0% transfer cards, not sure what that means

EmmieAwards

Hi guys

I took out Vanquis and Capital One credit building credit cards last year and their interest rates are very high. I have been told that I can transfer the owed balance to cards that do not charge interest, and I would juts be paying off what ive spent. This sounds great, but will this negatively affect my credit score as Ive just got it to the national average..?
Also, can anyone recommend any 0% cards that will do this, or know of any charges related to this process?

Thanks guys

[Deleted User]

It means that you can transfer a balance to a card where the rate of interest is 0%.  There may be a fee to transfer.

Your credit score has nothing to do with anything regarding lending (or anything else), so don't worry about that.  You'll be assessed on your credit history and circumstances.  Use an eligibility checker as a starting point.

bradders1983

EmmieAwards said:

Hi guys

I took out Vanquis and Capital One credit building credit cards last year and their interest rates are very high. I have been told that I can transfer the owed balance to cards that do not charge interest, and I would juts be paying off what ive spent. This sounds great, but will this negatively affect my credit score as Ive just got it to the national average..?
Also, can anyone recommend any 0% cards that will do this, or know of any charges related to this process?

Thanks guys

Stop looking at the three digit score, its a made up number and I am sorry to say it means absolutely nothing.

You would be bonkers NOT to move balances off high interest credit cards onto cards offering you 0% for a period. Some will charge you a fee to do so (usually a %age of the amount) but this would be considerably less than the interest you will likely save.

eskbanker

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards/ explains what balance transfer cards are all about, but it's important to understand that you may or may not be eligible for one of these, so try out the eligibility checker linked there.

[Deleted User]

EmmieAwards said:

Hi guys

I took out Vanquis and Capital One credit building credit cards last year and their interest rates are very high. I have been told that I can transfer the owed balance to cards that do not charge interest, and I would juts be paying off what ive spent. This sounds great, but will this negatively affect my credit score as Ive just got it to the national average..?
Also, can anyone recommend any 0% cards that will do this, or know of any charges related to this process?

Thanks guys

May i point out - the idea of these cards is to pay them off in full every month.
It is most definately NOT to be used as a normal card where you have a permanent outstanding amount that you're paying interest on.
That is absolutely not the way to use them at all.

JimmyTheWig

[Deleted User] said:

EmmieAwards said:

Hi guys

I took out Vanquis and Capital One credit building credit cards last year and their interest rates are very high. I have been told that I can transfer the owed balance to cards that do not charge interest, and I would juts be paying off what ive spent. This sounds great, but will this negatively affect my credit score as Ive just got it to the national average..?
Also, can anyone recommend any 0% cards that will do this, or know of any charges related to this process?

Thanks guys

May i point out - the idea of these cards is to pay them off in full every month.
It is most definately NOT to be used as a normal card where you have a permanent outstanding amount that you're paying interest on.
That is absolutely not the way to use them at all.

Surely paying off in full is _exactly_ how you use a normal card...?

[Deleted User]

I must have misunderstood, i thought the OP was concerned about being charged a lot of interest and presumed it was because it was being incurred, apologies.

jonesMUFCforever

[Deleted User] said:

I must have misunderstood, i thought the OP was concerned about being charged a lot of interest and presumed it was because it was being incurred, apologies.

That's the way I read the original post as well. 

washtenaw

Opening up a new card will negatively affect your credit score for a few months but it will definitely recover after this. And even though lenders don't ever actually look at your specific credit score number, they absolutely DO look at the fact that you opened up a new card recently and this can certainly effect whether they decide to offer you credit or not and/or how much credit they offer you and at what rates.

So in your specific situation, if you apply for a 0% transfer card and are successful, or if you are unsuccessful and the lender performed a 'hard' check on your credit file (most lenders just perform a 'soft' check that won't effect your credit score and won't be seen by other lenders), then this means that you are more likely to be turned down for credit and/or offered less credit in the 6 months after your application.

So if you only just want that one 0% transfer card for now, and don't plan on applying for any other form of credit soon like a mortgage/loan/car finance, then there's no need to worry, all new credit accounts for anyone will have a negative effect on their credit scores/eligibility to lenders for up to 6 months, this is just what happens, so definitely don't let this put you off applying for new credit.

