4k balance transfer amount. From their previous statement it would seem that this is not possible.

YorkshireBoy

When you get your next statement there will be a leaflet with it outlining some changes taking place from March 17th next year.

One of these changes means you WILL be able to make a purchase on a card with a 0% BT balance without incurring an interest penalty on said purchase...providing you repay the purchase balance in full by the payment due date of the statement it appears on.

Someone's summarised the key changes in a post on here very recently, so a search by yourself should find it.

EDIT: Here's the thread...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5376273

2nd EDIT: And here's the leaflet you'll be getting...

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/~/media/MainSite/documents/products/credit-cards/P3028%20Dec%202015.pdf

The bit you want is towards the bottom right of page 5.

CLAPTON

why not get another credit card for purchases that you will pay in full?

itm2

CLAPTON wrote: »

why not get another credit card for purchases that you will pay in full?

The purchase in question is a specific Nationwide Simply Rewards offer (which ends today), so it looks like I'll need to pass it by.

Thanks for the feedback.

bearcat16

itm2 wrote: »

The purchase in question is a specific Nationwide Simply Rewards offer (which ends today), so it looks like I'll need to pass it by.

Thanks for the feedback.

I think you've misunderstood the previous comment. You WILL still get 0% on your transferred balance, I know because I read the other threads that the guy above kindly linked to and (more usefully) because I have done it myself with my own nationwide select credit card.

Nationwide (and maybe other card providers) apply your payments to the highest interest portion of you balance first.

So say you transfer £4,000 at 0% and then next month make a purchase of £100.

As long as you pay that £100 off before the due date, you won't get charged interest and your 0% bal won't be affected.

YorkshireBoy

itm2 wrote: »

...it looks like I'll need to pass it by.

It appears I wasted my time researching and compiling post #6 for you then. Never mind, hopefully others will benefit.

bearcat16

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

It appears I wasted my time researching and compiling post #6 for you then. Never mind, hopefully others will benefit.

Not a waste of time Yorkshire Boy, as it has given me an idea.

I have a 2 stoozes running at the moment (Virgin and MBNA) for 34 and 37 months of approc £6k each, and as we all know, unless you can afford the minimum payment out of your surplus cash each month, the stoozed balance is is gradually eaten away by the minimum payments each month. Not that this is a huge problem of course.

HOWEVER, Both of these cards have a 1% minimum payment, so that's about £120 per month.

Having read this thread, assuming that Virgin and MBNA have the same policy of applying your payments to the highest interest portion first, I could eliminate the minimum payment by making purchases of slightly over £120 on both cards, and then paying for the purchases (only) at the end of the month.

So if I just make purchases on these cards (instead of my usual Amex reward card) of slightly over 1% of the balance, then when I make the minimum payment, it will pay off only the purchases (as its the highest interest amount) leaving the 0% balance the same.

Could keep doing that for the whole 34 or 37 months.

Think it would work?

Think I might start a thread on the Stoozing forum for this idea, I can't be the only one who has thought of it.