Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Jo4

Moggles wrote: »

Whilst the majority of lenders now charge balance transfer fees - a trend started by MBNA - just three, AFAIK, currently charge interest on BT fees.

Bank of Ireland, LloydsTSB and Royal Bank of Scotland treat these handling charges as purchase transactions which are paid off last, so the BT fee is left sitting on successive monthly statements attracting interest.

Capital One, Citi, Co-op, HBOS and MBNA have never charged interest on BT fees.

Egg and Barclaycard have now dropped the practice.

In the case of the RBS stable (which includes Mint, NatWest, RBS itself and Tesco), I believe you can pay the handling fee in addition to your first monthly payment and avoid interest.

The card is with Virgin. Does this mean that for the first monthly payment it would be best to pay the handling fee and the monthly payment and then from the second month on only pay the minimum monthly repayment?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Jo4
The card is with Virgin. Does this mean that for the first monthly payment it would be best to pay the handling fee and the monthly payment ..?

With cards issued by MBNA (which includes Virgin), the balance transfer fee is always collected with the first repayment, so your first minimum payment will be 3% of the balance, but from there on your minimum monthly payment will be £25.

.. and then from the second month on only pay the minimum monthly repayment?

Exactly.
:beer:

langey

Hoping for a bit of help. In general what salary do you have to be earning to be able to get a credit card? I am looking to go for the Virgin card as I need to transfer a balance soon.

Ta

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by teresa2406
I've applied to Barclaycard and CitiBank for a balance transfer card with set APR for life-of-balance, as I thought this would make things a bit more "stable" but I haven't heard anything from them yet.

The time taken to process a credit card application varies between card companies. The best deals are often heavily advertised and lenders are sometimes flooded with applications.

When did you apply and by what means? (e.g. online, post, telephone)

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by teresa2406
I started looking at loans and was offered a 12% loan with the Coop and a 9.9% loan with Moneyback Bank. I don't know whether to take the cheaper loan or try applying for a couple of cheaper credit cards. I'm pretty good at transferring before the interest hikes up so I don't mind moving money about,but I don't know what to do for the best at the moment.

Personally, I wouldn't apply for further credit for a bit.

Think about the number of applications you've made in the past month. (Include catalogues, store cards, mobile phones etc. not just the credit cards and loans, as all can leave footprints on your file.) Credit checks appear on your credit report more or less in realtime. You already have at least four on your file (Barclays, Citi, Co-op and Moneyback). Too many in a short space of time may put off other lenders so, where possible, it's best to space them out through the year.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by teresa2406
I've got quite a few credit cards that I haven't used for ages with zero balances. Should I ring these companies up to see what they can offer me or just close the accounts?

This could be your best move at the mo. Attracting new business is expensive and most lenders prefer to retain existing customers. With a zero balance, you're in a good position to negotiate a low-rate balance transfer

magicdogsbrain

Moggles wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't let this put you off.

HSBC is offering new customers 2.9 % APR on balances shifted for 2 years plus a one-off fee of 3 % of the balance transferred. If you can repay in two years or under, this deal may be worth considering.

Then again, if you're apt to file away the Ts & Cs and forget all about 'em, perhaps it's not for you.

My point is that they are not offering new customers 2.9 % APR on balances shifted for 2 years plus a one-off fee of 3 % of the balance transferred – if you don’t use the card for anything else.

If you just do the BT at the start and nothing else – they will charge you after 12 months! And they are not saying how much you will be charged!

If you do use the card after the 12 months 0% for purchases then you will be paying interest on that transaction for 12 months.

The level of inactivity and the level of charge are not specified.

Those T&C are far to open ended for me. :eek:

magicdogsbrain

langey wrote: »

Hoping for a bit of help. In general what salary do you have to be earning to be able to get a credit card? I am looking to go for the Virgin card as I need to transfer a balance soon.

Ta

Not sure if there is a minimum but 10k seems to be what a lot of cards ask for. It obviously depends on your credit file also.

YorkshireBoy

magicdogsbrain wrote: »

My point is that they are not offering new customers 2.9 % APR on balances shifted for 2 years plus a one-off fee of 3 % of the balance transferred – if you don’t use the card for anything else.

I think this statement is incorrect. Perhaps you could say why you made it? BTW, it's a 2.5% BT fee, not 3%.

If you just do the BT at the start and nothing else – they will charge you after 12 months! And they are not saying how much you will be charged!

The deal is 2.9% APR for 24 months. Where does 12 months come into it?

If you do use the card after the 12 months 0% for purchases then you will be paying interest on that transaction for 12 months.

Your purchases will incur your personal rate interest (or the typical 15.9% APR), whilst your BT remains at 2.9% APR. That's standard practice amongst 99% of card providers, and why you shouldn't mix'n'match transactions on BT cards.

The level of inactivity and the level of charge are not specified.

Do they need to be "specified" any more than they already are in the T&C's/summary box?

magicdogsbrain

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

I think this statement is incorrect. Perhaps you could say why you made it? BTW, it's a 2.5% BT fee, not 3%.The deal is 2.9% APR for 24 months. Where does 12 months come into it?Your purchases will incur your personal rate interest (or the typical 15.9% APR), whilst your BT remains at 2.9% APR. That's standard practice amongst 99% of card providers, and why you shouldn't mix'n'match transactions on BT cards.Do they need to be "specified" any more than they already are in the T&C's/summary box?

clause 3e of the T&C states “If you have not used your Account or Card for more than 12 months we may make a reasonable charge to your Account…….”

I think this answers both of your questions. So 12 months 1 day after you BT - you get a "reasonable charge" placed on your account.