Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

larryhm

Have £3500 on MBNA on 0% interest free which is ending in May 2009.
Have £1500 on Natwest at 5.9% life of balance.
Just cleared my Barclaycard.

Barclaycard have said I could do 6.9% life of the balance at 2.5% fee which I could use to transfer the my MBNA balance. MBNA will not offer anything at the moment even though I said I might have to take up the Barclaycard offer and close the account otherwise.

I think I will first need to move the balance to my Barclaycard. However, MBNA have a 0.9% interest til January 2010 but it is a 3% fee and I'd only have to transfer again in January. Don't really want to pay a fee twice but the MBNA minimum monthly repayment is a lot less than Barclaycard's (£25 vs 2.25% of balance for Barclaycard) which would mean paying off the Natwest one sooner to then concentrate on the remaining amount.

Should I try getting another card and close both my Barclaycard and MBNA accounts? Or should I just make do with the Barclaycard offer? If I should get another card, what do people suggest?

Any advice appreciated.

Moggles_2

larryhm wrote: »

Have £3500 on MBNA on 0% interest free which is ending in May 2009, £1500 on Natwest at 5.9% life of balance. Just cleared my Barclaycard. Barclaycard have said I could do 6.9% life of the balance at 2.5% fee which I could use to transfer the my MBNA balance. MBNA will not offer anything at the moment even though I said I might have to take up the Barclaycard offer and close the account otherwise.

Once your MBNA card is paid off, courtesy of another credit card, you'll be in a stronger position to negotiate a rate reduction. This lender has a reputation for regular, follow-on offers, which you can use to your advantage, once your balance is paid off in full. The bank will even waive BT fees sometimes, if you're prepared to negotiate over the phone. I've had offers as good or better than the introductory deals now and again

Moggles_2

larryhm wrote: »

MBNA have a 0.9% interest till January 2010, but it is 3% fee and I'd have to transfer again in January. Don't really want to pay a fee twice but the MBNA minimum monthly repayment is a lot less than Barclaycard's (£25 vs 2.25% of balance for Barclaycard) which would mean paying off the Natwest one sooner to then concentrate on my MBNA one.

Why not plug some numbers into this credit card calculator?

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

You can then estimate the time it would take to clear the balance using cards charged at different interest rates. You can also see the effect of increasing your payments by a few pounds.

Moggles_2

larryhm wrote: »

Should I try getting another card and close both my Barclaycard and MBNA accounts?

In closing your MBNA card, you would lose one of the few cards which allows you to route money through your bank account at balance transfer rates. With its market-leading, follow-on offers, this card is worth keeping in your deck, IMO

If I should get another card, what do people suggest?

There's a dearth of decent LOB deals at the mo, but this table on the stoozing site (which is sponsored by Money Saving Expert) should help:

http://www.stoozing.com/lob.php

You'll see the Halifax Easy Rate card has the lowest monthly repayment at 1% of the balance shifted.

peakoilisnow

Thanks for your replies.

I applied to Tesco, Abbey and Virgin as recommended by Martin. All got turned down and I have had dozens of BT cards in the past. I looked at my credit report. I have 14 cards that are not closed down. I have 1 late payment. All the rest are OK. In the last 6 years my Task Scheduler on my computer fell over and that was the only time I paid late.

I am baffled as to why they turned me down, unless they have twigged that I just use the cards for BT and never buy anything on them (that's why they stay, unactivated, in the filing cabinet.)

Moggles_2

peakoilisnow wrote: »

I applied to Tesco, Abbey and Virgin as recommended by Martin. All got turned down and I have had dozens of BT cards in the past. I looked at my credit report. I have 14 cards that are not closed down. I have 1 late payment. All the rest are OK. In the last 6 years my Task Scheduler on my computer fell over and that was the only time I paid late. I am baffled as to why they turned me down, unless they have twigged that I just use the cards for BT and never buy anything on them (that's why they stay, unactivated, in the filing cabinet.)

Unlikely, IMO. I do keep one card for purchases, but the others have been used solely for BTs and my cc applications have not been turned down ... yet.
Your available credit in relation to your income is likely to be a factor though. I would prune some of your 14 unused cards, if I were you.

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

Numpty_Monkey

You're not going to get any traffic from here
the user discountnikes
At least no SPAM link
User reported to [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]
for trying to post spam

jon32

Hello,

question may eb basic but I am a newbie...

When I transfer a balance from one bad card to a good one, can I then transfer a subsequent balance from the same bad card to the new good card a month later for example? I am thinking in case I need to juggle with credit limits.

I am sepcifically looking into M&S card which is quoted as a best for new spending but with 2% trasnfer fee and 0% for 6 months from date of transfer, it will work out cheaper than Barclays simplicity at 0 cost for transfer but 6.9% interest. I am planning on repaying everything within 6 months anyway.

I would appreciate anyone pointing out any flaw in my thinking.

Many thanks.

Moggles_2

jon32 wrote: »

When I transfer a balance from one bad card to a good one, can I then transfer a subsequent balance from the same bad card to the new good card a month later for example?

Normally, there's nothing to prevent you from doing this, although with some credit cards you may not be offered the same introductory interest rate the second time round, so check your Ts & Cs carefully.

I am specifically looking into M&S card which is quoted as a best for new spending but with 2% transfer fee and 0% for 6 months from date of transfer ... I am planning on repaying everything within 6 months anyway.

The M&S card would seem to be taylor-made for your needs

Moggles_2

kiwimel123 wrote: »

My partner, who has a sparkling credit rating, took out a Virgin credit card, which is due to run out in June (8 weeks roughly). In the meantime, he has £2800 of debt on there so we are looking to balance transfer this - probably to Abbey, as that is who he banks with and they have that great deal at the moment.

Fine in principle, but I can't help thinking you'd be better off transferring to another lender. Abbey's customer service is dire. The following is fairly typical of posts to this board, unfortunately. If you use the search facility, I'm sure you'll turn up some others :rolleyes:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1434971&highlight=Abbey+zero

OTOH, 13 months at 0% is currently available to new customers from Halifax on balance transfers made in the first 90 days. There's a 3% BT fee.
Minimum monthly payment is just 1% of the balance shifted

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

As well as that, we were probably going to do it with my little ones too, if that is accepted by them. I have one of £200 and one of £270.

Which two credit cards are involved?