And as I mentioned above, even though most lenders only perform a 'soft' check on your credit file when you apply, which means that it won't negatively effect your credit score or be seen by other lenders, some lenders perform a 'hard' check, and this absolutely will negatively effect you if you attempt to apply for another card after this as other lenders definitely DO see this !!! My advice is therefore to apply for a number of 0% cards at the same time which should greatly improve your chances of being accepted for at least one and if you are rejected due to a 'hard' check, then this won't negatively effect your other applications at that time.

onlyfoolsandparking

washtenaw said:

Opening up a new card will negatively affect your credit score for a few months but it will definitely recover after this. And even though lenders don't ever actually look at your specific credit score number, they absolutely DO look at the fact that you opened up a new card recently and this can certainly effect whether they decide to offer you credit or not and/or how much credit they offer you and at what rates.

So in your specific situation, if you apply for a 0% transfer card and are successful, or if you are unsuccessful and the lender performed a 'hard' check on your credit file (most lenders just perform a 'soft' check that won't effect your credit score and won't be seen by other lenders), then this means that you are more likely to be turned down for credit and/or offered less credit in the 6 months after your application.

So if you only just want that one 0% transfer card for now, and don't plan on applying for any other form of credit soon like a mortgage/loan/car finance, then there's no need to worry, all new credit accounts for anyone will have a negative effect on their credit scores/eligibility to lenders for up to 6 months, this is just what happens, so definitely don't let this put you off applying for new credit.

And as I mentioned above, even though most lenders only perform a 'soft' check on your credit file when you apply, which means that it won't negatively effect your credit score or be seen by other lenders, some lenders perform a 'hard' check, and this absolutely will negatively effect you if you attempt to apply for another card after this as other lenders definitely DO see this !!! My advice is therefore to apply for a number of 0% cards at the same time which should greatly improve your chances of being accepted for at least one and if you are rejected due to a 'hard' check, then this won't negatively effect your other applications at that time.

Not sure that is true regarding 'full and completed' applications, could be wrong though?

washtenaw

onlyfoolsandparking said:

washtenaw said:

Opening up a new card will negatively affect your credit score for a few months but it will definitely recover after this. And even though lenders don't ever actually look at your specific credit score number, they absolutely DO look at the fact that you opened up a new card recently and this can certainly effect whether they decide to offer you credit or not and/or how much credit they offer you and at what rates.

So in your specific situation, if you apply for a 0% transfer card and are successful, or if you are unsuccessful and the lender performed a 'hard' check on your credit file (most lenders just perform a 'soft' check that won't effect your credit score and won't be seen by other lenders), then this means that you are more likely to be turned down for credit and/or offered less credit in the 6 months after your application.

So if you only just want that one 0% transfer card for now, and don't plan on applying for any other form of credit soon like a mortgage/loan/car finance, then there's no need to worry, all new credit accounts for anyone will have a negative effect on their credit scores/eligibility to lenders for up to 6 months, this is just what happens, so definitely don't let this put you off applying for new credit.

And as I mentioned above, even though most lenders only perform a 'soft' check on your credit file when you apply, which means that it won't negatively effect your credit score or be seen by other lenders, some lenders perform a 'hard' check, and this absolutely will negatively effect you if you attempt to apply for another card after this as other lenders definitely DO see this !!! My advice is therefore to apply for a number of 0% cards at the same time which should greatly improve your chances of being accepted for at least one and if you are rejected due to a 'hard' check, then this won't negatively effect your other applications at that time.

Not sure that is true regarding 'full and completed' applications, could be wrong though?

As far as I know, if you make a 'full and completed' application and the lender only performs a 'soft' check and subsequently refuses you, then no, that can not be seen by any other lender. Only you and the credit referencing agencies can see that a 'soft' check was carried out and this information will NOT be shared with other lenders.

Lenders can only see if you have either A ) opened a new account or B ) had a 'hard' check performed on your credit file. So applications themselves are not recorded at all, only the 'hard'/'soft' checks and/or opening of new accounts that may occur as a result.