Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Katie789

Moggles wrote: »

Are you on the electoral roll at your current address?

Yes I am. Am just worried about 'wasting' searches on my file, I got declined for a mint card a year ago and although I was accepted for tesco card 8 months ago was declined for a clydesdale card 4 months ago. There haven't been any other searches on my file since then though (got my equifax and experian reports trough the post this week).

Thanks for the prompt reply

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Silaqui
Would I be better off throwing everything at the bigger debt and just doing the minumum for the smaller one? Or should I try and pay a bit more on each so that I can then transfer more onto the lower rate card?

I would throw any spare cash you can muster at the card with the highest rate.

Why not plug some numbers into Martin's Credit Card Calculator on the main site? You can then estimate the time it would take to clear the debt at current rates and see the effect of adding say an extra £10 per month

http://www.whatsthecost.com/creditcard.aspx

JimmyTheWig

Silaqui wrote: »

Would I be better off throwing everything at the bigger debt and just doing the minumum for the smaller one? Or should I try and pay a bit more on each so that I can then transfer more onto the lower rate card?

The obvious answer is to pay money off the higher interest card first.

But in an earlier post Moggles (who sounds like he knows what he's talking about to me) suggested asking Barclaycard for a bigger credit limit in 6 months time when you've got more of a payment history with them.
So would it be worth aiming to pay off the transfered Barclaycard balance in 6 months (e.g. about £50 a month), whilst paying off as much of the higher interest card as you can?

Then if you get a bigger limit from Barclaycard you can transfer a larger amount from A&L, _then_ pay the minimum on Bcard and pay as much as you can on A&L.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by katie789
Am just worried about 'wasting' searches on my file. I got declined for a Mint card a year ago and although I was accepted for Tesco card 8 months ago was declined for a Clydesdale card 4 months ago. There haven't been any other searches on my file since then though (got my Equifax and Experian reports through the post this week).

Mint and Tesco cards are both underwritten by Royal Bank of Scotland and scored the same way, so something improved over that 4 months :beer:

You would have disrupted your credit rating temporarily of course by moving house. Lenders like stability, so best practice is to apply for credit cards, where possible, before you move/change jobs/change banks

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by katie789
Over 2 years ago, I got into a bit of a mess when I graduated and ended up with missed payments across several accounts. I've no defaults and these missed payments were Jan-March 2006.

Have you some other credit cards then in addition to Aqua and Tesco?
Are these missed payments shown on your Experian and Equifax reports?

Silaqui

I've just been playing about on the link that Moggles gave, wow its amazing how much difference it can make isn't it!

Thats a good idea though Jimmy - I'm paying the A&L off at £100pm, about £50 more than the minimum as it stands, but I'm sure I could find about £30/£35 quid that I can pay each month on the Barclaycard which would then have it paid off in less than a year, by which time I can do like you say.

I'm also doing some exam marking work in the summer holidays (I'm a teacher) which will give me 5/600 extra that will go straight towards it too.

So the end is in sight! Thank you for all your advice. Just can't believe how silly I was, spending 3 grand on a credit card!! You don't realise how much it will affect things, I look at my statements now and think how much more fun I could be having with that extra £100 a month!

Katie789

Moggles wrote: »

Have you some other credit cards then in addition to Aqua and Tesco?
Are these missed payments shown on your Experian and Equifax reports?

The missed payments were on student cc's one barclaycard and one natwest, both of which are now completely paid off. Also on my next directory account which I've previously mentioned. They do show up on my equifax report but over 2 years ago now so i'm unsure the impact that they'll have on applications.

I've kept both my Tesco and Aqua cards in good order, never missed payments etc etc would I be better off applying for another account underwritten by RBS or Halifax rather than an MBNA like Virgin?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by katie789
The missed payments were on student cc's, one Barclaycard and one NatWest, both of which are now completely paid off. Also, on my Next directory account which I've previously mentioned. They do show up on my Equifax report but over 2 years ago now, so I'm unsure the impact that they'll have on applications. I've kept both my Tesco and Aqua cards in good order, never missed payments etc.

As they recede into the background, these missed payments become less significant. The fact that your recent payment history is nigh on perfect is very much in your favour.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by katie789

Would I be better off applying for another account underwritten by RBS or Halifax, rather than an MBNA like Virgin?

As your main objective is to pay off or at least reduce an overdraft, Virgin is a good choice. Only a handful of cards have this capability.

Btw, RBS and Halifax are two different camps. You may be confusing Royal Bank of Scotland with the Bank of Scotland, an entirely separate operation, which is part of HBOS along with Halifax.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by katie789
Could I balance transfer a Next directory account to a 0% cc?

Not directly. What you can do is ask Virgin to transfer the NatWest overdraft to the card, in other words shift cash from the credit card to your bank account. A 2.98% BT fee applies, but there are no other charges for the first 15 months. You then have funds in your current account (up to 95% of your credit limit) and can pay off the store card in preference to some of the overdraft if you wish.

I owe £500 on it, but have a limit of £3600. Should I ask them to reduce this?

Once the balance is zero for two consecutive months, you can shop on your Next card interest-free, provided that you only spend what you can afford to pay off in full by the payment due date. As soon as the missed payments have dropped off your Equifax report, I would close down this account completely.