Should I apply for a interest free Balance transfer card or wait?

Tr33house

I currently have a Santander CC with 0% until August this year.

I recently purchased a flat and now have a mortgage, and with that I will have to update my address on my credit file.

My previous address is my parents where I lived.

My question is do I apply for a new BT card now? or wait until August (when the balance will be less on the card and therefore the fee to transfer will be less) but my new living arrangments might make it harder to get credit?

Or would that help? 

CliveOfIndia

Ideally you want to be planning to pay off the 0% card by August - there's no guarantee that you'll be accepted for another BT card, whether you apply now or in August.

That aside, a change of address won't have a huge impact on your eligibility (it's when you change address several times over a short period that lenders tend to get jittery).

The much bigger factor will be your increased indebtedness due to the new mortgage - this will be taken into account when they run their affordability calculations.  So as far as it goes, it'll make little difference whether you apply now or in August.

Presumably you've already notified your current card issuer of your new address, along with all the other service providers who would need to know ?

daivid

I'd agree the move should make little difference, it may even help slightly as you would now be a homeowner and may be viewed slightly more favourably (though the increased monthly outgoings will presumably more than counteract that). You will need to declare your mortgage payment now and in August so no difference there.

When trying to continue 0% credit there is always a trade off between maximising use of the deal and the reassurance of getting the next one (plus minimising fees if applicable). There is no harm in using eligibility checkers (soft search only) to see what you would get now - always use the providers own eligibility checker before actually applying, MSE etc are fine for an idea of what cards are around. Personally if I got a good eligibility indicator for a 0% no fee card I would go for it now. It would be 7months 0% 'lost' but gives time to put things in order and wait before trying again. As CliveOfIndia says you need a plan for paying off as you may not get any 0% BT cards - the market is turbulent to say the least.

Brie

Not a recommendation and not answering your question but I have found that MBNA have the most frequent 0% deals.  So if you applied for one now and didn't use a deal immediately chances are that they will have another nearer to August.  At least that's what both me and the OH have found - they are always trying to lure us.

Tr33house

Right now my mortgage isn’t showing on my credit report so it could be easier to transfer it now rather than wait as has been stated the extra payments might reduce my chance of the 0% card. 

My issue is I’ll end up paying £300ish in BT fees which I feel is a bit on the stupid side. 

I already have a Barclaycard, Tesco and HSBC card so that reduces my options. There are all offering me interest free rates now on my existing cards (they all have zero balance) but the credit limits are not enough to transfer it all over AND we still have the 3% fee. 

CliveOfIndia

Tr33house said:

Right now my mortgage isn’t showing on my credit report

There's a couple of things to bear in mind here.  Firstly, not all lenders report to all 3 CRAs, so it's always a good idea to check all 3 of your credit reports.  Secondly, the free report that you see is not real-time (unlike the paid-for version that a lender will use), so it's possible that it has actually been registered but you just can't see it yet.

Tr33house said:

My issue is I’ll end up paying £300ish in BT fees which I feel is a bit on the stupid side.

If there's any way you're able to repay the debt before the 0% rate expires then this would obviously remove the need to pay the BT fee.

Easier said than done, I know !  But when you own your own property there are inevitably ongoing maintenance/repair costs that need to be budgeted for.  If you can start your home-ownership journey without the additional credit card debt hanging over you, it will make life a lot easier - as well as allowing you to start putting some money aside into an emergency fund to cover just such eventualities.

FarmGirl78

I'd say it's important to ensure you're on the electoral role at your new address first. Lots of companies will refuse credit to someone who isn't registered at their current address. This might take a couple of months depending how quick your local council are. You can check your credit file to see when it appears on there.