Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

Q_Who? wrote: »

I have a Capital One card with a credit limit of £5500 and a balance of £2216 at 20% and some at 24.98%. I also have a Halifax Card with a maxed balance of £2800 at 0% until March 2009. In addition I have a Barclaycard with a maxed balance of £1910 at 7.6% for life of balance.
Currently Halifax have a promotional offer of 7.92% for the life of a balance with the offer closing on the 8th of February. I am very keen to reduce the interest I am paying on Capital One and also want to take advantage of the offered Halifax rate. I have applied for a Virgin card but no luck. My best route seems to be to transfer the balance of my Halifax card to my Capital One card and then transfer it back again to Halifax to get the promotional rate. Is it also possible that Capital One will give me a promotional rate for a balance transfer? Have I got time to get all this done before the 8th February?

With no new credit card applications to be processed, you might just manage this, but you would be cutting things fine, IMO. If you call up and ask, both providers will tell you to allow 7-10 working days for a balance transfer. That's the industry standard. In practice, most BTs are processed within 7 days, but there are no guarantees. IME, there's little you can do, once you've started the ball rolling,to chase things up.

It's a pity Virgin turned you down, because a new 0% BT card would have been straightforward, flexible and saved you money. In addition to the number of accounts in use, lenders look at the extent their credit limits have been utilised. Maxed out accounts make you look desperate for credit so, if you're going to apply for a new balance transfer card, it's wise to leave some headroom

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, to make sure no other factors, besides your maxed out credit cards, are working against you.

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

Meanwhile, I would concentrate on paying off as much of your Cap One balance as possible each month. Lowering your C1 balance ASAP will reduce the interest you pay and you'll be building a better credit history in the process.

Q_Who?

Thanks for the reply. I've gone ahead with the BT. I should be ok to transfer back to Halifax as the offer is open upto the 8th of February.
Yes I'm working on the capital One balance as fast as I can.
Cheers

Moggles_2

Q_Who? wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I've gone ahead with the BT. I should be ok to transfer back to Halifax as the offer is open up to the 8th of February.
Yes, I'm working on the Capital One balance as fast as I can.

Please keep us posted

Very best
M

Mazzystarlett

Moggles wrote: »

Well, perhaps Capital One has done you a favour, if it's spurred you to act. 34.94% APR is a hideous rate, but those two store cards must also be costing you an absolute fortune.:eek:

Lol - I'm actually now in a bizarre situation where the APR is lower on those pesky store cards than it is on my credit card! They are an overhang from my young and reckless days - trust me, I shan't EVER do that again! Are there laws yet to stop stores handing out cards like candy, or has the credit crunch finally put paid to that delightful practice?

Moggles wrote: »

Have you considered Halifax? 13 months 0% on BTs is currently available to new customers. There's a 3% handling charge. Remember not to spend on this card

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

Meanwhile, I would concentrate on paying off as much as possible each month. Clearing these debts ASAP will reduce the interest you pay and you'll be building a better credit history in the process.

I've been working hard to clear as much as I can. I've just been and got an Experian Credit Expert report and, financially speaking, I'm pure as snow :A . I'm already a Halifax banking customer. Do you think they would look a little more kindly on me as a credit card customer, or doesn't it make much difference?

cotsvale

Hi

Sorry if this is a daft question.
I am facing a £2700 bill for a new gear box. I would like to pay for it on my Tesco Credit Card and then get the Virgin card at 0% and transfer the debt to that but I don't want to close my Tesco Credit Card as I use it all the time and pay it off every month in full and get extra Clubcard points too, so only want to transfer the £2700. Can I do that?
If I just take out the Vigin card and pay the debt on that I only get 6 months 0% and not 16 months....Can someone lovely help me please. Thnak you.

Moggles_2

Mazzystarlett wrote: »

I've been working hard to clear as much as I can.

Congratulations on turning things round
:beer:

I'm already a Halifax banking customer. Do you think they would look a little more kindly on me as a credit card customer or doesn't it make much difference?

Sorry, only the Hally knows the answer. Lenders do not disclose the criteria they use to decide.

Judging from posts to this board, I suspect it makes no difference, but that's just my opinion of course.

Moggles_2

cotsvale wrote: »

I am facing a £2700 bill for a new gear box. I would like to pay for it on my Tesco Credit Card and then get the Virgin card at 0% and transfer the debt to that, but I don't want to close my Tesco Credit Card as I use it all the time and pay it off every month in full and get extra Clubcard points too, so only want to transfer the £2700. Can I do that?

Absolutely. You can transfer the £2700 (with or without any additional spending) to Virgin. There's no need to close your Tesco card.

Personally, I would line up the new Virgin card before you make the purchase, so as to complete the BT well before Tesco's payment due date and avoid any possibility of interest charges.

FWIW, I doubt whether lenders can distinguish BACS payments made by other card companies from those of their customers. As far as anyone at Tesco is concerned, you would have made a larger purchase than normal and afterwards settled your account in full

crmsweeney

My husband was recently made redundant and has a balance on his credit card. We wanted to move this to a lower interest rate but I don't think this will be possible in his name due to the redunancy.

Is it possible to move this balance in my name to a new card (I don't have a credit card)...and what would be the best deal?

Thanks in advance.:j

Moggles_2

crmsweeney wrote: »

My husband was recently made redundant and has a balance on his credit card. We wanted to move this to a lower interest rate, but I don't think this will be possible in his name due to the redundancy.

I think that's right. While unemployed, he's not really in a position to get the best balance transfer deals on credit cards, so I would concentrate on finding another job first.

Lenders like stability, so best practice is to apply for credit facilities, where possible, before you move/change jobs/change banks and make as few changes beforehand as practicable. Being with the same employer, bank and current address for a while all help when applying for market-leading BT cards.

Moggles_2

crmsweeney wrote: »

Is it possible to move this balance to a new card in my name?

You can switch credit card balances from family, friends or Dave down the pub. You should be aware though, that the person whose card his balance is shifted to, becomes soley liable for the debt. If you were to fall out, you couldn't ask the card company to charge him for any remaining balance.

From the lender's perspective, it's not a problem. If you request the transfer by phone, customer services may ask for the name on the card, but this is purely an additional verification check. At the end of the day, the card company is after your business. They're not really interested in knowing who ran up the debt, as long as you, their customer, pay up on time each month!

Caution: same restrictions apply as when arranging a BT between your own credit card accounts (ie.you cannot transfer balances between cards underwritten by the same bank.) This table on the stoozing site (which is sponsored by Money Saving Expert) should help:

http://www.stoozing.com/cards.htm