Low fee or no fee?

kezzygirl

I have posted recently about this and only received one response. I have 7k to balance transfer- the 0% finishes in September. I have various preapproved offers, though the no fee santander card is £3 a month with 15mths interest free. I've been preapproved for a tesco 32mth balance transfer 3.19%fee, on 7k the fee will be about 229. 

It's unlikely il be able to clear it within 15mths and will need to transfer again next year. Unfortunately, may next Yr I have another 0%deal expiring and will likely have about 5k remaining. 

Should I just bite the bullet and go for the 32 mth transfer to save messing around next year? 

Jami74

Personally, if the 0% doesn't end until September I'd wait a bit. In four months you'll have a smaller balance to transfer and might have better offers.

Rhyddid2026

I have one that runs out in September. My plan is to pay as much off the balance I want to transfer as possible, then start looking for deals maybe July. I'll work out the costs closer to the time as I know from experience things can change quite quickly. If you can figure out where you might get the best improvement in your credit scores/report you can work on that over the next 5 or 6 months and improve your chances of a better deal. 

MEM62

kezzygirl said:

I've been preapproved for a tesco 32mth balance transfer 3.19%fee, on 7k the fee will be about 229. 

It's unlikely il be able to clear it within 15mths and will need to transfer again next year. Unfortunately, may next Yr I have another 0%deal expiring and will likely have about 5k remaining. 

If that offer is on the table I would be tempted to take it while it is available - particularly if you have another £5k you need to deal with later.  Do you have a plan for clearing these balances?  You cannot always rely on interest free options being available. 

kezzygirl

MEM62 said:

kezzygirl said:

I've been preapproved for a tesco 32mth balance transfer 3.19%fee, on 7k the fee will be about 229. 

It's unlikely il be able to clear it within 15mths and will need to transfer again next year. Unfortunately, may next Yr I have another 0%deal expiring and will likely have about 5k remaining. 

If that offer is on the table I would be tempted to take it while it is available - particularly if you have another £5k you need to deal with later.  Do you have a plan for clearing these balances?  You cannot always rely on interest free options being available. 

Thanks, I plan to throw as much money as possible on to the earliest ending card. Gone are the days of no fee and interest free and I'm a bit peeved to pay the fee this time, but have to take it on the chin. I'm tempted to go with the 32 month card as you're right, deals change and things happen which may mean it isn't available in a few months, which would be rather upsetting. I can then not have the worry of transferring again in a year when another big balance is up!

kezzygirl

rachmac3 said:

I have one that runs out in September. My plan is to pay as much off the balance I want to transfer as possible, then start looking for deals maybe July. I'll work out the costs closer to the time as I know from experience things can change quite quickly. If you can figure out where you might get the best improvement in your credit scores/report you can work on that over the next 5 or 6 months and improve your chances of a better deal. 

My credit score is top notch, though lenders don't see that. No missed payments and pre approved for lots of offers at a low rate. I think I'm going to pay say £400 off it and then transfer the rest to the 32 months card.

Nasqueron

kezzygirl said:

rachmac3 said:

I have one that runs out in September. My plan is to pay as much off the balance I want to transfer as possible, then start looking for deals maybe July. I'll work out the costs closer to the time as I know from experience things can change quite quickly. If you can figure out where you might get the best improvement in your credit scores/report you can work on that over the next 5 or 6 months and improve your chances of a better deal. 

My credit score is top notch, though lenders don't see that. No missed payments and pre approved for lots of offers at a low rate. I think I'm going to pay say £400 off it and then transfer the rest to the 32 months card.

Pre-approved on MSE or similar sites means nothing unfortunately, when lenders do the credit check they can reject it, eligibility checks are good but not infallible as they have not run a credit check  

kezzygirl

Just an update:I applied for the tesco card and it was referred with a decision in 5 days. Due to the bank holiday this delayed even further and I then received a letter saying they couldn't progress it as I hadn't included my home phone number(?!) So I called them and provided my mobile. I was then tole they require proof of my earnings and want me to provide three months' bank statements? Has anyone ever been asked for this? I must say I have never had it happen, and tbh I'm not that fussed about the card to send them what they require. I do have some other availability on some other cards,bit these are for a lesser period interest free, so I guess il go with that.

Nasqueron

kezzygirl said:

Just an update:I applied for the tesco card and it was referred with a decision in 5 days. Due to the bank holiday this delayed even further and I then received a letter saying they couldn't progress it as I hadn't included my home phone number(?!) So I called them and provided my mobile. I was then tole they require proof of my earnings and want me to provide three months' bank statements? Has anyone ever been asked for this? I must say I have never had it happen, and tbh I'm not that fussed about the card to send them what they require. I do have some other availability on some other cards,bit these are for a lesser period interest free, so I guess il go with that.

Plenty of people will have been asked for this, they are completing standard checks and want to verify your earnings under responsible lending rules. It may be better to provide it rather than withdrawing the application once they asked for some evidence of earnings as there may be a small risk they flag up the application