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Exact dates when 0% BT period ends

Hi all.

I'm looking to do a BT next month and I'm not sure how different cards work. Specifically, if a card says for example 12 months 0% BT and I do the transfer today 28th March, will the 0% period expire after a year on the 28th ? Or is it usually on the last day of a calendar month?

I've used 2 money transfer offers on my Barclaycard and in both cases their 0% periods ended at the end of a calendar month.

I've also used 0% purchases on Lloyds CC, but I opened the account on the 1st of the month, so I'm not sure if that's the reason the 0% interest also ends on the 1st or if it would still end of the 1st even if I applied let's say on the 15th?

If it works the way I think, then it's probably better to wait till the 1st April and take whatever latest offer pops out? Is my question clear enough?  :D
 
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Comments

  • Alex9384
    Alex9384 Posts: 962 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    To clarify a bit: Is applying for a BT on the 28th March same thing as applying on the 1st March? That's how it works with DVLA road tax. You buy your car on the 28th March, but next year you need to renew on the 1st March, not 28th March, so you paid for a month when you almost didn't use your car at all, basically you lost 1 month. Better to buy a car at the beginning of the month? Is it same with most credit cards?
     
    EPICA - the best symphonic metal band in the world !
     
  • It varies by provider, like fixed rate mortgages. It may be end of month, a specific date or statement date.
  • Marchitiello
    Marchitiello Posts: 1,275 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 29 March 2023 at 1:01PM
    The opening day of the account is more relevant than when you actually do the balance transfer.  

    So if you opened you account today 29/03, you potentially will have 60-90 days to do your balance transfers, and if you did you LT BT closer to the 90th day, you would have only approximately 9 months rather than 12 (as per OP example).

    I never looked to closely at the exact date but I think it is usual to start the clock on card opening date (some of my current one all fall on odd dates that are neither the statement date nor the first/last day of the month).
  • redux
    redux Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 29 March 2023 at 9:16AM
    I think it runs to the exact anniversary (or the day before), not the statement before or after.

    So pay it off a day or two before expiry.

    Or if there is also another balance transfer there that incurs low (e.g. 3 to 5%) interest, pay the expiring one off the day after the statement (or late the same evening). This would ensure the payment goes against the expiring and now higher rate, rather than the low one.

    Most but not all banks show the expiry in the summary on the statement. If not, ring them up and ask, and write it on one yourself.
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