Barclaycard 0% money transfer question- direct debit

tg99

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

ryaneberry

The minimum payments (normally 1% or 2.5%) will be of the £10k plus any fees

First month will probably be £260 + £100 or £250 (1% / 2.5%)

Second and each month after that will then be £99 (1% * 99% of £10k) or £243.75 (2.5% * 97.5% of £10k)

Don't make any purchases on the card, otherwise they need to be manually paid off each month or you'll be chargedinterest on the whole balance.

tg99

ryaneberry said:

The minimum payments (normally 1% or 2.5%) will be of the £10k plus any fees

First month will probably be £260 + £100 or £250 (1% / 2.5%)

Second and each month after that will then be £99 (1% * 99% of £10k) or £243.75 (2.5% * 97.5% of £10k)

Don't make any purchases on the card, otherwise they need to be manually paid off each month or you'll be chargedinterest on the whole balance.

Looks like the fee is actually added to the promotional balance at 0% so guessing first monthly min payment will be the min payment % used by Barclaycard (poss 2.25% according to their repayment calculator though this apparently can differ across products) of the £10260 total. 

I probably won’t make any purchases going forward but if I do I believe these will effectively be covered in the minimum payment unless they are big purchases, eg £40 purchase takes balance to £10,300 and this would easily within whatever the monthly min payment is.

surreysaver

tg99 said:

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

Don't mix and match a promotional balance with a non-promotional balance.  You'll end up paying interest from the date of purchase, rather than the date of the statement.
There's plenty of threads on here of where people have been caught out by it.
Keep spending and Stoozing separate.  Unless you're using a 0% purchases card to build up a balance in the first place.

Sea_Shell

Glad I just found this thread, as i've been offered 0% cash transfer until 1.3.23 for a 2.6% fee.

BUT, it is on a card that I use.   

I think i'll pass.   

I was tempted, as you can get over 4% on 1 yr fixed term accounts.     I'd forgotten about the minimum payment "issues".

surreysaver

Sea_Shell said:

Glad I just found this thread, as i've been offered 0% cash transfer until 1.3.23 for a 2.6% fee.

BUT, it is on a card that I use.   

I think i'll pass.   

I was tempted, as you can get over 4% on 1 yr fixed term accounts.     I'd forgotten about the minimum payment "issues".

I find that Barclaycard offer me money and balance transfers practically every month. It might be worth you clearing your balance and see if there's an offer you can partake from a month or so afterwards 

zagfles

surreysaver said:

tg99 said:

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

Don't mix and match a promotional balance with a non-promotional balance.  You'll end up paying interest from the date of purchase, rather than the date of the statement.
There's plenty of threads on here of where people have been caught out by it.
Keep spending and Stoozing separate.  Unless you're using a 0% purchases card to build up a balance in the first place.

Has anyone tried this with Barclaycard, ie mixing a 0% balance/cash transfer with a card used for purchases? The BC terms say that if you pay your main balance excluding promotional 0% balance by the due date there is no interest.

So if you have a balance transfer offer on a BC you use, then AIUI you can make purchases, and as long as you pay off the purchase balance by the due date there is no interest. Seems to be confirmed here: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/interest-free-period

So I think this is right:

tg99 said:

I probably won’t make any purchases going forward but if I do I believe these will effectively be covered in the minimum payment unless they are big purchases, eg £40 purchase takes balance to £10,300 and this would easily within whatever the monthly min payment is.

as it would seem from the terms (rather than the example on the BC page above) that as long as the minimum payment covers the purchases then that's all you should need to pay to avoid interest, as payments are allocated to the highest interest balances first.

I'm thinking of trying it on my new Rewards card which I only use for foreign spending/cash as it's fee free, so not my main card, and setting the DD set to pay the minimum. If my spending exceeds the min payment then make a manual payment to cover spending.

