Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

se_yp

hi all,

Needed some clarity over a recent interest free credit card i took out with tesco. This is one i went for:

http://www.tescobank.com/personal/finance/finance/creditcards/clubcc/index.html

I had a large purchase to make recently (just shy of £3000) and decided very last minute to take out the tesco 16months interest free card so i can take my time with the repayment as opposed to using my normal halifax credit card which i have to repay in 56days to avoid interest.

Unfortunately the tesco card didnt arrive in time for the purchase and i had to put the payment onto my normal halifax credit card. Now i have decided i wish to do a balance transfer (which is 0% for 9months on tesco card) so i can put the debt onto the tesco card and clear my halifax card. The transfer fee is 2.9% which im not bothered about.

Im just trying to figue out whether there is any minimum monthly payments i need to make in order to avoid getting charged interest or can i simply not pay anything for 9months and then just clear it all in one go. The tesco site is very vague and doesnt go into too much details nor have i get the card yet so no documentation either.

If anyone has taken this exact card out and has any experience on the repayment structure it would be much appreciated. Id like to delay paying the balance as long as possible up till the 9month period as i may be out of a job shortly and need the free cash i have set aside to get me by whilst i get a full time job.

jcrobbielover

hi all,
me and my partner are looking to get a new CC 0% balance transfer in his name, as he should have better credit rating, would we be able to transfer his and my CC balance onto his new card , together we have 4 cards 2 each
Is this possible sorry if this has been asked before i did try looking
thanks julie

andydgg

se_ you'll have to make at least their minimum payment every month otherwise they'll screw you with their interest, which is probably about 25-30%, if you don't make the minimum payment they'll say you're breaking their terms and conditions and therefore lose the 0% offer. Beware make sure you make the minimum payments.
Take the % chance of getting a card with a huge pinch of salt, the banks will decide what you get, for instance I applied for 23 months 0% typical apr after that is 15%, I get offered 0% for 13 months and apr after that of 29%, that's with a 90% chance of acceptance of the 23/15%. They want you to break your contract and miss a payment because then they can screw you with the extortionate interest. Also the very same terms and conditions, the very small boring writing you can hardly see never mind read and understand, probably also says the card you transfer from has to be in the same name as the new card.

Be careful; you're dealing with evil!

grumbler

jcrobbielover wrote: »

hi all,
me and my partner are looking to get a new CC 0% balance transfer in his name, as he should have better credit rating, would we be able to transfer his and my CC balance onto his new card , together we have 4 cards 2 each
Is this possible sorry if this has been asked before i did try looking
thanks julie

Firstly, you can't transfer within the same group. See: Card Issuers

Re transferring from other person's card, most providers allow this, but there are some exceptions. I don't know if there is a list anywhere summarising this information.

Nenen

The 0% interest on my Barclay Visa card has now finished and I want to transfer the balance I have on this card and on my other credit card (First Direct Visa) to a new 0% deal. When I applied for my Barclaycard I had no problems at all and was granted 0% interest for 18 months with a credit limit of £11,000.

I have just applied for a Lloyds Platinum transfer card (advertised as 0% for up to 21 months) and was hoping for a similar deal but have only been offered a 0% for 13 months deal with a limit of £2,800.

As far as I know my credit history is fine (as is my husband's) - should I check this and, if so, what is the best way to do this without affecting my credit rating?

We do utilise our overdraft facility for the last week of the month (up to £750) but have never gone over the agreed limit.

I would appreciate some advice about which 0% card would be best for me to apply for now. Scenario is as follows:

my salary = £39,500 (professional salaried in post for 9 years)
Balance on Barclaycard = £3,750
Balance on First Direct Visa = £6,900

My husband does not have a credit card. We have a joint bank account and he has a business account (no overdraft) as he's self employed.

We moved to our current house 4 months ago (mortgage went through without any problems)
Prior to this we rented a house for 3.5 years. All bills paid on time with no arrears.

I won't be able to pay off all the balance before the interest rate goes up and would probably look to stooze again if possible. I'd really appreciate advice for the best way forward.

sfax

4 months at current address - on electoral roll and showing correctly on all 3 CRAs?
Any other credit searches other than your mortgage and this new application in the last 6 months?

Regularly using your overdraft can count against you also

Even if you are on electoral roll and only have 1 credit search, you'll still be seen as higher risk because you've recently moved.

All of these could be factors in why you were offered a low limit and a shorter BT period

Nenen

sfax wrote: »

4 months at current address - on electoral roll and showing correctly on all 3 CRAs?
Any other credit searches other than your mortgage and this new application in the last 6 months?

Regularly using your overdraft can count against you also

Even if you are on electoral roll and only have 1 credit search, you'll still be seen as higher risk because you've recently moved.

All of these could be factors in why you were offered a low limit and a shorter BT period

I don't know if we are shown correctly on all 3 CRAs but didn't want to check in case this made things worse!

I don't think we've had any other credit searches done in the last 6 months but we might not appear on the electoral role yet as I think our CC only update once per year in the Autumn. Does this mean I should accept this card as the best deal I'm likely to get or should I apply for a different card?

sfax

Nenen wrote: »

I don't know if we are shown correctly on all 3 CRAs but didn't want to check in case this made things worse!

I don't think we've had any other credit searches done in the last 6 months but we might not appear on the electoral role yet as I think our CC only update once per year in the Autumn. Does this mean I should accept this card as the best deal I'm likely to get or should I apply for a different card?

You can get your credit report at any time. It has no adverse affect. Credit searches do but you checking does not. Get your £2 report from Experian and Equifax - don't subscribe to either of these. Also check Noddle for your free CallCredit report. You should check all 3 at least once per year and before making any new applications. You could have incorrect information held against you or worse: fraud

The delay with the electoral roll is down to when the council publish it. You can call the council to check

One lender giving you a lesser rate or BT period doesn't mean others will but it's a good indicator that they might. I would only apply after confirming current address matches electoral roll, and then wait 6 months if rejected

Pantera_pardus

I have a sum of money on a credit card with a low-ish rate.
I have another credit card with very little on it, and thus a fairly large buffer.

Card No 1 is now offering a zero balance transfer offer, having around 7.5k on it and 3.5k 'spare'

Are there any "rules" stopping me from transferring a chunk FROM card No 1 to the 2nd card, and then transferring the full balance back from the second card onto card No1, taking advantage of the 23 month zero transfer rate?
i.e. more of the balance on card No1 will then be on zero percent, not just the current 3.5k available

TIA

Seany

sfax

Pantera_pardus wrote: »

I have a sum of money on a credit card with a low-ish rate.
I have another credit card with very little on it, and thus a fairly large buffer.

Card No 1 is now offering a zero balance transfer offer, having around 7.5k on it and 3.5k 'spare'

Are there any "rules" stopping me from transferring a chunk FROM card No 1 to the 2nd card, and then transferring the full balance back from the second card onto card No1, taking advantage of the 23 month zero transfer rate?
i.e. more of the balance on card No1 will then be on zero percent, not just the current 3.5k available

TIA

Seany

No, providing that the two cards are not from the same group of companies you can do this. It will obviously cost you double in fees but this is probably negligible if you are paying interest on the balance now