Paying Off Purchase Before Balance Transfer

tommyG90

Hello, newbie here and apologies if my question doesn't fully make sense! 

I have a credit card where the 0% interest rate on balance transfers remains for 20 months but the 0% on purchases expires next month... I have signed up for a new credit card with 12 months 0% on balance transfers. Can I do a balance transfer on to the new credit card for only the balance I have from purchases (where the 0% is about to expire). If so, how do I select which part of the existing credit card balance is transferred? 

Nasqueron

You can do a BT, the BT payment should go to the debt with either the highest interest or the one that will end soonest, but you can't force it, as it's done automatically. It might be worth speaking to the issuer and explain you want to make a payment (don't complicate it by bringing in BT) and need to know which balance it will go to

molerat

You need to read the t&cs re payment order as it varies from card to card how they pay off balances whilst still in the promo period.  Otherwise the only sure fire way is to wait until the promo period has ended. Which card is it ?

tommyG90

Thanks for the responses. I'm currently away so don't have the card copy T&C's and they're not in the documents on my online banking annoyingly. It's a Barclaycard Platinum if that helps? 

molerat

To reduce your main balance (your statement balance less any instalment plan balance). We’ll start with the balances charged at the highest interest rate first and then reduce the lower-rate balances. If you have more than one promotional balance at the same interest rate, we’ll use your payment to reduce the balance with the promotional rate that ends first.

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/terms

CliveOfIndia

According to the T&Cs on their website https://www.barclays.co.uk/content/dam/barclaycard/documents/personal/existing-customers/terms-and-conditions-barclaycard-core-2023.pdf

"How we allocate payments
If a payment you make is less than your total outstanding
balance as shown on your statement, we’ll use it as follows:
• If you have any instalment plans on your account, to
make any instalment plan payments due for that month.
• To reduce your main balance (your statement balance
less any instalment plan balance). We’ll start with the
balances charged at the highest interest rate first and
then reduce the lower-rate balances. If you have more
than one promotional balance at the same interest rate,
we’ll use your payment to reduce the balance with the
promotional rate that ends first."

Hope this helps

zagfles

But be careful because payments will always go towards statemented balances before unstatemented. 

So as an example, if your last statement was on 1st Aug, and it had £3000 balance transfer balance, and £2000 purchases balance. Total £5000.

Since 1st August you made £500 more purchases. 

If you do a balance transfer to another card on 20th August and transfer £2500 thinking that'll pay off your purchase balance, you'd be wrong. The £2500 will pay off the balances on your 1st Aug statement in the order mentioned in the PP,  so the £2000 purchases balance and £500 of the balance transfer balance.

The £500 unstatemented purchase balance will not be paid. And it can't be paid until either it is statemented or the entire statemented balance is paid off. 

So if you want to pay off your entire purchase balance but not the BT balance, you can't make any purchases in the period between your last statement date and the balance transfer to the new card.