It's probably worth deliberately spending up to the min payment anyway as that way you effectively get 0% on the whole balance transfer for the whole period, rather than the 0% balance reducing every month with the min payment.

surreysaver

zagfles said:

surreysaver said:

tg99 said:

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

Don't mix and match a promotional balance with a non-promotional balance.  You'll end up paying interest from the date of purchase, rather than the date of the statement.
There's plenty of threads on here of where people have been caught out by it.
Keep spending and Stoozing separate.  Unless you're using a 0% purchases card to build up a balance in the first place.

Has anyone tried this with Barclaycard, ie mixing a 0% balance/cash transfer with a card used for purchases? The BC terms say that if you pay your main balance excluding promotional 0% balance by the due date there is no interest.

So if you have a balance transfer offer on a BC you use, then AIUI you can make purchases, and as long as you pay off the purchase balance by the due date there is no interest. Seems to be confirmed here: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/interest-free-period

So I think this is right:

tg99 said:

I probably won’t make any purchases going forward but if I do I believe these will effectively be covered in the minimum payment unless they are big purchases, eg £40 purchase takes balance to £10,300 and this would easily within whatever the monthly min payment is.

as it would seem from the terms (rather than the example on the BC page above) that as long as the minimum payment covers the purchases then that's all you should need to pay to avoid interest, as payments are allocated to the highest interest balances first.

I'm thinking of trying it on my new Rewards card which I only use for foreign spending/cash as it's fee free, so not my main card, and setting the DD set to pay the minimum. If my spending exceeds the min payment then make a manual payment to cover spending.

It's probably worth deliberately spending up to the min payment anyway as that way you effectively get 0% on the whole balance transfer for the whole period, rather than the 0% balance reducing every month with the min payment.

Yes, I think you're right as I've now got two different money transfers on my Barclaycard with different expiry dates, so I have studied the T&Cs a lot more closely and may well be worth spending up to my minimum payment each month to take advantage of this. I also get 0.5% cashback with my Barclaycard, so will still earn that.
Its still obviously better not to mix and match to keep things simple, unless you're 100% certain you understand the T&Cs!

surreysaver

surreysaver said:

zagfles said:

surreysaver said:

tg99 said:

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

Don't mix and match a promotional balance with a non-promotional balance.  You'll end up paying interest from the date of purchase, rather than the date of the statement.
There's plenty of threads on here of where people have been caught out by it.
Keep spending and Stoozing separate.  Unless you're using a 0% purchases card to build up a balance in the first place.

Has anyone tried this with Barclaycard, ie mixing a 0% balance/cash transfer with a card used for purchases? The BC terms say that if you pay your main balance excluding promotional 0% balance by the due date there is no interest.

So if you have a balance transfer offer on a BC you use, then AIUI you can make purchases, and as long as you pay off the purchase balance by the due date there is no interest. Seems to be confirmed here: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/interest-free-period

So I think this is right:

tg99 said:

I probably won’t make any purchases going forward but if I do I believe these will effectively be covered in the minimum payment unless they are big purchases, eg £40 purchase takes balance to £10,300 and this would easily within whatever the monthly min payment is.

as it would seem from the terms (rather than the example on the BC page above) that as long as the minimum payment covers the purchases then that's all you should need to pay to avoid interest, as payments are allocated to the highest interest balances first.

I'm thinking of trying it on my new Rewards card which I only use for foreign spending/cash as it's fee free, so not my main card, and setting the DD set to pay the minimum. If my spending exceeds the min payment then make a manual payment to cover spending.

It's probably worth deliberately spending up to the min payment anyway as that way you effectively get 0% on the whole balance transfer for the whole period, rather than the 0% balance reducing every month with the min payment.

Yes, I think you're right as I've now got two different money transfers on my Barclaycard with different expiry dates, so I have studied the T&Cs a lot more closely and may well be worth spending up to my minimum payment each month to take advantage of this. I also get 0.5% cashback with my Barclaycard, so will still earn that.
Its still obviously better not to mix and match to keep things simple, unless you're 100% certain you understand the T&Cs!

Actually, having read the page you've linked to, it says you need to pay the balance off in full as well as the minimum for the balance transfer. So its not clear at all in the example on that page

zagfles

surreysaver said:

surreysaver said:

zagfles said:

surreysaver said:

tg99 said:

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

Don't mix and match a promotional balance with a non-promotional balance.  You'll end up paying interest from the date of purchase, rather than the date of the statement.
There's plenty of threads on here of where people have been caught out by it.
Keep spending and Stoozing separate.  Unless you're using a 0% purchases card to build up a balance in the first place.

