Badly need advice please! Interest rates

sophie14

Hi,

So I have got accepted for a marbles credit card. Basically I only need around £500 for a holiday which has already been booked in July. I am only 21 so got declined for any loans so I am wanting to use the credit card as a loan.

*** the offer they have on is 5 months 0% interest.
So can someone please tell me if I was to use £500 once I got the credit card but then the following month or 2 after I phoned up and paid £500 back, and then closed my account, would this mean i wouldn’t have any interest to pay?

Don’t want to jump in incase it turns out that’s not the rules?

Would appreciate anyone’s help.

Thank you

WillyWonga

From what I can see from their website there is the 5 month 0% BALANCE TRANSFER only.

So beware its not what you think it is.

You can transfer a debt from another card and pay 0% interest for 5 months then it reverts back to an eye watering 34.9%.

BUT for purchases its interest charged after 1 month of spending.

You mention you could pay it back after one month. My advice is Yes, skimp and scrape and clear it off to avoid interest.

sophie14

Oh dear, thank you for that advice.

So as you said there you would suggest that I repay the £500 full payment back after the first month to avoid interest?So would that mean I wouldn!!!8217;t pay any interest at all? I.e the 69.9% interest? And would just pay back what I borrowed?

Thanks

sophie14

Also sorry,

If it’s 5 months 0% interest on balance transfers, does that not mean I could transfer £500 pounds into my personal current account and spend the money of it?

gwynfil

Hi


Check you understand the offer first.



That 0% offer is for a balance transfer I believe. Transferring an existing debt of £500 pounds from one credit card to the marbles one for example. I don't believe the 0% offer is for purchases made on the card.



I believe that the marbles credit card has quite a high interest rate- I think about 34%.



Usually the only way to avoid credit card interest is if you spent say the £500 and paid it off before the end of the first month, or before the first monthly statement was due.



I'd check that the 0% offer is definitely for purchases and not a balance transfer first. These are not the same thing.



I got in to lots of credit card debt and it spoilt my younger years, as all my money went on paying the interest back. So be cautious and remember the interest adds up so quickly.

Fingerbobs

sophie14 wrote: »

Also sorry,

If it’s 5 months 0% interest on balance transfers, does that not mean I could transfer £500 pounds into my personal current account and spend the money of it?

No, a Balance Transfer means moving an existing debt from one credit card to another.

gwynfil

This is the definition of a balance transfer:



A balance transfer is where part or all of the debit balance (or debt) you owe to another lender is transferred from one credit or store card to another.


If you withdrew cash using your marbles card I think there is a cash advance fee of 3% (minimum £3) for using your card to withdraw cash.That would not include the interest they woud aso charge you on top of that if you don't pay the money off in full by the first payment date.

sophie14

Sorry for the confusion. On the letter I received, these are the words that is stated. !!!8220; We!!!8217;re delighted to tell you that we!!!8217;ve approved your application and we are able to offer you a rate of 69.9% APR (variable) plus 0% interest on purchases for 5 months from date of account opening.!!!8221;

Since this says purchases instead of balance transfers does that not mean that it is 0% on any purchases?

!!!55358;!!!56596;

WillyWonga

If you took the card say 1st July and put approx £500 on it through purchases in the following 2 weeks you would get a statement on the 30th July to say you owe £500. It would then give you approx 21 days to pay the balance or make the minimum payment. So in effect you have 50 or so days from opening the account to clear the balance.

Balance transfers are only for transferring existing card debts.

Money transfers are for transferring money from your card to your bank account but only certain cards do this - not this one.

My advice, is to spend wisely on the card and clear off ASAP.

Because you have a limited credit history the best way to build up your credit score is to use this card carefully.

Use it for holiday and then pay off in full following month.

Then over next few months put something small on it for example a £50 tank of petrol. Then clear off following month. Your credit file will show that you are keeping up to date with payments and not in heavy debt which can open doors down the line for a mortgage, better credit card, car finance etc.

But please treat credit cards with strict willpower. They are Devil Cards as I call them as they can get you trapped on minimum payments if you go overboard

gwynfil

Sounds like it is purchases in that case. They have obviously covered themselves by making the interest rate really high. This wouldn't cover cash withdrawals though I shouldn't think- just purchases where you use chip and pin etc. So avoid withdrawing cash with it I would say. Keep an eye on the account opening date too- to keep within the 5 months.

WillyWonga

It does say on Marbles site that you can be offered higher rate of interest but 69% thats horrendous.

If you have no choice then clear off following month but I would ring them in the morning just to clarify what they are offering. It is unusual for a high risk card to offer 0% purchases.