Card transfers to clear an American Express Credit Card

TheOldOne

I have run up a hefty £3000 debit on my American Express British Airways Premium Plus credit card. I have had this card for 2 years, use it almost daily and pay it off monthly without fail. I collect Avios and this card suits me

but...

due to unforeseen circumstances I have not got the funding to pay it off this next payment. The APR is extortionate (as is the case for such travel reward credit cards). No worries I thought, I shall use another card to arrange a credit transfer.

but...

Halifax Clarity could not do this. They said I needed to speak to Amex. Amex said they did not accept payments for credit with other credit. But I know in the past I have arranged successfully on one occassion to credit transfer from Halifax to Amex.

Not to worry thought I, open up a new 0% credit transfer credit card and use that. So I did (an MSE recommended 0% interest, 0% fee card) and attempted to arrange the credit card transfer. No joy. Their system would not allow it. They will try and see if they can do it manually using the sort code and account number. But they are not sure if they can and it will take 5-15 working days to find out.

Unfortunately payment is due next week :eek:

So what are my options? I fortunately have a significant endowment from my first mortgage (kept it going after switching to a non-Endowment mortgage in the '90s) maturing in 4 months so I am really only looking for a short-term solution.

The options I see I have are:

1. pay what I can each month and accept the interest (owch).

2. pay it off and use my NatWest Bank current account overdraft facility (I have enough) to cover this for 3-4 months.

3. use another of my (empty) credit card accounts to do a credit transfer if this is possible and pay the 3% transfer fee and, if they can do the transfer to Amex, then use the 0% card to pay that off.

I need to do some sums!

Maybe there are other options that elude me so if you know of any, please do let me know.

And has anyone else encountered problems arranging a transfer to American Express credit cards?

Consumerist

How about a money transfer to your current account from which you could pay off the Amex card. Money transfer charges are typically 4%+, however.

Edit
Have a look at <Uswitch>, for example, if you have a decent credit record.

guesswho2000

You mention Halifax Clarity - with that one, since there is no fee, and the interest is the same, you could just withdraw cash from an ATM and use that to pay off the Amex. Wouldn't recommend that with any other card, however.

Whether this will work out depends on what your APR on the Clarity is - it's tiered from 12.9-21.9% I believe...the interest rate on the BAPP is 19.9% (on the old cards, you say you've had yours for some time) - the APR is 50 whatever percent, but that factors in the annual fee, which you have to pay anyway. if your Clarity interest rate is higher, there's obviously no point doing this!

As Consumerist says, a money txfer card is a cheaper option, but if you can't/don't want to get another card, the above is an option to consider.

TheOldOne

Thank you both.

I had never heard of money transfer cards, but I have now! I also noticed that a couple of my other credit cards also have the facility to transfer money so I could try that for the short term. I am not so keen on opening another credit card. I have too many already (forunately with Zero balances).

My Halifax Clarity interest rate is 12.9%, so money withdrawal is another option I had not considred.

The good news I just realised that this months payment is a lot less than I thought, so I have another month to arrange funds for the next larger payment.

Consumerist

TheOldOne wrote: »

. . . My Halifax Clarity interest rate is 12.9%, so money withdrawal is another option I had not considred. . .

Try to avoid withdrawing cash on a credit card if you can. It is often regarded as a sign of financial stress by lenders and may affect your credit score.