Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

sabretoothtigger

Some of the low fixed rate cards have no bt fee

wannabe_money_legend_1987

Hi All,
I'm looking for some advice....I currently have an interest free overdraft and am -£1650.00 ...not good!
I need to be under £1000 overdrawn by June 1st to ensure I dont incur any interest. Are there any credit cards out there that offer a 0% balance transfer and 0% interest for 6 months to bide me sometime so I can pay it off without incurring interest?
Thanks for your time and any advice is gratefully received.

willenhall12

Hi, I have taken out a loan for a car recently and even though my credit score is good etc they would only offer me a loan at around 16.8 per cent which is quite high. I am wondering if I could shift that debt to a cheaper rate on a card or if I am able to do that?
Thanks

Moggles_2

wannabe_money_legend_1987 wrote: »

I currently have an interest free overdraft and am -£1650.00 ...not good! I need to be under £1000 overdrawn by June 1st to ensure I don't incur any interest. Are there any credit cards out there that offer a 0% balance transfer and 0% interest for 6 months, so I can pay it off without incurring interest?

A few rather special cards will allow you to transfer an overdraft to them, (in other words, transfer cash from the credit card to your current account), at balance transfer rates. A handling fee applies, but there are no other charges during the introductory 0% period.

You need:

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

Which option is best depends, to some extent, on which cards you have at the mo or have held recently. To maximise the 0% period, 15 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

willenhall12 wrote: »

I have taken out a loan for a car recently and even though my credit score is good, they would only offer me a loan at around 16.8 per cent, which is quite high. I am wondering if I could shift that debt to a cheaper rate on a card or if I am able to do that?

Not directly. What you can do is apply for a 0% BT card and transfer an 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 with which to pay off the loan

Caution: you cannot use any old 0% BT card. A handful will do this at BT rates (Please see #1889 above)

Moggles_2

Is it sensible to transfer a balance from a loan to a credit card, to make use
of a 0% deal?

If you will have savings to pay off your credit card balance before the 0% period expires, that's great. The risk in paying off a loan this way is that you can't be sure of another 0% credit card offer with a sufficient credit limit when your current deal ends and the interest rate leaps to anything up to 34% APR variable. For all we know, 0% BT deals may not be around in 12-15 months time and BT fees could have jumped to 5% or even 6% :eek:

Bear in mind that the reason card providers like Virgin can afford to lend you money at 0% for X months is because, more often than not, customers do not clear the debt and end up paying crippling interest when the promotion period ends. This is the main way lenders claw back the cost of these promotions. If this were not the case, these 0% offers would have dried up long ago. If the 0% period isn't long enough to clear the loan, it may be safer to stick with the fixed rate that you are currently paying

Also, you'll need to factor in the balance transfer fees and check the loan Ts & Cs. Some providers charge an early repayment penalty if the loan is settled in full before the scheduled date.

pepsi-dave

Hi, I'm new to the site, and I was hoping someone can reccommend the better credit card suppliers for what I need/want.

I've got a very busy and expensive summer coming up and it will more than likely leave me fairly deep in my overdraft, which, with the interest on it, will be quite a burden. The reasons for my expense are a 2 week holiday (I've paid already for this, but will be taking £1000 spending money) to Australia in May, and 2 Music Festivals (1 in July and one in August).

I don't currently have a credit card as I've tried to steer for clear for as long as possible. I never thought I'd be able to trust myself with one, but I think now might be that time.

I think I want a card with 0% on purchase, no annual fee, and of course as low an APR as possible. Who will I be better off applying with to get the best possible deal for my needs?

Thank you.

Moggles_2

pepsi-dave wrote: »

I don't currently have a credit card as I've tried to steer clear for as long as possible. I never thought I'd be able to trust myself with one, but I think now might be that time. I want a card with 0% on purchases, no annual fee and of course as low an APR as possible. Who will I be better off applying with to get the best possible deal for my needs?

Hi pepsi-dave & welcome to MSE!

This is not a best balance transfer question and you may get replies more quickly, if you post again on the main credit card board

Super_Sam

I just got a fright when I opened my Virgin Credit card statement and found that £115 of interest had been charged on my (considerable!) balance transfer, supposedly "interest free until June 2010".

When I enquired about this, a helpful member of staff advised me that because I made a late minimum payment on my FIRST ever repayment ("late"= paid at 10pm on 18th Feb, due 21st of feb, but technically "late" due to 3 working days processing time if paid after 5pm!!!!).

Because of this one late (?!) payment, I am technically in "breach" of my credit agreement with Virgin. This translates as the 0% interest on balance transfers being WITHDRAWN!!!

For me this means a potential interest charge over the next 14 months of £1,724!!!!!

To be fair to Virgin, this is detailed in the credit card agreement as a "breach", but I had no idea that one late payment would constitute a breach!

FORTUNATELY for me, the nice lady at Virgin agreed (after MUCH begging by me, it must be said!) to reinstate the interest free period and (after more begging) the interest charged.

I have learned a valuable lesson! Please learn from my stupidity and CHECK THE SMALL PRINT!!! Especially on those dream-come-true interest free balance transfer deals.

Moggles_2

Super_Sam wrote: »

I just got a fright when I opened my Virgin Credit card statement and found that £115 of interest had been charged on my (considerable!) balance transfer, supposedly "interest free until June 2010". When I enquired about this, a helpful member of staff advised me that I made a late minimum payment on my FIRST ever repayment. Because of this one late payment, I am technically in "breach" of my credit agreement with Virgin. This translates as the 0% interest on balance transfers being withdrawn. Fortunately for me, the nice lady at Virgin agreed (after MUCH begging by me, it must be said!) to reinstate the interest-free period and (after more begging) the interest charged.I have learned a valuable lesson! Please learn from my stupidity and CHECK THE SMALL PRINT

Thanks for posting. This has been mentioned many times, but cannot be stressed too often. (Doesn't only apply to Virgin, btw. In the current climate, all lenders are applying their Ts & Cs strictly.)

From feedback here, Virgin will normally reinstate your 0% rate, provided that it's a "first offence" and you ask nicely

Please note: Virgin provides excellent online services, so there's no need for anyone with a pc to rely on postal statements.