Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Tom_CrAcK69

Hi Guys,

have had a virgin card for a while now and the 0% BT deal runs out on my Jan 09 statement

Owe about £8.5k so I asked them today if I could extend the deal buy paying them the 3% instead of going to another card (I have a good credit rating) better for them to have the money instead of another company with the current Banking rate as low as it is.

They were nice on the phone but the answer is NO

If I did close the account and then wanted to come back then they said is is possible that they 'may' offer me a deal at a later date to go back.

Tesco have offered me £4.5k online and if I want more I need to send in 3 months bank statements, which I could do s I'm not overdrawn etc.

Halifax is offering 14 months for 3.5% which is tempting

I think Barclay card was £5k max for 2.5% but i've not applied

I gues I could go for both the Tesco and Barclaycard???

denwyn

Some time back i moved some of my credit card debts to a new fixed rate for life citi bank credit card as recommended by ML. I see there in a bad way now and have had to have the US government help them out, should i keep with this card or move the balance left to another, i don't want to be caught out if they change the original deal

Moggles_2

Tom_CrAcK69 wrote: »

Have had a Virgin card for a while now and the 0% BT deal runs out on my Jan 09 statement. Owe about £8.5k so I asked them today if I could extend the deal buy paying them the 3% instead of going to another card (I have a good credit rating), but the answer is NO. If I did close the account and then wanted to come back then they said is is possible that they 'may' offer me a deal at a later date to go back.

There's no need to close the Virgin account. Once the balance was cleared, you would be in a much stronger position to negotiate a lower interest rate. In fact once you've paid off Virgin, courtesy of Tesco and another credit card, this lender will more than likely make you a 0% offer. (Virgin in particular has a reputation for market-leading existing customer
deals )

Halifax is offering 14 months for 3.5% which is tempting

The Halifax Plus card currently offers 0% on BTs for 15 months

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/pluscard153.asp

I think Barclaycard was £5k max for 2.5%, but I've not applied. I guess I could go for both the Tesco and Barclaycard?

Barclaycard has figured quite prominently on this thread recently and rarely for the right reasons :rolleyes:

You don't mention which other ccs you have at the mo, but have you considered Egg card (0% on BTs until 1 Feb 2010)?

http://new.egg.com/visitor/0,,3_84106--View_1763,00.html

Moggles_2

denwyn wrote: »

Some time back I moved some of my credit card debts to a new fixed rate for life Citi bank credit card as recommended by ML. I see they're in a bad way now and have had to have the US government help them out. Should I keep this card or move the balance left to another? I don't want to be caught out if they change the original deal

Unfortunately, there's a dearth of decent LOB offers at the mo and, in most cases, you'd incur a second balance transfer fee.

There's a comprehensive list of life of balance cards here, which is hard to beat:

http://www.stoozing.com/lob.php

molley

Can I ask this.What happens if you do a BT to a card but also make a seperate minimum payment before the due dateas you suspect the BT won't reach the card in time .That means your card is in Credit . Do they refund the excess or can you just use the card to get rid of the excess?

Moggles_2

molley wrote: »

What happens if you do a BT to a card but also make a separate minimum payment before the due date as you suspect the BT won't reach the card in time.That means your card is in credit. Do they refund the excess or can you just use the card to get rid of the excess?

Lenders vary in this respect, as with everything else. Some (eg. Citi, Halifax) insist on returning the surplus funds to the account from whence it came. If this account happens to be another credit card, you could incur two balance transfer fees, so it's probably best to spend your way out of the predicament, as you've suggested

Rather than transfer the entire balance from an existing card, it's safer to leave the minimum payment behind and settle this yourself before the payment due date. Most balance transfer requests are processed within 7-10 days, as you know, but there's always the risk of an unforeseen delay.

molley

Moggles wrote: »

Lenders vary in this respect, as with everything else. Some (eg. Citi, Halifax) insist on returning the surplus funds to the account from whence it came. If this account happens to be another credit card, you could incur two balance transfer fees, so it's probably best to spend your way out of the predicament, as you've suggested

Rather than transfer the entire balance from an existing card, it's safer to leave the minimum payment behind and settle this yourself before the payment due date. Most balance transfer requests are processed within 7-10 days, as you know, but there's always the risk of an unforeseen delay.

Ah right .Didn't think of that so if the latest balance is ,e.g £800 and the minimum was ( for example) £20 pay the £780 by BT and the £20 min by other means ...any residual interest being paid off later when it is known.

Moggles_2

molley wrote: »

So if the latest balance is e.g. £800 and the minimum was (for example) £20, pay the £780 by BT and the £20 min by other means, any residual interest being paid off later when it is known.

That's the safest way

Very best
M

mcgkev

Hello, I recently applied for the Barclay Card One Plus credit card with the intention of transferring a balance of £1,400 from another credit card. However, when I received the Barclay Card the credit limit was only £250 - allowing me to transfer a maximum balance of £230 which is a bit useless!

I already asked Barclaycard if they could raise my credit limit but they wouldn't be able to do that for another 3 months. I am self employed and have recently moved house which I presume is why they have given me such a low credit limit. I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to make myself more attractive (ooh err!) to other credit card companies and therefore get a higher credit limit on future cards.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Moggles_2

mcgkev wrote: »

I recently applied for the Barclaycard One Plus credit card with the intention of transferring a balance of £1,400 from another credit card. However, when I received the Barclaycard, the credit limit was only £250. I already asked Barclaycard if they could raise my credit limit but they wouldn't be able to do that for another 3 months. I am self-employed and have recently moved house which I presume is why they have given me such a low credit limit. I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to make myself more attractive to other credit card companies and therefore get a higher credit limit on future cards.

Barclaycard has figured quite prominently on this thread recently and rarely for the right reasons :rolleyes:

That said, all lenders like stability, so best practice is to apply for credit facilities, where possible, before you move/change jobs/change banks

For tips to improve your chances of credit card acceptance, have a look at the *Credit Rating: how it works and how to improve it guide*, especially Martin's *Manage and Improve your credit score* article

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score#improve