Barclaycard Balance Transfer - £150 Cashback

Chris2000

Just received an interesting offer in the post from Barclaycard:

- Make a balance transfer by 25th October at 6.9% for life with no fee
- If there is a balance remaining in Jan 2009, receive 5% of the original amount transferred as cashback in Feb 2009
- Max. £150 cashback

I reckon I can earn the £150 cashback for a net outlay of about £10 if I make a £3000 balance transfer, repay £2750 of it immediately, then make the minimum repayment each month.

This is better than my existing 0% LOB deal (about £2000 remaining, of which £70 is 'standard' balance and the rest 0%) the net return on which is already less than £5 per month after tax.

Milarky

Well spotted angle, Chris2000. Remember that with Barclaycard minimum monthly interest is £1. Also (but I doubt this would apply to you) there may be some drastic clause in this offer if you slipped up in your minimum payments.

Chris2000

I've checked the T&C several times.
- Cashback will be earned at the rate of 5% on the total value of the balance you transfer to your Barclaycard using the enclosed cheques, provided there is a balance on your account for your January 2009 statement
- We will pay any cashback that you have earned by crediting your Barclaycard account in February 2009
- The maximum amount of cashback that you can earn is £150. To qualify for the cashback your account balance billed must be £150 or more (before cashback) on February 2009 statement
There is also some general stuff about losing the cashback if I breach the T&C.

The covering letter seems a bit stricter, stating that I must retain a balance until January 2009, so it is safest to retain a small part of the balance transfer.

I already make the minimum payment by DD so no problem there. I'll pay 6.9% interest on the small balance I leave outstanding, but earn about half of that back (net of tax) on the same amount in my savings account.