Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

AMH82_2

I'm hoping someone can advise me on my next balance transfer.

I currently have two cards, one with Lloyds that I use, but unfortunately has crept up to the point that I need to knock it on the head and transfer to a 0%, and an HSBC card that I transferred to 12 months ago but the 0% runs out end of next month.

I have £3000 on each.

I applied for the Virign card that was recommended on this site and was declined. I have never been declined credit before. Is it possible that it's because I asked to transfer both balances and so maybe exceeded the credit limit?

When I applied for HSBC you were told your limit first so then you knew how much you could transfer.

So in short, would I be better re-applying with one transfer of £3000, and applying to another with the other £3000?

I do have an old egg card that has nothing on it, should I cancel this, or ring up to cancel and see if they will offer me any 0% deals?

I'm just concerned about applying for various cards and being rejected cauisng my credit score to suffer.

King_Weasel

AMH82 wrote: »

I applied for the Virign card that was recommended on this site and was declined. I have never been declined credit before. Is it possible that it's because I asked to transfer both balances and so maybe exceeded the credit limit?

No. I don't find that a credible reason.

I hope someone else can advise on which cards to try. When you apply, I suggest you don't include any transfers at all. Only do that once you know your credit limit (not forgetting that companies rarely if ever permit the full limit to be transferred - see small print or arrange it over the phone).

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by AMH82
I applied for the Virgin card that was recommended on this site and was declined. I have never been declined credit before. Is it possible that it's because I asked to transfer both balances and so maybe exceeded the credit limit?

I would keep an open mind about the reason(s) you were unsuccessful. None of us knows how individual credit card companies view our applications. Providers do not divulge this information, because to do so might encourage applicants to be economical with the truth.

Fortunately, there are ways to improve your chances of acceptance next time. For tips, which apply equally to all credit cards, have a look at the *Credit Rating* articles on the main site, in particular, Martin's *Check and Improve your Credit Score* article, before you submit your next credit card application.

Also, have you checked your credit reports lately? This is the information UK lenders see when you apply for a new credit card. Mistakes do happen. (For help, see the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky.)

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by AMH82
Would I be better re-applying with one transfer of £3000 and applying to another [card] with the other £3000?

IMO, it's best to keep your options open and leave the balance transfer section of your credit card application blank or, if asked, state you may be interested. Please see #285 above.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by AMH82
I do have an old Egg card that has nothing on it. Should I ring up to cancel and see if they will offer me any 0% deals?

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

If possible, I would phone during normal business hours.

Let us know how you get on.

AMH82_2

Thanks for the advice Moggles, I will indeed take a look at the link for improving credit score.

As I say, I've never been declined credit before, am a homeowner, no previous credit problems, etc. I just assumed that the balance transfer I was trying to make exceeded the Virgin limit that they had in mind for me. Perhaps not.

I will call egg today to see if they can offer me anything, if not I will close it anyway as I have read that having too much available credit can go against you. My egg card is old and only has a limit of £1800, but my HSBC card has a limit of £5000 and Lloyds have continually upped my limit to £11,250!! Crazy!

snowchick13

I've got a pretty expensive overdraft and wanted to transfer this onto a 0% credit card deal, as i need to transfer my c/crd balence anyway (im a serial card hopper). I have been told that if i pay my overdraft with the c/crd, it would be seen as a cash transaction and incur a 22% rate. If I did this, and then transfered the whole balence onto a new 0% deal, would the new credit card recognise that the balence is mostly cash transactions & so charge me interest at that rate, or would the whole amount be subjected to the 0% deal?
Advice gratefully recieved!

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by snowchick13
I have been told that if I pay my overdraft with a [0% balance transfer] credit card, it would be seen as a cash transaction and incur a 22% rate.

This would be true for most credit cards, but there are a handful of exceptions.
(See #320 below)

If I did this and then transferred the whole balance onto a new 0% deal, would the new credit card recognise that the balance is mostly cash transactions & so charge me interest at that rate or would the whole amount be subjected to the 0% deal?

The type of transaction on the old card has no bearing on the new card's balance transfer terms, so the 0% would apply to the whole balance.

Note: this strategy would involve two balance transfer fees in addition to the interest charged for the cash withdrawal, so not recommended.

Moggles_2

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

alternatively, you can use Egg Money (not to be confused with the Egg card) in conjunction with any 0% or low-rate balance transfer card.

Mint periodically issues credit card cheques, which can be paid directly into your current account. Unless you already have them, this is the least satisfactory option, as cheques cannot be ordered and you never know when the next ones will turn up in the post.

Which option is best depends to some extent on which cards you have at the mo. To maximise the 0% period, 15 months is currently available to new customers from Egg and Virgin.

lucy604gym

There is a good offer of a Barclaycard at the moment via the Barclays Internet Banking, I have just applied
2% Cashback on Supermarket & Petrol spend, plus a 9 month BT with only a 1.5% fee.
You can access by clicking on the link below



http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/barclays_landing/platinum386b.html?TC=EXGLA14013

:T