Advice on balance transfers for existing debt on two credit cards

cydonian74

Hi. I have two balances on two existing credit cards that have both come out of their respective promo periods some time ago and the interest has ramped up considerably.
My MBNA card has £7802 on it and my Halifax card has £5979 on it. Both are in the mid 20% Apr bracket, but I have 'room' on each to transfer the balance from each to each other card. My question is how do I go about doing it? 
Do I arrange a balance transfer from the app for each respective card on the same day? 
I had thought of transfering one balance to the other card and then transfering the whole amount back to the other, previous card, as that has a better 0% term, but I'm not sure that's possible? Would that get kicked back/denied as part of the balance previously came from that card? Am I getting this all wrong in the first place? Help would be appreciated!
PS:- I'm aware that both MBNA and Halifax fall under the Lloyds umbrella, but I'm pretty sure that currently their card services are seen as separate brands for the time being so transfers are permitted currently I believe, but again stand to be corrected if I'm wrong too.

Thanks in advance.

grumbler

cydonian74 said:

Hi. I have two balances on two existing credit cards that have both come out of their respective promo periods some time ago and the interest has ramped up considerably.
My MBNA card has £7802 on it and my Halifax card has £5979 on it. Both are in the mid 20% Apr bracket, but I have 'room' on each to transfer the balance from each to each other card.

Do you know that typically the BT limit is lower than the credit limit?

My question is how do I go about doing it? 
Do I arrange a balance transfer from the app for each respective card on the same day? 
I had thought of transfering one balance to the other card and then transfering the whole amount back to the other, previous card, as that has a better 0% term, but I'm not sure that's possible?

I don't see any problems with this, except it will cost you a lot in terms of BT fees. Also, don't do this on the same day - wait until the first BT is completed before initiating the reverse one.

cydonian74

Hello. Yes the BT limit isn't as much as the credit limit but I have enough 'just' to do it. Rate for BT is 3.5% so not ideal plus I can only do 12 months @ 0%

Might I be better trying to get a loan albeit not 0%? Or perhaps apply for a different balance transfer card with a longer 0% period(although I think I'd struggle to get a credit limit high enough to swallow that lot?)

What do you think?

Thank you.

Ebe_Scrooge

cydonian74 said:

Might I be better trying to get a loan albeit not 0%?

Probably not.  Consolidation loans rarely work unless you're super-disciplined - disciplined enough to not go spending on the cards again as soon as you've cleared them, and disciplined enough to address the root cause of the debt rather than just treating the symptoms.  Added to which, any lender has to take the view that if they lend you money, this will be in addition to rather than instead of your existing debt (since they can't guarantee you'll actually use the loan to repay the debt).  So their affordability calculations may scupper that plan anyway.

cydonian74 said:

Or perhaps apply for a different balance transfer card with a longer 0% period(although I think I'd struggle to get a credit limit high enough to swallow that lot?)

It's worth a try, though like you say, you may well struggle to get a high enough limit.  But even if you're able to transfer part of the debt to 0%, that would help.  But you then have to make absolutely sure you'll be able to repay the debt in full by the time the 0% promotional rate expires.

cydonian74 said:

What do you think?

If you're able to reduce the amount of interest you're paying by whatever means, this will obviously help.  But you really need to be paying down the debt itself, rather than just kicking it down the road for a few months.  It's entirely possible that in six months or a year, the financial landscape in general may have changed dramatically, and you could find yourself with no more 0% or low-rate offers available.

born_again

cydonian74 said:

Hi. I have two balances on two existing credit cards that have both come out of their respective promo periods some time ago and the interest has ramped up considerably.
My MBNA card has £7802 on it and my Halifax card has £5979 on it. Both are in the mid 20% Apr bracket, but I have 'room' on each to transfer the balance from each to each other card. My question is how do I go about doing it? 
Do I arrange a balance transfer from the app for each respective card on the same day? 
I had thought of transfering one balance to the other card and then transfering the whole amount back to the other, previous card, as that has a better 0% term, but I'm not sure that's possible? Would that get kicked back/denied as part of the balance previously came from that card? Am I getting this all wrong in the first place? Help would be appreciated!
PS:- I'm aware that both MBNA and Halifax fall under the Lloyds umbrella, but I'm pretty sure that currently their card services are seen as separate brands for the time being so transfers are permitted currently I believe, but again stand to be corrected if I'm wrong too.

Thanks in advance.

If you can do it. 
Focus your plan on paying off the debt within the 0% period, but that is over £1K a month, can you afford that? Do not use card for any other spending.
Close other account, to stop further spending.

Maybe have a look at debt board & do a statement of affairs. Before it gets worse.