Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Amethyst623

Clearly, it's important to check the minimum payment required each month before you apply.
To help you further we need to know which new credit card you were accepted for.



I have a Barclaycard that I haven't used so will need to call them to activate it and have just been accepted for an Egg card (£2500 credit limit)

ScRiMpNsAvE_2

Amethyst623 wrote: »

I have a Barclaycard that I haven't used so will need to call them to activate it and have just been accepted for an Egg card (£2500 credit limit)

I can't comment on the Egg but my Barclaycard charges 2.25% of the balance for the minimum payment. Hope that helps!

ScRiMpNsAvE_2

Have just clicked the Tesco link under the 0% BT table and they don't appear to be offering it anymore! Can someone else confirm that I have not missed a trick (or lost the plot)?

...

Moggles has kindly confirmed this is not the case! As you were...

Moggles_2

AGClark wrote: »

Was going through the instructions on MSE for the credit card shuffle. I had two card - M&S with ~£3200 (on 18.9%) and Barclaycard with ~£2400 (with interest free running out in 3 weeks, returning to 14.9%). I called Barclaycard to say that I needed cheaper debt and did not want to leave (as per step 1 of the instructions for the shuffle). Before I had even had a chance to finish the question, the operator asked me if I had a balance to transfer, which I said I might (as I was going to ask the other 3 questions from step 2). He said that he could put the existing amount with Barclaycard and BT my M&S balance fixed at 0% until August '09 for no fee! The only catch was that I had to do it then and there, so couldn't contact M&S to see what they could do for me.

Thanks for posting.

It's not unusual to be offered promotional rates as a sweetener to attract new business. It's not often that Barclaycard offers to extend a 0% deal on existing transactions though.

If I were you, I'd ring back and check that your £2400 balance will continue to be charged at 0% until August and keep a record of the date, time and names of staff you speak to, as you have nothing in writing. (It's possible you'll get two different answers, so I'd choose the one you like best and note their details.)

M & S reserves its best deals for new customers and is not known for good follow-on offers, so you've lost nothing there, IMO.

Very best
M

ScRiMpNsAvE_2

AGClark wrote: »

Was going through the instructions on MSE for the credit card shuffle. I had two card - M&S with ~£3200 (on 18.9%) and Barclaycard with ~£2400 (with interest free running out in 3 weeks, returning to 14.9%). I called Barclaycard to say that I needed cheaper debt and did not want to leave (as per step 1 of the instructions for the shuffle), before I had even had a chance to finish the question the operator asked me if I had a balance to transfer, which I said I might (as I was going to ask the other 3 questions from step 2), he said that he could put the existing amount with Barclaycard and BT my M&S balance fixed at 0% until August '09 for no fee! :eek: The only catch was that I had to do it then and there, so couldn't contact M&S to see what they could do for me. I couldn't believe it, I did ask him to confirm that more than once and it was all done and dusted in about 5 mins. So not sure of how much I am saving but it will be in the hundreds and I wanted to let you all know in case you could get this offer as well. :T

Moggles wrote: »

If I were you, I'd ring back and check that your £2400 balance will continue to be charged at 0% until August and keep a record of the date, time and names of staff you speak to, as you have nothing in writing.;)

I agree - I will be amazed if they've offered you 0% on your existing balance as well. If, as I suspect, they've not been clear, you'll be charged full interest on your existing Barclaycard balance in 3 weeks, and will have to pay off the transferred M&S balance before you can even think about reducing the balance that's earning interest! Usually you'll pay off the loan with the lowest interest rate first.

I got offered a similar deal, albeit the other way round. I phoned Barclaycard a few months after transferring on to a 0% offer (until Oct 09) to see if I could transfer a further (smaller) balance on the same 0% deal.

They told me it had expired but they could offer me 0% until May 09 on the new transfer. I was tempted until I started asking questions (I had learnt from previous mistakes) and come May I would be paying interest on the second transfer (as expected) but I would need to pay off the first (larger) transfer first before I could even get at the second (interest-accruing) balance! Unless I could get a new BT for the entire balance I would be trapped paying interest.

I hope I'm wrong, and certainly don't want to worry you unnecessarily, but I'd seriously consider calling them while you're in a position to possibly do something about it.

All the best

SnS

Moggles_2

BRAMBLES wrote: »

Can anyone suggest the best credit card company to approach re a balance transfer for an ARGOS storecard - not all companies accept this balance transfer from Argos.

Well, not directly. What you can do is ask a 0% balance transfer card to transfer your overdraft to the card, in other words shift cash from the credit card to your bank account. A handling fee applies, but there are no other charges during the introductory 0% period. You then have funds in your current account and can pay off your Argos card.

Caution: you cannot use any 0% BT card. You need

a card issued by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin), Egg card or the Post Office card

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/

Moggles_2

ScRiMpNsAvE wrote: »

Have just clicked the Tesco link under the 0% BT table and they don't appear to be offering it anymore! Can someone else confirm that I have not missed a trick (or lost the plot)?

The link posted in #1762 above still works

Moggles_2

Amethyst623 wrote: »

I have a Barclaycard that I haven't used so will need to call them to activate it and have just been accepted for an Egg card (£2500 credit limit)

Congratulations on getting accepted for Barclaycard and Egg.
:beer:
B'card restricts BTs to 90% of your credit limit, Egg will allow you to transfer up to 95%. Assuming you transfer the maximum amounts permitted, my back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest the minimum payments on your three cards are within your budget.

I would aim to pay off any remaining balance on your Virgin card as soon as possible, as this is charged at your standard rate which is variable. Virgin could decide to raise the rate at any time.:eek:

Lucyxx

Moggles wrote: »

Yes. You can transfer any amount you wish, though most credit cards will not consider BTs of less than £100.

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 his credit file, so he may as well use it.

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/

Alternatively, 14 months is currently available to new customers from Tesco, as you know. A 2.9% BT fee applies.

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

Virgin has a reputation for more generous limits than Tesco. That said, the best choice depends, to some extent, on which cards - besides LloydsTsb - he has at the mo or has held recently.

Thank you for the advice Moggles. They were the two cards that caught my attention, but thought Tesco would be the better option going by reviews on moneysupermarket!

He currently has his Lloyds TSB CC and an Adams storecard which is actually a Mastercard.

He has an appointment at the bank in a week or so's time, and I have told him I am going with him (he is fine with this) so they don't con him into getting something else which is more for their benefit than his. The last time he went (got called in by them surprisingly just as loan repayments were due to finish) and unbeknown to me (until 2 weeks ago) he came out with another more expensive one. Funny how they have called him in again just as this one is about to expire.......:rolleyes:

Fingers crossed he gets accepted for this card. We have only owned this house just over a year, and I don't know the full extent of how long his payments have been missed/late etc to be on his credit file.

To his credit he has gone out and started taking on extra work to help pay off bigger chunks of the bill, and had done this before I found out about his problem, so I think it has dawned on him for real this time, just how much trouble he is in.

Thanks again for your help xxxxxxx

Moggles_2

Lucyxx wrote: »

They were the two cards that caught my attention, but thought Tesco would be the better option going by reviews on moneysupermarket!

Caution: this is a profit-driven service that lists some, but not all credit cards, due to its commercial relationships. Don't forget they're on lead commission. It's very much in their interest to persuade users to apply for particular cards.:rolleyes: