Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

Sunshine&Stars wrote: »

Or should I consolidate it on a loan and pay a smaller amount of interest long term? I know that this is not considered a wise move, but if it means I am not paying off extra amounts of interest on a CC that I could avoid by taking a loan, surely that is wise?

There's no perfect solution that suits everyone, but if it's a question of clearing the balance on one variable rate credit card, I'd think carefully before taking out a loan. You would be paying interest on top of the interest, BT fees and charges already incurred.

Why not plug some numbers into this calculator? You can then estimate the time it would take to clear the balance at different interest rates. You can also see the effect of increasing your payments

http://www.whatsthecost.com/creditcard.aspx

Meanwhile, I would stop spending on your variable rate card (if you haven't already) & concentrate on paying off as much as possible each month. Clearing this debt ASAP will reduce the interest you pay and you'll be building a better credit history in the process.

Sunshine&Stars

Thank you Moggles!

The situation is:

M&S £1292.32 @ 3.9% LoB (cut up as soon as received)
Citi £3920.04 @ 5.8% LoB (cut up as soon as received)
Virgin £11,500 @ 18% Variable APR

At the mo, I need to go through all my money cos I am over my OD and therefore have no cash at all and am still putting petrol on my Virgin card (as that is the only one I have a PIN for) and I need to have petrol. So this is my priority to sort out cos the balance is growing still.

I have two loans already, one due to finish in June of this year (YAY!) and another which is not going to finish til 2011.....

Am so sick of being in debt, obv only have myself to blame and only have myself to get myself out of this hole. I will do it, I have to do it.

Again, appreciate any advice / tips ?

wannaberich41

wannaberich41 wrote: »

hi,
i balance transferred £2800 from lloyds tsb matercard to tesco 0% in november. I couldnt transfer all what i wanted because tesco wouldnt give me a higher limit. i have another £1700 which i would like to transfer to another 0% card if possible. ive looked at the virgin one and that says something about cant transfer if got mbna card. checked credit report and ive got 999. im looking to transfer the last bit really because this time of the year is really quiet work wise so do not earn as much now as i would begin of march. i always pay over the minimum repayment charge.
any advise would be very much appreciated.

Can i get another balance transfer card so soon after getting the Tesco one? I couldnt balance transfer the whole amount as tesco wouldnt give me a high credit limit . only £3000. Are there any good deals that i could transfer to on 0%? are there any that i will know instantly online if ive been accepted?
mr credit score is 999 on experian.

thanks for advice in advance.

mella_3

Hi All,

Not sure if anyone here will be able to help with the following:

Does anyone know anything about the Post Office, Tesco and Abbey Zero reputations in terms of the credit limits they give. I know they are all offering 0% BTs with a fee for various periods, but not too keen on getting stung like I did a few years back going with Barclaycard who's credit limit was ridiculously low.

If I have a Virgin card I think I can still apply for an MBNA or another MBNA run card, but will the credit limit on my Virgin card impact on the limit set on the new card? I know I can't BT from the Virgin to another MBNA card, but that's not an issue in my current situation.

Finally, I currently have 4 CCs - only one has an outstanding balance and that's still within a 0% rate til early March. If I apply for a new card to BT the sum outstanding on that card, will the other "empty" cards impact negatively on my credit rating and the credit limit assigned to me on a new card? I've received mixed advise on this in the past and I'm not really clear in my mind whether I should be cancelling the empty cards (as they are not giving me the rates I need on credit at the moment in any case).

FWIW 2 of them were offering 0% BT in December for 6 months but I didnt take it up as I still had time on the existing BT. So I don't think it's a case of the rate not being there for me so much as not being there at the moment.

