Two different 0% balance transfers on same card

Gouryella

Hi,
I googled but cannot find an answer to my specific question. I am 1 year in on a 35 month 0% balance transfer offer and I have been offered another 0% offer for 15 months on the same card.

How do the repayments work with two 0% offers of differing lengths on the same card? For example say I took the offer up and transferred £500. I repay at least £500 within 15 months. Is that one now cleared and there will be no interest until my original 35 months are up or how would I avoid any interest until the 35 month promotion ends?

Edit: Credit Card is Halifax

surreysaver

Probably always best not to mix different offers on the same card. It always used to be the case that the cheaper offer was paid off first, but quite often these days it is the other way around.
What you really need to do is check the terms and conditions of your particular card

redux

For certain, the longer offer shouldn't finish at the end of the first.

I think that once the shorter offer expires, and therefore it would attract interest, payments to the account should certainly be going towards that interest bearing balance. I assume you could try to guarantee this by paying a couple of days after the offer end. Or ask what happens.

An interesting question for now would be which balance are the current payments going towards.

If the 15 month part, you might be already a decent way towards clearing this when it ends, whereas if to the main longer part you'd be having to hit the 15 month part in full at its end.

I don't know the answer to this. If you have enough spare money already or by then to not worry anyway, then fine. Otherwise I think it's worth asking their customer services to clarify, including being sure they've understood the question.

onlyfoolsandparking

From what I know and having done this exact thing many times, the balance that attracts a higher interest rate is paid first before any money goes towards 0% interest balances if you have a balance that wasn't transferred to the card, but if got x amount on a 35 month o% deal and you take the new deal x amount on a 15 month o% deal the two balances are in principal added together although they actually run side by side and show up on statements as separate deals and you make one normal monthly payment at o% interest, once the first 15 month period expires any money left outstanding on that deal is then charged at the normal card interest rate BUT the balance on the 35 month deal is still on o% if all that makes sense (PHEW!!!).


The way I like to take advantage of these interim offers is work out how much should be transferred to not incur any (or very little) interest when the deal expires. Example I transferred 10k onto my Barclaycard for 35 months a while back at the usual o%, whilst that was getting nicely paid they offered me another deal 9 months at o% so I worked out that by transferring 2k off another card the minimum payment on my Barclaycard being 2.24% so approximately £224 a month would pay off the 2k I transferred at virtually no interest, bearing in mind of course the minimum payment will go up because now there's 12k on the card (depending of course on when you take the new deal and how much you've already paid off the original 10k)


Of course you have to remember the B/T fee no getting away from that one but it can work if you suss it out, I have all my cards, B/T expiries, limits, dates to pay off or transfer on a spread sheet so it works for me and I keep interest to a minimum all year round

PixelPound

Check the card t&c. I had the same with an MBNA card and it said the oldest was paid off first if both have equal interest rates. So in your case it would be the 35 month one, so all what you borrowed under the 15 month offer would still be outstanding if you haven't cleared the 35 month balance within the next 15 months. You are effectively shortening your longer term deal.

onlyfoolsandparking

I,ve not heard of that one before shortening a longer term deal "in effect" but I guess its a possibility. Its a complicated issue or it can feel that way but how I think it works and has worked on my card/s is this:


I take a 35 month deal at 0% with the usual B/T fee, I transfer 10k (ignoring the B/T fee for this calculation) I then have 10k on the new card with 1% minimum payment that equates to £100 monthly payment, then later on I take a new 15 month deal and transfer 2k, my original balance of 10k is now 8.5k + the new 2k transfer totalling 10.5k. my minimum payment adjusts to £105.


Each month from there £85 is paid off my original 10k transfer and the other £20 goes off my new 2k transfer. After 15 months I have paid £300 off my new 2k balance leaving £1700 which will flip over to full card interest. That's how one of my cards worked but there is another way which involves paying off the B/T which runs out first so the full £105 is paid off the 2k transfer which of course takes approx 20 months. You still get hit with paying interest on approx £500 because your deal has run out and also bit of a disadvantage you haven't paid anything off the £8.5k which was outstanding when you took the new deal.


I,m confusing myself now reading all this back LOL but I think I,m mostly correct.


Just had a quick look at my MBNA account where I have 2 deals running and the payment is split pro-rata in other words I,m paying £80 on a 18 month 0% B/T on 8k and £25 on a 12 month 0% B/T on 2.5k total minimum payment is £105 which is 1% of the £10.5k balance so both balances are decreasing but at different amounts, if that makes sense??

redux

Some statements show the balances separately.

My Tesco statement has this, but the dates are omitted. I asked on the phone to be reminded when they each end, and noted this on last month's.

onlyfoolsandparking

Yes I,ve noticed that too with Tesco, whenever I,ve took a B/T out with them it never says on the statement when the deal ends, same with Halifax and I think Santander.


Luckily I input all the "deals ending dates" on my debt spreadsheet, no chance of being caught out then

Shakin_Steve

I have two money transfers running on my MBNA card right now. The earlier one ends in January 2019, the second one in December 2019. I have made no purchases on the card. The whole of my monthly payment is taken off the balance of the deal which ends in January, i.e. the one which would attract interest sooner.

onlyfoolsandparking

Yes I have had that on a card too but not on another I suppose it depends WHICH card we,ve got as to how payments are applied to the account

Penelopa.Pitstop

MBNA and M&S allocate payments to older debt if they both have the same APR. With Halifax you have to check, but it looks like second deal may mess up things a bit or not be paid on time.