Balance Transfers ?Affect Your Credit Score?

dinny1970

Hi all,

I have 2 existing credit cards, I want to transfer the balance from 1 to the other to take advantage of the 0% for a year.

I've had both cards for quite a while.

My question is, if I do the transfer, will it affect my credit score or leave a footprint on my credit file?

Thanks for any advice!

msallen

The only footprint it will leave is that one balance goes down and the other goes up.

Ignore any "score" a CRA is trying to sell you.

[Deleted User]

Your score will probably drop - but don't worry about it - the score is meaningless!

Are you sure you have a 0% deal on one of the cards?

molerat

The only down side could be your file showing as both cards holding the balance depending on their reporting cycles but that would be a short lived problem.

dinny1970

!!! wrote: »

Your score will probably drop - but don't worry about it - the score is meaningless!

Are you sure you have a 0% deal on one of the cards?

Yes, 0% balance transfer for a year but a 2.9% transfer fee.

Alot of people are saying CRA score means nothing as you have said, so if you're wanting to apply for a loan how do you know which one to go for?? The CRA says eg, "you have a 90% chance of getting this loan" etc......is this meaningless also? Thanks!

eskbanker

dinny1970 wrote: »

Alot of people are saying CRA score means nothing as you have said, so if you're wanting to apply for a loan how do you know which one to go for?? The CRA says eg, "you have a 90% chance of getting this loan" etc......is this meaningless also? Thanks!

Yes, the only opinion that matters when applying for any credit product is that of the actual provider - others can offer advisory guidance but it's only ever provisional, because all lenders have their own criteria (some of which may be published) but ultimately judge each application on a case by case basis.

YorkshireBoy

dinny1970 wrote: »

Yes, 0% balance transfer for a year but a 2.9% transfer fee.

Alot of people are saying CRA score means nothing as you have said, so if you're wanting to apply for a loan how do you know which one to go for?? The CRA says eg, "you have a 90% chance of getting this loan" etc......is this meaningless also? Thanks!

CRAs don't lend money, lenders do! When CRAs start to lend money you can pay attention to their numbers, descriptive words, and percentage chances. Until then, best not to.

Is there a particular reason why you're happy paying a near 3% fee for only 12 months 0% interest? Last time I looked, there were 7 or 8 lenders offering fee-free 0% BT cards...all for more than a year. And some of those had their own eligibility checkers.

dinny1970

Thanks for your advice, yes, I will need to apply for a loan over the next few months and I already have 4 credit cards, I didn't want to apply for another card. My plan is to transfer the balance from 1 card, (there's £700 on it so transfer fee would be minimal) and then cancel the credit card that I transferred from. That would leave me with 3 credit cards still open. I'm trying to tidy up my credit before applying for the loan. Some say cancelling a card can affect your credit score even if you clear the balance but I'm not a big earner and don't want to look like a risky option for loan providers with too many existing credit options available to me! Am I wise with my plan? Thanks so much for all your advice!

YorkshireBoy

dinny1970 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice, yes, I will need to apply for a loan over the next few months and I already have 4 credit cards, I didn't want to apply for another card. My plan is to transfer the balance from 1 card, (there's £700 on it so transfer fee would be minimal) and then cancel the credit card that I transferred from. That would leave me with 3 credit cards still open. I'm trying to tidy up my credit before applying for the loan. Some say cancelling a card can affect your credit score even if you clear the balance but I'm not a big earner and don't want to look like a risky option for loan providers with too many existing credit options available to me! Am I wise with my plan? Thanks so much for all your advice!

Your credit utilisation will increase, which may or may not be a problem.

Citizen333

I decided to finally sort out my credit card debt by getting a zero percent balance transfer credit card based on Martin's recommendations. Sainsbury's wouldn't do a balance transfer on the full amount so I took out two credit cards, the other being MBNA. My old credit card had notified me that the interest rate was due to be increased the following month, so wanted to make sure all transfers were completed before then.

MBNA were marvellous I had my new card and balance transferred within 7 working days. 3 weeks later I'm still waiting for Sainsbury's to do the balance transfer. I only received the credit card yesterday! As a consequence I'm now paying a huge amount of interest on my old credit card this month and Sainsbury's is charging double the amount of transfer fee than the other bank! I would estimate they have cost me atleast £400 overall this month.

My advice to anyone is don't ever get a card with Sainsbury's if you want a 21st century service and do your own research on Martin's recommendations. If I had done that I would have seen the many bad reviews Sainsburys financial services has had.

No_6

@ YB
7 or 8 offering 0% on BT's ?