Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

mella wrote: »

I currently have 4 CCs - only one has an outstanding balance and that's still within a 0% rate till 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 advice 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 two of them were offering 0% BTs in December for 6 months but I didn't 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.

I tend to agree. The national average is five, so if you have five credit cards or fewer and none is maxed out, it's unlikely your credit rating would be harmed, unless you have a low annual income. Your credit limit on the new card could possibly be affected though. Once again, this would depend on your income.

That said, with each successful credit card application, your available credit will inevitably increase in relation to your annual income so, unless a card has a particular benefit, I would consider closing an account then to compensate. Firstly, having lots of credit, even if not used, can put off potential lenders and secondly, by cancelling a card you can re-apply to that provider as a 'new' customer and take advantage of any introductory deals on offer.

Another good reason for phoning customer services to cancel an unused card is that occasionally you're offered an incentive to stay.

Moggles_2

Sunshine&Stars wrote: »

I have been accepted by Tesco and Halifax, so I have 0% for 14 mths with Tesco and they have given me £2850 to BT and Halifax have approved me for 13 mths 0% for £6500, leaving approx £1986 on Virgin / MBNA.

Congratulations & thanks for the feedback.
:beer:

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 affect 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?

Yes, exactly. In fact you may have to clear the entire balance.

Unless stated otherwise, you can bet that your repayments will be allocated to your outstanding balance in a way that benefits Citi. If you take up Citi's BT offer, there's every prospect that your 0% BT will remain trapped on the card long after the 0% promotion ends. In June, remember, the interest rate leaps to your standard rate, which is variable. (The same logic applies to virtually all credit cards, not just Citi.) I would check your Citi card's Ts & Cs under allocation of payments carefully.

Sunshine&Stars

Moggles wrote: »

Congratulations & thanks for the feedback.
:beer:

Yes, exactly. In fact you may have to clear the entire balance.

Unless stated otherwise, you can bet that your repayments will be allocated to your outstanding balance in a way that benefits Citi. If you take up Citi's BT offer, there's every prospect that your 0% BT will remain trapped on the card long after the 0% promotion ends. In June, remember, the interest rate leaps to your standard rate, which is variable. (The same logic applies to virtually all credit cards, not just Citi.) I would check your Citi card's Ts & Cs under allocation of payments carefully.

Which is what I thought, somehow they'll trap the 0% amount until after my 5.8% LoB has been paid off so I'll be racking up 15% interest on nearly £2K whilst I have the pleasure of paying off the LoB amount over however long it takes. Hmmmm. Craftier and craftier......

I'll read the T&Cs but somehow feel it may not be worth touching the outstanding amount on the Virgin Card by BT somewhere, instead I may be better off just trying to hit it hardcore with overpayments if I can. If I can't well then, I'll have to think of another way to manage it.

Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted!

WaxiesDargle

This thread is soooo long it would take me ages to plough through so apologies if you are multiple post weary!

I have a Virgin Money card with £9000 owing and the 0% runs out in May and Barclaycard with just under £4000 owing at that runs out in April

I have an halifax card, (£6600 limit) egg card (£9600 limit) and an egg money mule card all owing nothing

any advice please on switching to another 0% card or low interest card and when should I apply

I have a feeling it will be Tesco or the Post Office

chippy75

I've just applied for the 0% for 16 months Virgin Credit Card and was successful! I'm so happy I could go out and dance in the street!:rotfl:

I've been slowly but surely paying back my debts over the last 8 months or so and this will help no end. I'll be transferring whats left of my overdraft and the balance of my Egg card (the rate of which has been jumping ridiculously in recent years), so to pay no interest will make a massive difference.

This will really help towards my goal of being totally debt free by April 2009! :T

mella_3

Moggles wrote: »

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

That's really interesting to know - I had no idea this might be an option!

Moggles wrote: »

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.

Cheers - I suspected that might be the case, so it's good to have some sort of confirmation even though I know there are no gaurantees - Any idea of how those three compare to Virgin or Halifax? Apologies if questions have been answered before - this is quite some thread to get through!

Moggles wrote: »

I tend to agree. The national average is five, so if you have five credit cards or fewer and none is maxed out, it's unlikely your credit rating would be harmed, unless you have a low annual income. Your credit limit on the new card could possibly be affected though. Once again, this would depend on your income.

That said, with each successful credit card application, your available credit will inevitably increase in relation to your annual income so, unless a card has a particular benefit, I would consider closing an account then to compensate.

Any idea how long it takes for a card to come off my credit rating - If I cancelled on today would it still show up in mid-late Feb for example?

GazzaHu

matron001 wrote: »

Am new to this site, but I have just been turned down for an egg card to transfer a balance. I have an existing loan with them but have just transferred a balance to a different card.Am trying to sort out my finances at long last. I'm not sure what to do now. Is it worth me applying for another one? I checked my credit score and its good and I never miss any payments. Any advice would be appreciated.

New to this myself, so not sure if i should mention moneysupermarket [oops!],but they have a smart search facility. 16 questions about you and your finances and they then rate your chances of successful application against specific cards. Tip: be totally honest, because you don't want a series of failed applications. Better to know where you really are. Best of luck.

GazzaHu

Chippy75. Good shot! Thought i'd share my good news as well. Just got an MBNA card with Super Balance Transfer [into your bank account] to 1/3/10. I am now setting up for a transfer into my Barclays Account [2.9%] at a cost of £243 which i will then use to clear my Barclays Select Loan [car]. I expected the interest on that to be £770 to £800 over the next 12 months, so between £527 and £557 for me [heading into ISA]. So happy!

Moggles_2

WaxiesDargle wrote: »

I have a Virgin Money card with £9000 owing and the 0% runs out in May and Barclaycard with just under £4000. That runs out in April
I have an Halifax card, (£6600 limit) Egg card (£9600 limit) and an Egg Money mule card all owing nothing. Any advice please on switching to another 0% card or low interest card and when should I apply?I have a feeling it will be Tesco or the Post Office

Yes, either of these, unless you happen to bank with HSBC. To maximise the 0% period, 15 months 0% is available to new customers who have an HSBC current account. There's a 2.9% BT fee.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/credit-cards?ad=A00001

Alternatively, you'd get 14 months with Tesco and 12 months with the Post Office (which tends to hand out better credit limits btw, than the other two)

Things can change quickly though. I would keep an open mind until around 5-6 weeks before your Barclaycard offer expires and decide then.;)

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Moggles
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 Zero than Barclaycard. Note: Abbey normally restricts balance transfers to a maximum of £5000.

mella wrote: »

Any idea of how those three compare to Virgin or Halifax?

IME, Virgin and other cards issued by MBNA hand out the best credit limits, but Halifax has been generous too, Abbey and the Post Office were near enough the same as each other (but note Abbey restricts balance transfers to a maximum of £5000), the Tesco limit a little lower, but still good. Feedback from other forum users tends to support this.