Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

mal79

Hi, I am looking for some advice on my BT situation.

My current Halifax 0% ends April and I am looking to BT £3500 to another 0% deal. This was my first CC with my bank and was supposed to be a stooze, however a short gap in employment means that I will be about £500 short at the end of the term. :embarasse

If it is possible, what I would also like to do is include an extra £3000 that wife has on her card. This was the Virgin 0% best buy that had a BT in September, however due to a late payment, the 0% deal has been withdrawn and interest is now being charged.

Is this possible? If so, should I be avoiding the Virgin card as wife has this card already? Or should I be aiming for this card for the "overdraft transfer" facility which I could then use to pay the wife's card?

My current CC limit is £3800 and since I got the card, I got 0% deal on about £1100 of store goods, of which about £400 remains. Of course I will be checking my credit report before applying, though I believe it to be OK.

Thanks, Mal

Moggles_2

mal79 wrote: »

My current Halifax 0% ends April and I am looking to BT £3500 to another 0% deal. What I would also like to do is include an extra £3000 that wife has on her card. This was the Virgin 0% best buy that had a BT in September, however due to a late payment, the 0% deal has been withdrawn and interest is now being charged. Is this possible? If so, should I be avoiding the Virgin card as wife has this card already or should I be aiming for this card for the "overdraft transfer" facility which I could then use to pay the wife's card?

Yes, it's possible, credit limit permitting, but the Virgin deal is still a market-leader and, as you say, offers the flexibility of paying off your wife's card via your current account.

On receipt of your new card, you can request the transfer of funds to your bank account. I would do this when you call to activate your card. (There's a dedicated, Freefone number). Virgin will allow you to transfer up to 95% of your credit limit. The money arrives in your bank account in about 6 days.

vaz119

vaz119 wrote: »

i wonder if anyone can help me?

i recently applied for a barclaycard with the offer of 0% on balance transfers for 14 months, however when i received the card it only says 0% for 6 months. Is this possible? Do all customers get different offers?

tia

sorry to quote myself, but just wanted to say thanks and a wee update.

i applied just before xmas and received my card just after new year. I think what happened is that the card i applied (one pulse)for on 0% for 14mnts was discontinued as a special offer 31/12/08 and was replaced with same offer but platinum card! I however received the onepulse but the offer had finished.

Phoned barclaycard and have been very helpful by giving me 14mnts without having to reapply for new card!:j

So i BT ~£3k to my new barclaycard. My question is....do i keep the 2 (now £0 balance cards, RBS and Halifax) in the hope of an 'existing customer offer' in the future or phone and close them and re-apply when my 0% runs out.

Any help much appreciated as i am new to this 'tart' business!

tia

jay_bee2007

I read the article on the main site and thought I would try my luck at transferring my Tesco Credit Card to the empty Barclaycard I had. Initially I was offered 0% on a balance transfer until July and then something silly as an interest rate. Then I said I was looking for the 6.5% rate (+2.5% fee) for the life of the balance. I was turned down but the (incredibly chirpy) man on the phone offered me 'something as good mam' which was 6.9% (+2.5% fee) for the life of the balance. Am still grossly ignorant about rates and %s and really shouldn't be allowed any credit ever, but I am determined to get a grip on my debts by Easter.

So, should I go for this deal? I have a balance of £2920 on Tesco and a limit of £5000 on the Barclaycard. Help!

Moggles_2

vaz119 wrote: »

I transferred £3k [from RBS and Halifax] to my new Barclaycard. Do I keep the two unused cards in the hope of an 'existing customer offer' in the future or phone and close them and re-apply when my 0% runs out?

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 by keeping these two cards, unless you have a lower than average annual income. That said, with each successful credit card application, your available credit will increase in relation to your income and there will come a point when you must consider closure.

I think you have to treat each credit card on its own merits. Some card companies (eg. Barclaycard, Mint) have regular, existing-customer offers and, IME, Mint (which belongs to the RBS stable) will even waive BT fees sometimes, if you're prepared to negotiate over the phone. At the other end of the spectrum, some lenders (eg. Halifax) reserve their best deals for new applicants.

