Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by HannahGreen
It seems ridiculous that they [Barclaycard] can charge you for statements which is your only way of knowing the details of your balance.

If you register your details on the Barclaycard website, you can check monthly statements, recent transactions etc.and pay bills online.

That said, I would have a read through this thread (which was only started on 6 January 2008), before you apply. You will see that Barclaycard figures quite prominently and not always for the right reasons.

loopylass

Hi

I need some help we have had our credit card for about 6 months and we now need to transfer the balance to another card but we dont want to keep changing well if it is only once a year we will

I know we should look for a 0% balance transfer card but what does it mean 2.5% handling fee is it 2.5% fee from the balance on your card

Can anybody tell me the best card to apply for as we need to apply a.s.a.p

JP86

Hi,

Im a University Student and have a Lloyds Credit Card at the moment that is supposedly on there Student tariff, however i found out today that i am actually paying around 30% on £500 and around 18% on another £250!!!

I am looking to do a balance transfer to a 0% card as i feel that the interest rates are extortion!!!

I'm just really confused as to what to do. I read the article but i can't get platinum card because of my low income. I do work part time and have a various amounts of money coming in to my account. However i am in a bit of a cash crisis as i got caught in the whole cashback mobile phone deal, which isn't actually going to pay me back.

So i wish to transfer the balance and pay it off when i start working full time in the summer.

Anyway i applied for an egg card and got accepted for £500, but how do i transfer the balance they didnt ask me if i wished to transfer my debts. When i read through the terms and conditions i thought it said that they wouldn't charge interest for 12 months on balance transfers...was i wrong?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards JP

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by loopylass
I need some help. We have had our credit card for about 6 months and we now need to transfer the balance to another card, but we don't want to keep changing. Well, if it is only once a year, we will.

Well, you need to reach a firm decision. If you want to continue borrowing at the lowest possible rate, you will have to change cards. Currently there are some good 12-15 month deals on offer, but please be aware this hasn't always been the case and may not last.

If you're not prepared to change cards, you'll need to pay off the balance or, if you want to go on borrowing on credit cards, consider a life-of-balance deal.

I know we should look for a 0% balance transfer card, but what does a 2.5% handling fee mean?

A one-off fee of 2.5 % of the balance(s) transferred is added to your account.

Can anybody tell me the best card to apply for as we need to apply a.s.a.p.?

To help you further, we need to know which credit card you want to transfer a balance from. Also, which other cards you have at the mo.

beckah

Moggles wrote: »

A few rather special cards will allow you to transfer an overdraft to them, in other words, transfer cash from the credit card to your current account:

A card issued by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin) Egg card or the Post Office card.

Alternatively, you can use Egg Money (not to be confused with the Egg card) in conjunction with any 0% or low-rate balance transfer card.

Mint periodically issues credit card cheques, which can be paid directly into your current account. Unless you already have them, this is the least satisfactory option, as you cannot be sure when the next cheques will arrive.

Which is best depends, to some extent, on which cards you have at the mo.

Do you know if these cards charge interest for doing this?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by beckah
Do you know if these cards charge interest for doing this?

They offer 0% balance transfers to new customers but, in most cases, there's a 2-3% handling fee.

CannyJock

JP86 wrote: »

Hi,
Anyway i applied for an egg card and got accepted for £500, but how do i transfer the balance they didnt ask me if i wished to transfer my debts. When i read through the terms and conditions i thought it said that they wouldn't charge interest for 12 months on balance transfers...was i wrong?

Egg card customer services should be able to sort you out, their number's on the back of the card.

There'll be a fee added to the amount you transfer, 3% fee I think. Their CS dept will be able to confirm this. They'll also be able to confirm how long this will be 0% for (I'm assuming you've got their new card advertised on their website with the 15 month offer). And critical to keeping the 0% status for the 15 months is that you ask them to setup a direct debit to repay the minimum balance from your normal bank account (probably 2%, but they'll sort that out).

Even if you're not able to squeeze the total balance onto the new card (they'll calculate your 3% fee and the maximum you can transfer, can't always transfer a balance up to your full limit) it'll still be less interest by the sounds of it.

If that lets you clear your Lloyds balance PDQ then so much the better.

macman

If you're applying for this card (currently offering 14 months IF @ 2.5% fee), be aware that the limit you can BT is £5,000. It only tells you this in the small print right at the end of the online application. So if, say, you apply for this card and are given a £10K credit limit, you'd be wasting the other £5K of credit if your purpose is interest free BT's. If you attempt to BT more than £5K, they will either refuse it or charge the excess at 6.9%. How cunning is that?

zephyr1

In the middle of December I called Virgin to cancel my card, but when on the phone I was offered 0% on a balance transfer of £1200 from my other card until September - Great!!

But I have just got my statement and there is a transfer fee of £35.76. At no point during the phone conversationw as this fee mentioned nor was I referred to the standard terms and conditions.

Whilst it could be argued I was being a bit naive in not expecting a fee, can a fee be levied if there was no reference during the phone call to it???

Any feedback would be welcome.

Thanks.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by zephyr1
In the middle of December I called Virgin to cancel my card, but when on the phone I was offered 0% on a balance transfer of £1200 from my other card until September - Great!! But I have just got my statement and there is a transfer fee of £35.76. Can a fee be levied if there was no reference during the phone call to it???

Yes. Unless specifically waived, the terms & conditions of your credit agreement apply to
all transactions.

So, whenever you sign a credit card agreement, make sure you retain a copy. If you apply online and "sign" electronically, print yourself a copy for your records. Also, just as important, note any changes subsequently made by the lender.

It's important to know what you've signed up to