minimum payment or pay full balance on 0% 21mth Santander balance transfer card, no transfer fee

moneysavinggirl40

I went for a Santander no transfer fee 0%balance transfer for 21 months. I will not use it on any purchases. I will transfer balances from 2 other 0% purchase credit cards which are coming to an end. My question is do I set direct debit up for minimum payment or pay full balance? With minimum payment will I still get charged some interest even if it's a 0%balance transfer card for 21 months? Do I have to set the payment to the pay full balance so I don't incur any interest? I think it's the latter but I just want to ask people who have done balance transfers on 0% cards. I have enough money to pay in full, however I am trying to stooze but of course don't want to incur any interest going down the minimum payment route, if that's what will happen. 

Elmer_BeFuddled

I'd be inclined to add your 2 current 0% payments together, divide by 20 and set the result as a monthly fixed amount DD payment.

MalMonroe

If the Santander card is a 0% balance transfer card for 21 months then you won't pay any interest for 21 months as long as you pay the monthly minimum requested. 

There's a note on this very website which has stuck in my mind for some reason (maybe because I've been in financial dire straits in the past and have finally managed to emerge debt free. It has been a very long and winding road) and it says - 

 "remember MSE's stance on loans: 'borrow as little as possible, repay as quickly as possible'."

If you had enough money to pay off your credit cards, it's difficult to understand why you took out another credit card. You could just have paid off the credit cards you have and then put any disposable income into a savings account.

Please read Martin's article about stoozing because I think you have misunderstood the concept -

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/stooze-cash-credit-cards/

moneysavinggirl40

MalMonroe said:

If the Santander card is a 0% balance transfer card for 21 months then you won't pay any interest for 21 months as long as you pay the monthly minimum requested. 

There's a note on this very website which has stuck in my mind for some reason (maybe because I've been in financial dire straits in the past and have finally managed to emerge debt free. It has been a very long and winding road) and it says - 

 "remember MSE's stance on loans: 'borrow as little as possible, repay as quickly as possible'."

If you had enough money to pay off your credit cards, it's difficult to understand why you took out another credit card. You could just have paid off the credit cards you have and then put any disposable income into a savings account.

Please read Martin's article about stoozing because I think you have misunderstood the concept -

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/stooze-cash-credit-cards/

Thanks for confirming the job of minimum payments on a 0%balance transfer (BT)card in your first paragraph. I will read about stoozing as you've suggested. 

My reason for not paying the balances off on the ending x2 0%purchase cards is because I'd be dipping into a savings ISA which I want to keep topped up come April 5th,  so it means my saving stay in the pot longer.

I will have a regular saver maturing close to when I have to pay off my BT card. I suppose if I wanted I could do another BT to a 0% BT card when this ones 0% comes to an end.

I always pay off my 0%purchase card when the promotional period ends but this time, I thought I'd shift the balance to  0% no transfer fee BT card and see if it's possible to make my savings work a bit harder.

I wasn't sure if BT 0% minimum payment works in the same as minimum payment for 0%purchase cards.

GrumpyDil

Yes they work in exactly the same way and you are correct that paying minimum payment is fine as long as you have the means to clear the Balance at the end of the offer period. 

moneysavinggirl40

GrumpyDil said:

Yes they work in exactly the same way and you are correct that paying minimum payment is fine as long as you have the means to clear the Balance at the end of the offer period. 

Great! I feel reassured with my plan.

[Deleted User]

Stoozing and keeping money in your pocket are essentially the same principle i.e. you pay the minimum and make your money work for you. Having the money in an account even earning a small amount and paying off over 20 months is fine