Balance and Money transfer??

MrLew1012

Hi all,

Need some help as I'm just totally confused and lost.
I'm in my personal overdraft and have been for circa 2+ years and also in significant credit card debt.
I'm looking to consolidate my debts into one location and I know I can get a loan but I was thinking whether it was an easier option to get an all around credit card that helps me do both??
I know the options are to get a:
Money transfer card - helps with the Overdraft
Balance Transfer Card - helps with the credit card.

If i was to get an all around credit card, I would be able to consolidate all the debts into one location at a price/cost I know I can afford..

Can anyone let me know if this is actually achievable? When I did an eligibility checker with MBNA they gave me a pre-approved offer with both money and balance transfer for 'x' amount of months but I didn't know if that meant I could do both on the one card??

All help massively appreciated..

[Deleted User]

A money transfer card, or one which offers both money and balance transfers, would achieve what you want.

The MBNA one, if you can get it, would be suitable.

MrLew1012

So an all around credit card can actually enable me to do both??

Vikipollard

I'm no expert at all (indeed I don't possess a credit card), but I'm not aware of any credit cards that do both MT and BT. Just had a look on MBNA and they list them as separate entities. Recognise I could be very wrong about that though.

The bigger red flag for me is that :

- you're living in your overdraft
- you have significant credit card debt
- you want to consolidate.

You need to address your overspending, and I would encourage you to go to the Debt Free Wannabe board and post a statement of affairs so that advice can be given on cutting back.

Consolidating into one place will not make the debt any easier to handle. It's still there and, potentially, you will be tempted to reuse the existing credit cards and overdraft again. Been there, done that (twice) - which should give you an idea why I don't have a credit card any more.

If you did (successfully) get either a BT or a MT card (or both), what if the limit is not high enough to clear your credit cards and/or £2k overdraft? How would you ensure you did not end up with all the cards maxed out, and back into your overdraft to make ends meet? Might snowballing be a better option for you?

MrLew1012

Thanks!

I did look through the DFW pages and I have actually cutback and did make progress. The thing for me is that yes you are right with the three points, of being in overdraft and high credit debt.
I don't want to say its sustainable but the amounts of both Overdraft and Credit Debt have largely remained the same over the past two-three years and because I've been paying the interest against both it's not really given me the chance to bring it down.. (probably my fault for not doing anything in the past)

I have looked at the snowballing method and its what made me want to look at a second job but I don't know how achievable that is in the short term..

Craig1981

unsure about an all rounder card - looks like they dont offer it anymore, so need to check if a BT card will offer both. Tesco Balance transfer card offers both.

or just get a MT card if unable to get one that offers both, get full transfer and pay off accounts with the cash

pinknsparkly

As zx81 and Craig have both pointed out, you don't need a card that will allow you to do a money transfer AND a balance transfer. A money transfer only card will do - you transfer the money to your current account to pay off your overdraft and use the rest to pay off your credit cards using a manual overpayment.

Anthorn

pinknsparkly wrote: »

As zx81 and Craig have both pointed out, you don't need a card that will allow you to do a money transfer AND a balance transfer. A money transfer only card will do - you transfer the money to your current account to pay off your overdraft and use the rest to pay off your credit cards using a manual overpayment.

Not strictly true: If a longer 0% APR period is needed that will almost certainly be a balance transfer card. For example my Barclaycard Platinum 27 month credit card offers 27 months 0% APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases but no 0% period on Money Transfers which are treated as Cash Advances.

Usually we use Balance Transfer and Money Transfer where a Balance Transfer cannot be used, for example to clear an overdraft or to pay off a store card such as the Argos Card. However as in the case of my Barclaycard Money Transfers which are treated as cash advances can have a negative impact on the credit history.

maas

Although I agree with Anthorn, especially if Barclaycard treats it as a cash advance, but for ease of management, personally, I would just get 1 single Money Transfer card and transfer over the amount you need (pay the one-time fee) and then allocate the funds.

Plus you are only making a single application for credit and more likely to be successful, than having more debt/searches before the second credit application.

I've had several MBNA Money Transfer cards and they have never been recorded as Cash Advances.

pinknsparkly

What Anthorn has stated is true, however I was working on the assumption that the OP would apply for a card that allowed fee free money transfers, such as santander who are currently offering a 0% balance transfer card that also allows 0% money transfers fee free for a 27 month period. Bus absolutely, make sure that money transfers are also free before applying for the card!!

Maas also correctly points out that a money transfer card has the bonus of requiring fewer credit applications!