loan vs money transfer card

london1973

i’m researching loan options at the moment and have seen various references to money transfer cards (MTC) which to be honest i had never heard of before. Seems this could be a viable option but i’m not sure i completely understand 

First, are all credit cards money transfer cards, i.e have this functionality? Or are they very specific? When looking at card options on 3rd party sites, like clearscore, there doesn’t seem to be the option for a MTC when applying, just ‘credit cards’ -so i wondered if they are one and the same thing?

Secondly are they easier to obtain than loans?, i seem to get constantly inundated with card offers and have never had a problem getting approved, at quite punchy credit limits
too (had a lloyds card approved with a 4k limit a few months ago)- less so with loan offers- or are they technically considered to be loans by lenders/issuers

As always any insights gratefully received, no advice on borrowing and debt please, i realise it is very well meaning but i am only researching options and really just looking for answers 

thanks so much for anyone who can help, i really appreciate it, very informative place this

CliveOfIndia

This article has some useful information: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/money-transfers/

london1973 said:

First, are all credit cards money transfer cards, i.e have this functionality?

Most of the major cards offer a MT option - though it's not available to all customers all of the time, it'll depend to a large extent on your credit history and their current marketing strategy.

MT cards can be useful for relatively short-term borrowing.  There's usually a one-off fee to pay (expressed as a percentage of the amount you transfer), but overall it's usually cheaper than a loan.

But the 0% (or low-percent) offer usually only lasts for a relatively short space of time (12 months, for instance, though it will vary from one card to another).  You must make the minimum payment every month for the duration of the offer, and you really need to pay off the full amount when the promotional rate expires - otherwise any remaining balance will start to attract interest at the card's standard APR.

You may be able to transfer any remaining balance to another card by doing a balance transfer - but it would be very unwise to just assume you'll be able to do so.

The other thing to bear in mind is that the amount you can transfer will be dependent upon the credit limit they give you - this is likely to be much lower than the sum you could potentially get via a standard personal loan.

london1973

brilliant and thanks