Has anyone tried this with Barclaycard, ie mixing a 0% balance/cash transfer with a card used for purchases? The BC terms say that if you pay your main balance excluding promotional 0% balance by the due date there is no interest.

So if you have a balance transfer offer on a BC you use, then AIUI you can make purchases, and as long as you pay off the purchase balance by the due date there is no interest. Seems to be confirmed here: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/interest-free-period

So I think this is right:

tg99 said:

I probably won’t make any purchases going forward but if I do I believe these will effectively be covered in the minimum payment unless they are big purchases, eg £40 purchase takes balance to £10,300 and this would easily within whatever the monthly min payment is.

as it would seem from the terms (rather than the example on the BC page above) that as long as the minimum payment covers the purchases then that's all you should need to pay to avoid interest, as payments are allocated to the highest interest balances first.

I'm thinking of trying it on my new Rewards card which I only use for foreign spending/cash as it's fee free, so not my main card, and setting the DD set to pay the minimum. If my spending exceeds the min payment then make a manual payment to cover spending.

It's probably worth deliberately spending up to the min payment anyway as that way you effectively get 0% on the whole balance transfer for the whole period, rather than the 0% balance reducing every month with the min payment.

Yes, I think you're right as I've now got two different money transfers on my Barclaycard with different expiry dates, so I have studied the T&Cs a lot more closely and may well be worth spending up to my minimum payment each month to take advantage of this. I also get 0.5% cashback with my Barclaycard, so will still earn that.
Its still obviously better not to mix and match to keep things simple, unless you're 100% certain you understand the T&Cs!

Actually, having read the page you've linked to, it says you need to pay the balance off in full as well as the minimum for the balance transfer. So its not clear at all in the example on that page

The example is a bit rubbish, it implies there's a separate min payment for the promotional balance which is not what it says in the terms. The min payment is based on a % of the "main balance" which includes promotional balance (ie 0% balance transfers). The only thing the "main balance" doesn't include is "installment plan" balance, this appears to be some feature to get an HP type loan on a big purchase which is paid off separately to normal payments.  

So when you get your statement, say it consists of a £5000 balance transfer at 0% and £100 of purchases. Total £5100. Min payment (on my card anyway) would be 2.25% of this ie £114.75. Paid by DD set to min payment.

According to allocation of payments sequence, the highest interest stuff is paid off first, ie the purchases. £114 is more than the £100 of purchases so they should be fully covered by the min payment. The terms say you get the "up to 56 days interest free" if you pay off your main balance excluding any promotional 0% balance in full every month by the due date.

So I reckon with a £5000 0% balance transfer you should be able to spend a bit over £100 and let the min payment DD take care of it and pay no interest. I will test it, worst case a few £ in interest if I've misunderstood, but I'll complain if I get charged.

One thing to watch out for is that BC say extra payments will reduce the min payment DD, so if you've spent a bit more than the min payment you'll need to pay the whole lot rather than just top up the min payment. Unless you do it just before the DD date when it's too late for them to reduce it!

The other way is obviously to cancel the DD and do manual payments of the greater of min payment and spending. But that loses the safety net of the DD and if you forget you'll lose the 0% rate...

I had intended to simplify my finances

tg99

zagfles said:

surreysaver said:

surreysaver said:

zagfles said:

surreysaver said:

tg99 said:

Hi,

If I do a money transfer of say £10k from my Barclaycard to my bank account to take advantage of the 0% rate (albeit there is a 2.6% fee), what is the best way to arrange my direct debit each month to avoid paying off as much as the interest free debt (ie the £10k plus £260 fee) until the end of the promo period? I only spend a little on my card each month (a few £ or so as it’s not my main card) and currently have my monthly direct debit set to pay the monthly statement balance in full each month. However, if I leave it like that then am I correct that the direct debit for the first month after my money transfer would be for the full balance inc the money transfer balance so over £10k? And therefore should I set my direct debit to just pay off the min balance each month? I was wondering if there was a way of setting the direct debit to pay the full balance excluding the 0% money transfer balance each month but could not see an option to do this unless I start doing manual payments (but I need the DD for cashback purposes). Thanks.

