Balance Transfer - Advice

jen2015

Hi apologies if there’s an obvious answer here but I haven’t had to do a balance transfer in years. I have 3 credit cards:

- 1 - limit £8,300 - balance = £3822
- 2 - limit £2000 - balance = 0
- 3 - limit £1000 - balance = 0

CC 1 interest free period ends in 2 weeks & obviously I don’t want to pay interest so I’m wondering what’s best the west way to go about this? I’ve checked eligibility I'm pre-approved for a card with Capital One with a 2.9% transfer fee. NatWest are offering no fee on balance transfers but aren’t on eligibility calculators. I also had a situation in the last where a credit card lender offered to restart my interest free period as a gesture of goodwill, but aware lightning doesn’t always strike twice. My questions are:

Should I just ask my provider if they’ll extend the interest free period given the current cost of living crisis? If you don’t ask you don’t get and all that…

Before transferring should I cancel any of the above cards or reduce any limits?

When selecting a provider should I opt with the pre-approved / 95% chance on the eligibility calculators or risk applying with a lender with the best interest free period / transfer fee offer? My credit score is good.

Thanks in advance 🙂

QrizB

If you click through to NatWest, they have an eligibility check on their website before you get into the application process. You can check there whether they'll give you the zero-zero deal.

(I applied for a NatWest card earlier today. Went smoothly although the online ID check needed good lighting for my webcam and I ended up with my lpatop propped on the kitchen sink!)

th081

OP, call the two providers with a zero balance and see if they have a BT offer they can offer you. I would be wary about asking your current provider to extend your zero deal they might mark you down on your credit files and also jack up the rate you pay if they smell blood and go in for the kill.

grumbler

th081 said:

OP, call the two providers with a zero balance and see if they have a BT offer they can offer you.

For most CCs you can see offers in your online account or in the app.

grumbler

jen2015 said:

Before transferring should I cancel any of the above cards or reduce any limits?

This can make sense before applying, not before transferring, but takes time to show in your credit file(s). AFAIK, the information gets updated monthly, but you have less then 2 weeks left.