Virgin Money Credit Card Balance Transfer Limits

Fingerbobs

Can anyone explain to me how Virgin Money credit cards calculate the maximum allowed balance transfer amount?

When I request a Balance Transfer in the app, it tells me the maximum amount I can transfer, but this value is neither based on a fixed percentage of my credit limit, nor a fixed percentage of my remaining available credit. The proportion of each I'm offered differs with each transfer request.

Each time I transfer the stated maximum amount, if I request another balance transfer, instead of zero, I get a new lower maximum.

My total balance on the card is tending towards 95% of my credit limit (the last maximum offered was just £20, and I'm at 94.9% of my credit limit) but will never actually reach 95% as I'm not offered enough to get there each time.

I'm puzzled.

[Deleted User]

Read the Ts & Cs on the card. It's typically 95% of balance + fee if applicable but you have the documentation on what they will offer

Fingerbobs

After much fiddling about with a calculator, I think I've worked this out. It's not simple, and is not documented in the T&Cs as far as I can see.

The card has an overall Balance Transfer Limit, which is 95% of its Credit Limit.

The maximum allowable Balance Transfer is 95% of the remainder of this Balance Transfer limit, less 1% of that remainder.

For example, assume the card has a Credit Limit of £10,000.

The overall Balance Transfer Limit for this card is 95% of £10,000 = £9,500.

Now assume the card already has a balance of £4,000, so the total available credit is £6,000.

The Available Balance Transfer credit is £5,500.

95% of £5,500 is £5,225.

1% of £5,500 is £55

So the maximum balance transfer allowed is £5,225-£55 = £5,170.

I'm not clever enough to be able to express this as a formula.

Edit: Thinking about this a bit more, I'm wondering if they're allowing for a 1% fee, which then isn't being charged (there is no BT fee). To those saying RTFT&C, if anyone can find this documented anywhere they're a better person than I am.

RG2015

I agree that it is complicated but I ended up with balance transfers of 94.95% of my credit limit of £4,000.

I was left with an available BT of £1.71 so theoretically I could have got up to 95%.

Fingerbobs

RG2015 said:

I agree that it is complicated but I ended up with balance transfers of 94.95% of my credit limit of £4,000.

I was left with an available BT of £1.71 so theoretically I could have got up to 95%.

I'm actually slightly surprised they allow balance transfers of less than £100. £100 has always been the minimum in my experience. Part of me is tempted to keep going with tiny transfers until I hit 95%, but I won't.

RG2015

Fingerbobs said:

RG2015 said:

I agree that it is complicated but I ended up with balance transfers of 94.95% of my credit limit of £4,000.

I was left with an available BT of £1.71 so theoretically I could have got up to 95%.

I'm actually slightly surprised they allow balance transfers of less than £100. £100 has always been the minimum in my experience. Part of me is tempted to keep going with tiny transfers until I hit 95%, but I won't.

My last two transfers were £82 and £28, although the £28 was after my first repayment of £25.

Fingerbobs

RG2015 said:

Fingerbobs said:

RG2015 said:

I agree that it is complicated but I ended up with balance transfers of 94.95% of my credit limit of £4,000.

I was left with an available BT of £1.71 so theoretically I could have got up to 95%.

I'm actually slightly surprised they allow balance transfers of less than £100. £100 has always been the minimum in my experience. Part of me is tempted to keep going with tiny transfers until I hit 95%, but I won't.

My last two transfers were £82 and £28, although the £28 was after my first repayment of £25.

That's exactly the plan that was forming in my mind - wait until after the first repayment then make one final transfer before the 60 days runs out.