Moggles_2

Sunshine&Stars wrote: »

The situation is: M&S £1292.32 @ 3.9% LoB (cut up as soon as received),Citi £3920.04 @ 5.8% LoB (cut up as soon as received),Virgin £11500 @ 18% variable APR

To maximise the 0% period, you'd get 14 months with Tesco. A 2.9% BT fee applies.

http://www.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/finance/creditcards/bonuscc/index.jsp

Alternatively, Halifax is offering 0% for 13 months on balances transfers made in the first 90 days. There's a 3% BT fee.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/pluscard136.asp

Caution: unless you have an above-average annual income, it's unlikely you'll be handed a credit limit of £11000 plus but, judging from posts to this board, limits handed out by Halifax and Tesco are generally higher than those from the Co-op and other life-of-balance cards.

If the worst happens, Martin's advice is to transfer what you can. Don't leave an offer unused out of exasperation. It's already on your credit file, so you may as well use it (See Martin's *Credit Card Limit: didn't get what you wanted?* article. You'll still save money.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/bad-credit-rating

Moggles_2

wannaberich41 wrote: »

Can I get another balance transfer card so soon after getting the Tesco one?

Please see posts #1432 and #1520 above.

Are there any good deals that I could transfer to 0%? Are there any that I will know instantly online if I've been accepted?

Egg, Halifax, the Post Office and Virgin give instant decisions and credit limits online or by telephone, provided that they can verify your ID electronically via the electoral roll

Sunshine&Stars

Moggles wrote: »

To maximise the 0% period, you'd get 14 months with Tesco. A 2.9% BT fee applies.

http://www.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/finance/creditcards/bonuscc/index.jsp

Alternatively, Halifax is offering 0% for 13 months on balances transfers made in the first 90 days. There's a 3% BT fee.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/pluscard136.asp

Caution: unless you have an above-average annual income, it's unlikely you'll be handed a credit limit of £11000 plus but, judging from posts to this board, limits handed out by Halifax and Tesco are generally higher than those from the Co-op and other life-of-balance cards.

If the worst happens, Martin's advice is to transfer what you can. Don't leave an offer unused out of exasperation. It's already on your credit file, so you may as well use it (See Martin's *Credit Card Limit: didn't get what you wanted?* article. You'll still save money.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/bad-credit-rating

Awesome stuff. I'll give it a go and see what I get accepted for and see if I reduce my debt.

Thanks for the advice. I love this forum.

Great to have someone to ask who knows so much about the way credit cards work.

Moggles_2

mella wrote: »

Does anyone know anything about the Post Office, Tesco and Abbey Zero reputations in terms of the credit limits they give. I know they are all offering 0% BTs with a fee for various periods, but not too keen on getting stung like I did a few years back going with Barclaycard who's credit limit was ridiculously low.

It's not an exact science of course but, judging from the posts on here, you're more likely to get a generous credit limit with the Post Office, Tesco and Abbey than Barclaycard.

Note: Abbey/Santander normally restricts balance transfers to a maximum of £5000.

Moggles_2

mella wrote: »

If I have a Virgin card I think I can still apply for an MBNA or another MBNA run card, but will the credit limit on my Virgin card impact on the limit set on the new card? I know I can't BT from the Virgin to another MBNA card, but that's not an issue in my current situation.

If there's a balance on your Virgin card, particularly if it's still charged at 0%, you could certainly be turned down or handed a lowish credit limit by MBNA.

That said, if there's no balance on your existing card, this lender will sometimes switch your credit limits around to give you a higher limit on the new MBNA card

Sunshine&Stars

Moggles - just to let you know that I have been accepted by Tesco and Halifax.

So I have 0% for 14mths with Tesco and they have given me £2850 to BT and Halifax have approved me for 13mths 0% for £6500.

Leaving approx £1986 on Virgin / MBNA.

Now my question is, do I contact CitiBank who sent me a recent 0% BT offer until July of this year (4.9%) - though I already have a LoB arrangement with them as already detailed in my earlier posts - so do I move over the rest of the Virgin Balance for the short term?

I assume BT on top of my existing credit with them will not effect my existing LoB arrangement with Citi? I guess I will then need to shift the BT amount pretty darn quick once the 0% BT period ceases?

What do you think?