New customer deals Barclaycard and Sainsbury's

Hey_ewe

I have 3 cards with

• MBNA - 5 k balance 0% balance transfer card 19% apr on purchases.
• Sainsbury's zero balance- was a 0% interest purchase card the offer has now expired
• Barclaycard zero balance- was a 0% interest purchase card the offer has now expired

My credit rating is 'excellent' 970+

I'm interested in applying for a 0% interest purchase card (around March/April 2020) and the most appealing long term 0% offers seem to be with Barclays and Sainsbury's, so as an existing customer I'm not eligible. I've run all accounts impeccably and have been banking with barclays for 5 years or so 15 years with my main bank. I've made the occasional small payments with the cards, just to keep them active and I always pay them off straight away.

Should I close my cards with them and then reapply for a card at some point next year? I quite like having them open, as there's about 15k of available credit just in case of an emergency etc. I also understand that having your actual borrowing, as a smaller percentage of your available credit, is a good thing for your credit rating. I worry that closing one will affect my rating.


How long does it take to become a 'new customer' again? Is it worth giving them a call to see if they'll give me an offer to keep me as a customer?

Thank you for any advice or experiences that others may have had. =]

[Deleted User]

Your "Excellent" score is irrelevant.

Keep your existing cards and use them monthly and pay off the balances in full each month.

Unless you "need" the 0% purchase card, there's little point applying for one, or even thinking about one when you don't intend to apply for it until 6 months time

Hey_ewe

Thanks for the reply.

I will actually need the 0% card in the spring. I have a couple of big purchases that I would like to spread the cost of. I'm just planning ahead. I won't apply for a card until closer to the time.

I've found a couple of other companies via experian that I'm pre-approved for and they offer 0% but for 20 months, rather than the 25 months that Barclay's and Sainsbury's offer. I've been happy with both companies so I'd happily use them again, especially as they're offering the best deals.

I did read on here a couple of years ago that companies will consider you as a new customer after you close an account and return after a certain period of time but I couldn't find the thread.

18cc

Yes you can close your Barclaycard and apply for a new different card in 6 months time. This is what they told me a while ago when I was thinking about getting a different card from them. Call them and check.

Nebulous2

I don't know how they're doing since they were taken over, but Virgin used to be quite generous with credit limits / deals.

stehouk

I close accounts that are of no use once the offer period is over, i only have cards that are of use to me virgin 0% purchase card, Halifax 0% balance transfer, m&s for the extra £65 on the bank switch, Halifax clarity for overseas spend, aqua for rewards £165.00 so far.

Hey_ewe

I contacted both companies. Sainsbury's closed my card with no fuss and said that I can reapply after 90 days and get the new customer deals. Barclaycard said the same, although I would have to wait 6 months before reapplying. In order to keep my custom, they offered me a £5000 cash advance, initially with about a 2.3% fee, however, after a bit of negotiating they offered the cash advance with 0% interest and no fee and repayable over 2 years. They also permanently dropped my cards APR by 2%. I don't need the cash advance just at the moment but the offer was enough to keep me with them for the time being. Hopefully that deal will still be available in Feb/Mar next year. However if sainsbury's accept me as a customer again, they offer 25 months interest free. The last card I had with them was 29 months. It will be worth seeing which one will give me the best deal. Virgin and M&S also look like good deals at the moment.

I'm surprised that more companies aren't more active in fighting to keep existing customers but it does seem worth asking what they can do to keep you.