Hard check for balance transfer to existing CC

Pinkfluffygem

Hi, my partner and I are actively house hunting (FTB) and hope to apply for a mortgage in the coming months.  I have a credit card balance of around £1300 currently paying off via a 0% balance transfer with M&S.  I've realised that my 0% offer with M&S ends in June but i'd like to avoid paying interest if possible.  Having read guides on here about prepping to get a mortgage, I want to avoid applying for another 0% balance transfer due to the hard search on my credit file pre-mortgage application and also wonder how appealing i'd be to other credit cards if I apply soon after getting a mortgage.  However, I still have a Virgin credit card open with nothing on it from a previous balance transfer.  They are still offering me a 0% balance transfer for 12 months.  My question is, if I apply to transfer my balance to Virgin, will Virgin do a hard credit check given that I already have the credit available with them?  Thanks!

marcia_

 I have never had a hard search carried out by a current credit card when using a transfer offer. My last transfer was from virgin to M&S 

grumpy_codger

Pinkfluffygem said:

They are still offering me a 0% balance transfer for 12 months.  My question is, if I apply to transfer my balance to Virgin, will Virgin do a hard credit check given that I already have the credit available with them?  

My understanding of the word 'apply' is that it means you can be either accepted or rejected.
If they offer it, this means that it's you who can either accept the offer or ignore it. 
Correct?
If so, why on earth would they do any check, let alone a hard one?

Pinkfluffygem

Thanks @marcia_
Out of interest, did you already have the M&S card open?

CliveOfIndia

Pinkfluffygem said:

They are still offering me a 0% balance transfer for 12 months. 

I think the important point is whether the offer is still open to you - how long ago did they offer you the deal, and was there a fixed time period during which you could make a transfer?

If the offer is still "live", so to speak, then just go ahead and make the transfer.  The one thing you do need to watch is how long you'll get on the 0% deal.  Very often the terms will stipulate something like "12 months from the date of account opening", irrespective of when the transfer is actually done.  But if you already have the card and this is a new offer, just check when the offer runs from - is it 12 months from when you make the transfer, or 12 months from when the offer was made?

marcia_

Pinkfluffygem said:

Thanks @marcia_
Out of interest, did you already have the M&S card open?

 Yes both cards open i use them to bounce between 0% offers 

Pinkfluffygem

Thanks all virgin sent me an email a couple of days ago with the 0% offer for 12 months so I'm assuming it's now until this time next year. I'll give them a call I think to find out the deal. Appreciate all your input

martinbainbridge1975

you should be able to see offers in the app, virgin have sent me an offer for 12 months from december 24 to december 25 with a 4% fee