Multiple 0% balance transfer cards

Chapfh

Hello everyone!  newbie here

We have some debt on credit cards and are looking to move to a/some balance transfer cards but have a couple of questions:

If we continuously apply for/move balances, does this negatively affect our credit rating?

Would it be advised to use multiple balance transfer cards if we are only offered lower credit limits than the amount we wish to move from previous cards, in order to have the whole or as much of the balance as possible on 0% transfer cards?

Hope all of this makes sense 

Thank you very much 

MorningcoffeeIV

The searches and accounts will appear on one or more of your files. Lenders will draw their own conclusions. You have no independent 'credit rating'.  The main priority is to ensure that your debt goes down and not up.

Accept any cards you are offered and move what you can

amanda1024

Making lots of credit card applications in a short amount of time can give a bad impression. It might be worth trying to see which are most likely to accept you with the highest amount of credit per card (I think the MSE eligibility checker has a field for this)

CliveOfIndia

Making lots of applications will result in your credit score dropping.  Thankfully, the score you see on your credit report is utterly meaningless, and can safely be ignored.

But lots of searches in a short space of time can be a bad thing - bluntly put, it makes you appear as if you're desperate for credit.

As MorningCoffee says, each hard search will be visible to any lender who views your credit file.  What each lender will make of it is anyone's guess - each lender will have their own, different, lending criteria.  These criteria are confidential and commercially sensitive, so you'll never know what they are.

But the general consensus is that a couple of searches in a short space of time is OK, more than that and lenders start to get a bit jittery.

So yes, do a few eligibility checks first, make a couple of applications to the ones that you've got a decent chance of being accepted for, and just shift what you can.

Nasqueron

If by "we" you mean a couple with debts in your own names, then it's generally safe to do 2 applications each in close proximity, after that it's not a good idea as it sets off warning flags that something is wrong or you're desperate or about to run up a load of debt and run with it. After that wait around 3-6 months.

I'd accept anything you get given lenders will look both at your income and your existing debt plus possible future debt (as you could use the credit cards for spending not transfers) and make the decision.

No harm in using a checker like the MSE one and see what they suggest but I would then do a proper check on the bank website preferably one with a soft search - most do this I believe - before applying, no use MSE telling you you're 100% pre-approved for something, doing a hard search and the bank saying nope

Superhoopza

MorningcoffeeIV said:

The searches and accounts will appear on one or more of your files. Lenders will draw their own conclusions. You have no independent 'credit rating'.  The main priority is to ensure that your debt goes down and not up.

Accept any cards you are offered and move what you can

Counter to that, maybe don't accept a card with a very short term BT time and very small limit, if you believe giving it a few months may allow you to get a deal with a provider that has a longer term and higher credit limit, as accepting the lower rate 'may' hurt your chance of getting that better deal. No one knows for sure though.

Chapfh

Thank you all very much for helping with this; am sure will have more questions in the future!

This really is a great resource, very happy to have signed up

Nasqueron

Superhoopza said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

The searches and accounts will appear on one or more of your files. Lenders will draw their own conclusions. You have no independent 'credit rating'.  The main priority is to ensure that your debt goes down and not up.

Accept any cards you are offered and move what you can

Counter to that, maybe don't accept a card with a very short term BT time and very small limit, if you believe giving it a few months may allow you to get a deal with a provider that has a longer term and higher credit limit, as accepting the lower rate 'may' hurt your chance of getting that better deal. No one knows for sure though.

The shortest ones around for bad credit history people are 6-9 months but even then, the interest saved could well be significant and allow them to pay down other debts - after 9 months, reduced debt will look a lot better than struggling on and paying interest and having higher debts

daivid

Nasqueron said:

Superhoopza said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

The searches and accounts will appear on one or more of your files. Lenders will draw their own conclusions. You have no independent 'credit rating'.  The main priority is to ensure that your debt goes down and not up.

Accept any cards you are offered and move what you can

Counter to that, maybe don't accept a card with a very short term BT time and very small limit, if you believe giving it a few months may allow you to get a deal with a provider that has a longer term and higher credit limit, as accepting the lower rate 'may' hurt your chance of getting that better deal. No one knows for sure though.

