Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

quebe

hello there

looking at applying for a 0% BT card and just wondering if the credit limit quoted is likely to be the one i get or not?

e.g. the nationwide card application process quoted me a limit of £3500, which would be ideal for transferring things, so how accurate is that likely to be?

obviously don't want to apply and end up with a card with a lower limit that is of no use.

for info, i've got:
Barclaycard - £2600 used of a £4500 limit
Virgin - £2300 of £2400 limit
Halifax - £400 of £500 limit

Cheers!

Josh91

Hi All.

I have debts of around of around £1300 from 4 different creditors and 2 incurring interest.

I also have an agreed overdraft facility of £1300 on my Barclays student account at 0% interest which is maxed out and always has been. I graduated from uni last month (only did 3years as opposed to the 4 with work experience) so i still effectively have 0% on my overdraft for another year as technically its a 4 year course - many people that i know also use this extra year to their advantage with regards to the 0%.

Is it possible to get a 0% balance transfer to pay off my overdraft, and then use my overdraft facility to pay off my debts? I'm recently employed so paying the monthly repayments will not be a problem and hope to do this within the year, its just right now these creditors are really hassling me and want payments in full, one of which is now a debt collecting agency.

Hope this makes sense but i cant really find any info about balance transfers to pay off overdrafts. I mean, this seems like the most logical option to me, because when i "graduate" next year and get switched to a graduate account, i'd be in the same position anyway with regards to paying my overdraft next year, however with my outstanding debt clear.

If not, would it be possible to take advantage of the 15month 0% SBT with regards to depositing travelers cheques on the M&S card.

Also i DONT have a good credit rating so after looking into, i realise that the chances of my getting either of these services is virtually zero.

ANY other advice on how to deal with these debts would be much appreciated, these people are really getting me down and are now becoming very demanding and persistent, i live my Dad so his address is on all these debts and he's on the verge of kicking me out. Breaking point really.

Thanks

thenudeone

quebe wrote: »

obviously don't want to apply and end up with a card with a lower limit that is of no use.

Why not? Even moving £1 from a card with a high APR to one at 0% APR will save you money.

Just apply and transfer what you can; you'll still be better off.

quebe

well, because ideally i want to transfer one of the larger balances and shut the card, rather than have 4 credit cards accounts open, as the more accounts you have, the worse it looks, as i understand it.

am i wrong?

nowuntillpayday

Hi all,

Just a quick question- I have had a letter through today from natwest about my platinum credit card offering 0% on balance transfers for 12 months. I have a capital one card with a not so good rate so I am going to transfer the balence from that card. But what I was wondering is this, I have a balance of just over £700 on my natwest card already- can I use my capital one card to clear this and then transfer the whole lot back to my natwest card to take advantage of the 0% for 12 months?
Any help would be appricated.

Many Thanks
Luke

Monju25

Thanks to MSE & the credit card board!

ChocEye88

Please can somebody advise me on this - I'm currently self employed but this is soon to change. I have a work van which I own on finance. I currently owe about £5000 on it. I've had an offer to buy the van off me for £3000 which I can put towards paying off the finance deal. To sell the van I need to transfer the remaining balance to a 0% on purchases credit card but I'm struggling to get a 0% on purchases credit card because I'm self employed. Does anyone know of a way I can do this?

thenudeone

quebe wrote: »

well, because ideally i want to transfer one of the larger balances and shut the card, rather than have 4 credit cards accounts open, as the more accounts you have, the worse it looks, as i understand it.

am i wrong?

Yes.

As far as your lenders are concerned, one more or less account is less important that the credit actually taken and the credit available. 10 cards is worse than 3, but £5k credit on 3 cards is little different to £5k credit on 4 cards.

The aim of having a better credit record is to reduce the cost of your credit, surely. You can't get much cheaper than 0%, so take it. Then reduce the credit limit on the other card so that your available credit isn't too high.

quebe

understood.

thanks for replying!

Nun_Of_The_Above

quebe wrote: »

hello there

looking at applying for a 0% BT card and just wondering if the credit limit quoted is likely to be the one i get or not?

e.g. the nationwide card application process quoted me a limit of £3500, which would be ideal for transferring things, so how accurate is that likely to be?

obviously don't want to apply and end up with a card with a lower limit that is of no use.

for info, i've got:
Barclaycard - £2600 used of a £4500 limit
Virgin - £2300 of £2400 limit
Halifax - £400 of £500 limit

Cheers!

I applied for the Barclaycard, have recently run checks to ensure I am good risk, nothing bad shows, nor did I expect it to. I always pay on time and don't miss payments. Applied on B/C own site where it gives you a test run and an idea of whether or not you will be accepted. I came out at 80-90% guaranteed approval so went ahead with the full application which incurred a credit check. They then wrote to me to say, "Sorry we can't give you the card you requested but will give you this one", which a) was 19.9% rate (higher than the cards I wanted to transfer from) and b) only offered a credit limit of £1200 when I need £5k. I have phoned today and said thanks but no thanks. But of course I now have a check registered against me if I apply for another. I am going to call my current card companies and try and get it reduced that way instead.
So the answer is no, you may not get the quoted rate and you won't know until you apply! Good luck though.