Advice on balance transfers

Glesga

hi all,

I have managed to clear off 2 cards (which are still open Cahoot £1000 and Virgin for £600) - I am planning on closing them off shortly.

My major problem is my Halifax Credit Card - which stands at £10,000 annual APR 10.95 %

I have just been successful in obtaining a zero % balance transfer card from MBNA but only for £2700. Looking at the email confirmation etc - I am assuming at the full 39 months - using this website. :money:

Now my dilemma is how to clear off both cards with least amount of paying extra

Do I find another zero % balance card in a few months and take it off the remaining balance for the Halifax one ?-

Also my monthly limit is £150 total towards both of the cards. How best to take advantage of the zero % deal.

There is probably an obvious answer but sometimes when you are so close to a problem you cant see a solution easily ::)

Can anyone please advise?
thanks

Ebe_Scrooge

Glesga wrote: »

hi all,

I have managed to clear off 2 cards (which are still open Cahoot £1000 and Virgin for £600) - I am planning on closing them off shortly.

My major problem is my Halifax Credit Card - which stands at £10,000 annual APR 10.95 %

I have just been successful in obtaining a zero % balance transfer card from MBNA but only for £2700. Looking at the email confirmation etc - I am assuming at the full 39 months - using this website. :money:

Now my dilemma is how to clear off both cards with least amount of paying extra

Do I find another zero % balance card in a few months and take it off the remaining balance for the Halifax one ?- This is certainly an option. But beware of making too many applications in a short space of time, this will have a negative impact on your credit history. To be honest you'll be unlikely to achieve a credit limit of 10K, even spread across 2 or 3 cards. So you're unlikely to be able to shift the entire debt to 0%. You also have to take into account the balance transfer fee - there'll be a fee on each card you successfully obtain.

Also my monthly limit is £150 total towards both of the cards. How best to take advantage of the zero % deal. Pay the minimum to the 0% card, as much as possible to the higher-interest debt. But you need to have plans in place to clear the 0% card when the deal runs out, otherwise you'll go onto a much higher APR.

There is probably an obvious answer but sometimes when you are so close to a problem you cant see a solution easily ::)

Can anyone please advise?
thanks

A couple of thoughts above.

Glesga

hi Ebe,

Thanks for taking the time to give me some pointers - should I cancel the other cards completely too - am not planning on spending on them anyways....

Ebe_Scrooge

It's probably a good idea to cancel the unused cards if you don't need them. This will reduce your "available credit" that other lenders see, thus increasing your chances of being accepted for credit in the future should you need it.

rehanmalik3030

First of all check with MBNA and see if you have the full 39 months - dont just assume

Secondly do not close you Cahoot and Virgin credit cards because a) they may have special 0% balance transfer offers in the near future or you could periodically call them and check to see if they have any such like offers b) keeping the cards at 0.00 balance and not using them will lower your overall credit utilization rate.

Thirdly dont apply for any other card for the next 12 months your not going to get any 0% balance card with a half decent credit limit to help you.

Fourthly after you complete the balance transfer there is no way all things being equal that you can "clear off both cards with least amount of paying extra". I think what you probably meant was least amount of pain.

After the balance transfer you will be paying around 50 pound of interest with a balance of 7,300 on your Halifax so if you can afford 150 a month and assuming you have MBNA 0% BT period of 39 months by the time the offer expires you should have paid around 3200 of you Halifax balance off.

Assuming the MBNA card after BT expiry goes to say 20% or 30% apr then a few months before this happens apply for another 0% BT card if successfull great if not see if Halifax will do the BT at 10.95%. Also over this time period i am sure cahoot and virgin would have written to you with offers.

Mortgages, loans and credit card debt is a form of modern slavery. Bottom line the credit card companies have you where they want you they are unlikely to help you knowing that they are bleeding you legally for the next few years and there is nothing you can do about it.

Glesga

Thank you very much - it has given me a lot to think over! I will have to wait until I get my card from MBNA to contact them.

If I do find that I am on a lower term say 20 months and not 39 months - I will just have to do the same but will be saving less on interest...

thanks
John

Maelzoid

I see no harm in applying for a second card. About a year ago I was looking at about 4000 debt on a couple of 0% cards that was coming to an end.


I first applied to Santander and got the 0% deal (with 0% fee) but only got 2400 limit (with I think a maximum 90% for the transfer)


Within a week I applied to Sainsburys nectar to cover the remaining 1800 or so and got accepted with a 5k plus limit - well more than needed.


At this point, there's little harm in applying, if you're declined, you haven't made your situation worse, and you can wait 3-6 months before the next application.