The shortest ones around for bad credit history people are 6-9 months but even then, the interest saved could well be significant and allow them to pay down other debts - after 9 months, reduced debt will look a lot better than struggling on and paying interest and having higher debts

I would agree- take what one can get to cut interest - there’s no guarantee of getting anything better later, they may still not want you or all the deals may have dried up as they have a few times in the last 5ish years. Superhoopza's point about very small limits has some merit, but with (I believe) most providers you don’t know the limit until you have been approved at which point the impact to your credit history has happened. If it is one of the providers that gives the limit at the soft search then if it is extremely low with a short period then there may be merit in passing on it. But if i was paying standard APR the limit would have to be pitiful and term very short (a couple of hundred for much less than a year, say) for me to think about turning it down.

Superhoopza

daivid said:

Nasqueron said:

Superhoopza said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

The searches and accounts will appear on one or more of your files. Lenders will draw their own conclusions. You have no independent 'credit rating'.  The main priority is to ensure that your debt goes down and not up.

Accept any cards you are offered and move what you can

Counter to that, maybe don't accept a card with a very short term BT time and very small limit, if you believe giving it a few months may allow you to get a deal with a provider that has a longer term and higher credit limit, as accepting the lower rate 'may' hurt your chance of getting that better deal. No one knows for sure though.

The shortest ones around for bad credit history people are 6-9 months but even then, the interest saved could well be significant and allow them to pay down other debts - after 9 months, reduced debt will look a lot better than struggling on and paying interest and having higher debts

I would agree- take what one can get to cut interest - there’s no guarantee of getting anything better later, they may still not want you or all the deals may have dried up as they have a few times in the last 5ish years. Superhoopza's point about very small limits has some merit, but with (I believe) most providers you don’t know the limit until you have been approved at which point the impact to your credit history has happened. If it is one of the providers that gives the limit at the soft search then if it is extremely low with a short period then there may be merit in passing on it. But if i was paying standard APR the limit would have to be pitiful and term very short (a couple of hundred for much less than a year, say) for me to think about turning it down.

The ones I was talking about were the likes of your Zopa which is between £600-£1000 balance transfer for 6 months. So even at 30%+ APR you're only saving £100 on interest for the impact of having a fresh account, fresh hard search and more credit available added to your file. 

If we're talking £1500+ and over 12 months, then we start to see a significant impact on having the card, even if it is for a limit lower than needed. Just wanted to clarify that for the OP and other readers.

I'm finding more providers are starting to tell you your limit during soft searches now, but not all. It's an encouraging practice.

Nasqueron

Superhoopza said:

daivid said:

Nasqueron said:

Superhoopza said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

The searches and accounts will appear on one or more of your files. Lenders will draw their own conclusions. You have no independent 'credit rating'.  The main priority is to ensure that your debt goes down and not up.

Accept any cards you are offered and move what you can

Counter to that, maybe don't accept a card with a very short term BT time and very small limit, if you believe giving it a few months may allow you to get a deal with a provider that has a longer term and higher credit limit, as accepting the lower rate 'may' hurt your chance of getting that better deal. No one knows for sure though.

The shortest ones around for bad credit history people are 6-9 months but even then, the interest saved could well be significant and allow them to pay down other debts - after 9 months, reduced debt will look a lot better than struggling on and paying interest and having higher debts

I would agree- take what one can get to cut interest - there’s no guarantee of getting anything better later, they may still not want you or all the deals may have dried up as they have a few times in the last 5ish years. Superhoopza's point about very small limits has some merit, but with (I believe) most providers you don’t know the limit until you have been approved at which point the impact to your credit history has happened. If it is one of the providers that gives the limit at the soft search then if it is extremely low with a short period then there may be merit in passing on it. But if i was paying standard APR the limit would have to be pitiful and term very short (a couple of hundred for much less than a year, say) for me to think about turning it down.

The ones I was talking about were the likes of your Zopa which is between £600-£1000 balance transfer for 6 months. So even at 30%+ APR you're only saving £100 on interest for the impact of having a fresh account, fresh hard search and more credit available added to your file. 

If we're talking £1500+ and over 12 months, then we start to see a significant impact on having the card, even if it is for a limit lower than needed. Just wanted to clarify that for the OP and other readers.

I'm finding more providers are starting to tell you your limit during soft searches now, but not all. It's an encouraging practice.

Saving £100 of interest on £1000 debt is a crazily good offer, no-one wanting to hit their debts would turn that down. Another credit check in 6 months is not a big deal, even 3-4 months isn't a major problem let alone 6 AFTER having a good chunk of debt paid down with the interest saved