Don't mix and match a promotional balance with a non-promotional balance.  You'll end up paying interest from the date of purchase, rather than the date of the statement.
There's plenty of threads on here of where people have been caught out by it.
Keep spending and Stoozing separate.  Unless you're using a 0% purchases card to build up a balance in the first place.

Has anyone tried this with Barclaycard, ie mixing a 0% balance/cash transfer with a card used for purchases? The BC terms say that if you pay your main balance excluding promotional 0% balance by the due date there is no interest.

So if you have a balance transfer offer on a BC you use, then AIUI you can make purchases, and as long as you pay off the purchase balance by the due date there is no interest. Seems to be confirmed here: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/interest-free-period

So I think this is right:

tg99 said:

I probably won’t make any purchases going forward but if I do I believe these will effectively be covered in the minimum payment unless they are big purchases, eg £40 purchase takes balance to £10,300 and this would easily within whatever the monthly min payment is.

as it would seem from the terms (rather than the example on the BC page above) that as long as the minimum payment covers the purchases then that's all you should need to pay to avoid interest, as payments are allocated to the highest interest balances first.

I'm thinking of trying it on my new Rewards card which I only use for foreign spending/cash as it's fee free, so not my main card, and setting the DD set to pay the minimum. If my spending exceeds the min payment then make a manual payment to cover spending.

It's probably worth deliberately spending up to the min payment anyway as that way you effectively get 0% on the whole balance transfer for the whole period, rather than the 0% balance reducing every month with the min payment.

Yes, I think you're right as I've now got two different money transfers on my Barclaycard with different expiry dates, so I have studied the T&Cs a lot more closely and may well be worth spending up to my minimum payment each month to take advantage of this. I also get 0.5% cashback with my Barclaycard, so will still earn that.
Its still obviously better not to mix and match to keep things simple, unless you're 100% certain you understand the T&Cs!

Actually, having read the page you've linked to, it says you need to pay the balance off in full as well as the minimum for the balance transfer. So its not clear at all in the example on that page

The example is a bit rubbish, it implies there's a separate min payment for the promotional balance which is not what it says in the terms. The min payment is based on a % of the "main balance" which includes promotional balance (ie 0% balance transfers). The only thing the "main balance" doesn't include is "installment plan" balance, this appears to be some feature to get an HP type loan on a big purchase which is paid off separately to normal payments.  

So when you get your statement, say it consists of a £5000 balance transfer at 0% and £100 of purchases. Total £5100. Min payment (on my card anyway) would be 2.25% of this ie £114.75. Paid by DD set to min payment.

According to allocation of payments sequence, the highest interest stuff is paid off first, ie the purchases. £114 is more than the £100 of purchases so they should be fully covered by the min payment. The terms say you get the "up to 56 days interest free" if you pay off your main balance excluding any promotional 0% balance in full every month by the due date.

So I reckon with a £5000 0% balance transfer you should be able to spend a bit over £100 and let the min payment DD take care of it and pay no interest. I will test it, worst case a few £ in interest if I've misunderstood, but I'll complain if I get charged.

One thing to watch out for is that BC say extra payments will reduce the min payment DD, so if you've spent a bit more than the min payment you'll need to pay the whole lot rather than just top up the min payment. Unless you do it just before the DD date when it's too late for them to reduce it!

The other way is obviously to cancel the DD and do manual payments of the greater of min payment and spending. But that loses the safety net of the DD and if you forget you'll lose the 0% rate...

I had intended to simplify my finances

Yes this was my understanding of it as per the bit of my original post you quoted - I subsequently confirmed this was correct on the phone to Barclaycard. Since I did the money transfer though Ive not spent on the card so not tested it in practice. Just been paying by monthly DD setting it to a couple of pounds above the minimum payment.