Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by greencode
I have £2000 on my MorganStanley card (MS) and £1500 on my Barclaycard (BC). Both companies have written to me with Balance Transfer offers.

Therefore can I transfer the £2000 from my MS card to my BC card and start paying the 6.9% interest until paid off (that's the offer) and then once done transfer the current £1500 from my BC card to my MS card and take MS up on their 3.9% for 5 months offer?

Have you estimated the time you'll need to clear each balance?

You haven't mentioned the interest rates you're currently paying on these two cards, but please be aware that unless you pay off Barclaycard first, you'll be saddled with your standard rate, whatever that is, on your £1500 balance for the duration of the life-of-balance deal. If the interest rate is variable, this could get rather expensive :eek:

Also, there's no guarantee that the Morgan Stanley offer would still be available when needed.

Have you considered shifting the £1500 balance to Morgan Stanley and then transferring everything back to Barclaycard to take advantage of the 6.9% LOB offer on the total debt?

Would Barclaycard charge a BT fee? If not, this may be the way to go.(Morgan Stanley will almost certainly charge a fee, but you face that anyway if you take up the 3.9% for 5 months offer.)

Note: Barclaycard restricts balance transfers to 90% of your credit limit.

secondtoughest

I got a Barclaycard Platinum 0% deal on Dec 17th - transferred my other credit card onto there and there is £300 left to pay.

I want to make another transfer, I called them up today and they said because I have had my card for 60 days they are going to charge me 6.9%. 60 days... does this include weekends? I tried to haggle with them but the girl on the phone seemed quite inexperienced and wasn't really sure. Instead of applying for another card, does anyone know where I stand with this? The card will be paid off by about June so I won't be using it for a long time.

Thanks!

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by secondtoughest
I got a Barclaycard Platinum 0% deal on 17th Dec and transferred my other credit card [balance] there.
I want to make another transfer. I called them up today and they said because I have had my card for 60 days they are going to charge me 6.9%.

New Barclaycard Platinum customers are currently offered 0% balance transfers with the following proviso:

Condition No. 10
To qualify for this balance transfer offer you must transfer any balance within 60 days of opening your Barclaycard account.

Of course things change over time and your December deal may have different Ts & Cs.

Originally Posted by secondtoughest
... does anyone know where I stand with this?

Have you kept a copy of your credit agreement? If not, you will next time, won't you?

Whenever you sign a credit agreement, make sure you retain a copy. If you apply online and "sign" electronically, print a copy for your records and note down any subsequent changes. (Some lenders seem to love of making changes :rolleyes:) It's important to know what you're signed up to and you'll feel more confident tackling customer services with the paperwork to hand

jules_gooner

Hi All,

Apologies if this has been covered before but I've done a fair old search and haven't come across it..........

My bank Natwest are having a 'sale' and offering bt's for new cards at 0% for 13 months, here's my question;

In ALL the literature given to me and on display in the bank, the bt fee is 2.5% (including the small print) but online and according to the customer services girl its 2.9%. Is this just part of the sale offer?

Has anyone applied for it and done a bt? What fee were you charged?

Thanks for any advice.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by jules_gooner
My bank Natwest is having a 'sale' and offering bts for new cards at 0% for 13 months. Here's my question;

In ALL the literature given to me and on display in the bank, the bt fee is 2.5% (including the small print) but online and according to the customer services girl its 2.9%. Is this just part of the sale offer? Has anyone applied for it and done a bt? What fee were you charged?

It's not uncommon for lenders to offer different terms and conditions to online applicants from those advertised in branch or by mail shots at one and the same time. My own bank (Halifax) is always at it. What's more, the bank's own staff are often unaware of these variations.

I haven't applied for this particular deal but, irrespective of what's stated on this forum or anywhere else, it's the credit agreement you sign with NatWest which counts. If you particularly want to avoid the 2.9% fee, your best bet is to apply at your bank.

This may sound obvious but, whatever you do, make sure you retain a copy of the agreement you sign. If you decide to apply online and "sign" electronically, print a copy for your records and record any subsequent changes. (Some lenders seem to love making changes :rolleyes:) In these circumstances, it's especially important to know what you're signed up to

bottle2top

Hi,
Need a loan of around £7800, (home improvements over 3-5 years) decided to try the credit card method as described in the main article. Got a Citi plat' card and an Egg money card 'mule', no problem, tried to set up the BT only to be told of my credit limit £2000 (and can only BT 90% of the £2000 anyway)
So, before I cut up the cards and go to the 'cheapest loan' article, just thought I'd ask on here if there was anything else I could do.....
Any ideas anyone?
Thanks in advance...
Bottletop

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by bottle2top
Need a loan of around £7800 (home improvements over 3-5 years). Decided to try the credit card method as described in the main article. Got a Citi Plat' card and an Egg Money 'mule', no problem. Tried to set up the BT only to be told of my credit limit £2000 (and can only BT 90% of the £2000 anyway).

None of us knows the credit limit we will be given when selecting a new credit card. That said, Citi is certainly not known for generous credit limits.

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 your credit file, so you may as well use it (Please see Martin's *Credit Card Limit: didn't get what you wanted?* article on the main site).

To help you further, we need to know which credit cards - besides Egg Money and Citi Platinum - you hold.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by bottle2top
... before I cut up the cards and ......

Whatever you decide, I would keep Egg Money, if I were you. It's a very useful card to have, particularly if you're about to embark on home improvements.

If a builder won't accept credit card payments, for instance, or charges a fee for credit card use, you could route the money from a 0% balance transfer card via Egg Money to your current account and settle the bill(s) with a cheque

bottle2top

Well, with regard to your first post (208), the only card I have, apart from the two mentioned, is my current account debit card
I do still have a£4k ongoing loan with Cahoot taken out about 4 years ago, (£2400 which I can tap into, up to the £4k limit), I pay off £80 a month (min payment £50) and have £1600 outstanding at the moment, which I hoped to reduce to zero then let it lie fallow, therefore saving myself the £80 a month.

thanks again
B

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by bottle2top
The only card I have, apart from the two mentioned, is my current account debit card

If Citi Platinum is your first credit card, you will find it easier to get the credit limits you want, once you have operated this and at least one other credit card for a bit.

Very best
M