Thoughts and advice please.

CPHMilly09

Hi all.

I need to borrow £2000 for some home improvements.

Rather than going down the loan or add it to the mortgage route I'm thinking of withdrawing the cash on an existing credit card and then transferring the balance onto a long 0% balance transfer card, obviously paying it off within the 0% time period. 

Would this be a better/cheaper option do you think?

Thanks for any advice offered. 

TadleyBaggie

Better would be to just get a credit card with a 0% money transfer offer. No reason to involve a balance transfer.

Isthisforreal99

TadleyBaggie said:

Better would be to just get a credit card with a 0% money transfer offer. No reason to involve a balance transfer.

Exactly this - no matter how well you try and time it there will be a small amount of interest on it so cut out the unnecessay transaction.

And you will avoid a cash advance marker on your credit file.

CliveOfIndia

I agree that a MT card would be better than a cash withdrawal.

A 0% purchase card might be another alternative, depending on what you're doing.  If you're paying tradesmen then it's quite common to find they won't accept credit cards - in which case the MT option would be best.  But if you're buying goods yourself from a shop, then a 0% purchase card might be a viable alternative.

Brie

CliveOfIndia said:

I agree that a MT card would be better than a cash withdrawal.

A 0% purchase card might be another alternative, depending on what you're doing.  If you're paying tradesmen then it's quite common to find they won't accept credit cards - in which case the MT option would be best.  But if you're buying goods yourself from a shop, then a 0% purchase card might be a viable alternative.

And in my experience a 0% BT has a slightly cheaper fee than a 0% MT.  

CPHMilly09

Thanks for the replies.

The best money transfer card I can find is for 14 months. I was hoping for something a little longer if you know of any?

Also do you know how long the cash advance marker stays on your file, like is it a temporary thing?

CPHMilly09

CliveOfIndia said:

I agree that a MT card would be better than a cash withdrawal.

A 0% purchase card might be another alternative, depending on what you're doing.  If you're paying tradesmen then it's quite common to find they won't accept credit cards - in which case the MT option would be best.  But if you're buying goods yourself from a shop, then a 0% purchase card might be a viable alternative.

This would be ideal but yes I am paying a tradesmen.

grumpy_codger

Apply for Halifax Clarity CC. It always has money transfer (to a current account) option without fees (but not 0%). Then you can transfer the balance to a 0% balance transfer card. 
This will always give you much wider choice than scarce 0% money transfer cards.

CliveOfIndia

CPHMilly09 said:

Also do you know how long the cash advance marker stays on your file, like is it a temporary thing?

It'll be visible for 6 years.  Having said that, an isolated cash withdrawal is no big deal really - it's when you withdraw cash regularly that is start to raise concerns.  But bear in mind, you'd have the cash advance fee to pay, as well as any interest you might incur.

CPHMilly09 said:

The best money transfer card I can find is for 14 months. I was hoping for something a little longer if you know of any?

If you're going to struggle to repay £2000 (a relatively small sum for house renovations) in 14 months, it may be worth considering whether you can really afford to do this at the moment.  It may be better to save up for a couple of years, then use cash to pay for the improvements.  It's pretty rare that home improvements are time-critical - convenient, yes, but rarely critical.

Isthisforreal99

CPHMilly09 said:

Thanks for the replies.

The best money transfer card I can find is for 14 months. I was hoping for something a little longer if you know of any?

Also do you know how long the cash advance marker stays on your file, like is it a temporary thing?

14 months seems to be the best on offer at the moment but nothing stopping you balance transferring to another card near the end.

The cash advance marker would, like all other data, be visible for 6 years but the affect would reduce over time. Not saying it would be a huge issue in the first place, but it's certainly not a positive.

CPHMilly09

Okay, lots of food for thought.

Thanks all for the replies and advice 👍