In general, unless a card has a particular benefit, then I would close the account. Firstly, having lots of credit, even if not used, may 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

jay_bee2007 wrote: »

I read the article on the main site and thought I would try my luck at transferring my Tesco credit card [balance] to my empty Barclaycard. Initially I was offered 0% on a balance transfer until July and then something silly as an interest rate. I said I was looking for the 6.5% rate (+2.5% fee) for the life of the balance. I was turned down but the (incredibly chirpy) man on the phone offered me 6.9% (+2.5% fee) for the life of the balance. Am still grossly ignorant about rates and %s and really shouldn't be allowed any credit ever, but I am determined to get a grip on my debts by Easter. So, should I go for this deal? I have a balance of £2920 on Tesco and a limit of £5000 on the Barclaycard.

There's no perfect solution that suits everyone.You haven't mentioned the interest rate you're currently paying Tesco, but if the aim is to shift the balance from a variable rate deal to a life-of-balance card, the 6.9% APR offer is near enough what you asked for.

Why not plug some numbers into this credit card 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

samara

Moggles wrote: »

Credit scores are a nice little earner for the credit reference agencies, but of little practical value to cc applicants and certainly not worth paying extra for. I wouldn't let these numbers distract you from tackling the things that really matter.

Remember credit reference agencies are there to provide your credit history, but the actual methodology (and the process of scoring itself) is done by their clients, the lenders. None of us - including the CRAs - knows what criteria are used by individual companies. Lenders do not disclose this information. It's not uncommon for forum users to post different scores from the three CRAs or various scores from the same agency a few weeks apart. I suspect that the lenders' scores, had we access to them, would be different from each other as well!

That said, Halifax and Tesco are not known to score particularly harshly.

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 certain nothing - other than the fact that you're self-employed - is working against you.

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

Have just read the above article,and something still keeps jumpping out at me. ' even a joint account for the bills may effect you'. I believe you have already commented on a joint bank account as having no impact,but the wording is misleading.After going through the checklist,i have done pretty much everything I can to keep my rating high,save the current searches,but i was getting bombed out before that,so i don't really know what it is.

Would it be any easier to get a personal loan do you think to pay the card off? Or am i just opening up another can of worms?,or should i try another card in a month or so?

cheers

Moggles_2

samara wrote: »

Have just read the above article and something still keeps jumping out at me. ' even a joint account for the bills may effect you'. I believe you have already commented on a joint bank account as having no impact, but the wording is misleading.

I think something's got lost in translation. I said

Simply sharing utility bills has no effect unless these involve credit facilities. As things stand, your wife's name on the billing address of a utility bill makes no difference to your credit rating. Your wife's lack of credit history neither helps nor harms your credit worthiness.

If you share a financial product with someone else eg. joint bank account, then you are financially linked and the poor management of their affairs could certainly affect your credit rating but, once again, your wife's lack of credit history neither helps nor harms your credit rating. [Please see #1374, #1375 above]

If you're concerned about this, consider separating your financial affairs. Once your wife opened her own bank account and your current a/cs were separated, you could write to the credit reference agencies and ask for a notice of disassociation, to prevent your credit history affecting hers in future and vice versa.

Moggles_2

samara wrote: »

Have just read the above article ... After going through the checklist, I have done pretty much everything I can to keep my rating high, save the current searches, but I was getting bombed out before that, so I don't really know what it is. Would it be any easier to get a personal loan do you think to pay the card off or should I try another card in a month or so?

If you order credit reports from a central source like CheckMyFile, you'll get most data from CallCredit, a bit less from Equifax and only publically visible data from Experian.What's more, it costs you much more.

Credit reports, when ordered directly from Experian and Equifax, online or by post, are more valuable. This is the information lenders search when you apply for credit cards or loans. (Personally, I wouldn't bother with CallCredit, but that's just my opinion of course.). For links, see page 1 of the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky. Experian sends explanatory notes which are an invaluable aid to interpreting your credit reports and will help you get to the root of the problem.

angel234

Hi I am new to this site and forums!

I have barclaycard visa (just under £3K) and and egg card (£650)
the 0% interest on them ends in june and sept

I applied for a virgin card today but got declined (because of credit scoring?)

does anyone know what card is the best to go for?

Also, Am i best waiting a month or so to apply for another card? will being declined for the virgin card affect my other applications??

Thanks in advance