Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

schandoo

Hello everyone,

I currently have £1,975 on a tesco card (normal interest rate) and approx. £7.2K on a halifax 0% card which is due to expire at end Jan 09.

I want to lump the two together so i can pay off as quickly as possible and with as minimal hassle as possible. But can't decide whether it woud be better to do:

(1) Apply for a new long term balance trf card - 6.5% Barclaycard

(2) Apply for a new 0% card and then keep shuffling - MBNA or Capital One

(3) Take an unsecured loan for a period of 7 years

The first two will probably work out cheapest each month and paying off around £250 per month would probably take me around 30+yrs to pay it off. However, on an unsecured loan i may pay a little more, but its a fixed amount per month and it has a definite term.

Any advcie / guidance would be greatfully received in terms of how to progress.

Thanks in advance.

Moggles_2

taffytim22 wrote: »

I have a balance of about £2500 and plan to pay this off within 6 months. My 0% interest rate is about to end. I've been a bit of a cc flirt recently and have both the Ulster card and the Abbey card so I can't use the 0% transfer cards. I live in England so I believe I can't apply for the Northern bank card. I have therefore applied for the Barclaycard. Have I made the best decision or have I missed something?

Barclaycard has figured quite prominently on this thread recently and rarely for the right reasons :rolleyes:, but if the chief attraction was the 1.7% BT fee, perhaps you've made the right choice.

For a comprehensive list of 0% balance transfer cards, updated regularly and not influenced by advertising commissions, the stoozing site (which is sponsored by Money Saving Expert) is hard to beat

http://www.stoozing.com/0fees.htm

Moggles_2

schandoo wrote: »

I currently have £1,975 on a Tesco card (normal interest rate) and approx. £7.2K on a Halifax 0% card which is due to expire at end Jan 09. I want to lump the two together so i can pay off as quickly as possible and with as minimal hassle as possible. But can't decide whether it woud be better to do:
(1) Apply for a new long term balance trf card - 6.5% Barclaycard (2) Apply for a new 0% card and then keep shuffling - MBNA or Capital One (3) Take an unsecured loan for a period of 7 years Any advice/guidance would be gratefully received.

Well, option 2 would save you the most money. (Btw, Capital One is not offering 0% balance transfer cards at the mo.)

To maximise the 0% period, 16 months is currently available to new customers from Virgin. There's a 2.98% handling charge

http://uk.virginmoney.com/credit-card-v3/

That said, there's no perfect solution that suits everyone. Martin's *Best Balance Transfers* article explains the pros and cons of 0% and life-of-balance deals and how to decide.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards#choosing

For advice on loans, you may get replies more quickly if you post again here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=12

taffytim22

Moggles wrote: »

Barclaycard has figured quite prominently on this thread recently and rarely for the right reasons :rolleyes:, but if the chief attraction was the 1.7% BT fee, perhaps you've made the right choice.

For a comprehensive list of 0% balance transfer cards, updated regularly and not influenced by advertising commissions, the stoozing site (which is sponsored by Money Saving Expert) is hard to beat

http://www.stoozing.com/0fees.htm

Thanks for the link, it looks like the icici bank have also got a 3 month interest free 0% fee card, and i havent got one of these.

Im thinking that although it is only 3 months interest free, hopefully by the end of this period another 0% card will come on the market, if not i can just set up a barclay card tehn and with a reduced sum on my card I'll be paying a smaller fee.

So by my calculations you have just saved me £40. Cheers big ears

Moggles_2

taffytim22 wrote: »

Thanks for the link, it looks like the ICICI bank have also got a 3 month interest free 0% fee card, and I haven't got one of these. I'm thinking that although it is only 3 months interest free, hopefully by the end of this period another 0% card will come on the market. If not I can just set up a Barclaycard then and with a reduced sum on my card I'll be paying a smaller fee.

I have no experience of ICICI personally (other than its savings account), but forum users have reported extreme inefficiency in processing cc applications and a balance transfer (minimum 6 weeks, sometimes longer). Some MSEs have encountered difficulties transferring the remaining balance to a new 0% BT card as well :rolleyes:

6 months at 0% is currently available to new customers from Virgin Atlantic. There's a 2% handling charge. This is good for balance transfers of £2500 and above, as the fees are capped at £50.

That said, you'd get 0% for 9 months from Barclaycard, as you know. A 1.7% BT fee applies. It's already on your credit file so, provided that B'card offers the exact same deal you've applied for, you may as well use it

Btw, you can sometimes reduce your costs further if you apply via a cashback site like R points or Quidco

TopHat

My son has got himself in to financial difficulty and much of it is on credit cards, which means he has a very poor credit rating. I am happyto take aouta 0% card and tranfer his balances to it but am I allowed too? can I do this? very grateful for any help.

JimmyTheWig

TopHat wrote: »

My son has got himself in to financial difficulty and much of it is on credit cards, which means he has a very poor credit rating. I am happyto take aouta 0% card and tranfer his balances to it but am I allowed too? can I do this? very grateful for any help.

You can do this and you are allowed. However, you need to be aware that this will place the debt in your name. If payments cease (for whatever reason) then it will be you they will chase.

TopHat

Thanks so much for the reply, it's my first time on this forum and I appreciate your help.

It's not a huge amount just £3,000 and as he is 19 we are happy to help by stopping the interest to help him pay it off. Do you know how I can do it? I have been told that I cannot transfer a balance from someone else's card to mine and would need to pay a credit card cheque into his bank account then pay off his credit cards and then transfer the balance from my credit card to a 0% card. This makes it more expensive a direct balance transfer would be cheaper?

YorkshireBoy

TopHat wrote: »

I have been told that I cannot transfer a balance from someone else's card to mine

You've been "told" incorrectly.

As Jimmy has already informed you, it can be done. I've done it several times, and only once been asked for the cardholder's name on the other card...and that was by HSBC several years ago.

Your (new 0%) card provider will only ask for the card number of the debt to be transferred.

Just be careful to avoid applying for a card from the same company as your son's card provider, because you generally can't BT between them. If you post your son's provider name then you'll be advised which cards to avoid. Alternatively, see www.stoozing.com/cards.htm

NineThreeNine

Went to Natwest today and got offered a useful transfers card.

8.9% on transfers for life (not the best) however, after 3 months every 6 months they pay off 2% of the balance for you. Not 100% how this adds up, but it probably works out quite well.

Plus it was around 9% for purchases for the first 12 months, which is really good if you accidently make a purchase on it!

Not sure how this stacks up to the 6% cards though...