Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

leon103

I got £1400 on my tesco card and the 0% deal as come to an end. I am looking to transfer it onto another card. I will be able to pay this off within twelve months so it looks like Barclaycard is the best deal for me. But I have been with them before. Had no problems, paid on time etc. Would being with them before go against me? Is there any other deals to consider.

GeCon

GeCon wrote: »

So, is it a bad sign if I got a message saying something about looking into it more and getting in touch with me within 7-10 days?

Just wanted to post a quick update: Virgin did accept my application and offered me the full amount I needed for my BT's. So anyone who does not get an immediate decision online, that does not necessarily mean you will be rejected.

Moggles_2

leon103 wrote: »

I've got £1400 on my Tesco card and the 0% deal has come to an end. I am looking to transfer it onto another card. I will be able to pay this off within twelve months, so it looks like Barclaycard is the best deal for me, but I have been with them before. Had no problems, paid on time etc. Would being with them before go against me?

Not if the old card has been closed down and marked "settled" on your credit file.

Are there any other deals to consider?

Yes, lots. Which other credit cards - besides Tesco - do you have at the mo?

ctull3

I have applied for a card with Virgin as I wish to do a balance transfer. Everything seems ok at the moment. I wish to heed Martins warning with regards to not using the card. However, I also take Virgins cable package and one of the offers is that I will get a £40 cash back (I gave a code and account number during the application process). There is a sting in the tail as Iwas informed that I will have to buy something with the card to trigger this £40. WHAT DO I DO.

This is a good offer as I was told that for £4K I will only pay £25 per month (will set up DD to pay this) I will probably pay over this amount to reduce the debt over the 15 month period

YorkshireBoy

ctull3 wrote: »

There is a sting in the tail as Iwas informed that I will have to buy something with the card to trigger this £40. WHAT DO I DO.

Buy something cheap!!

This is a good offer as I was told that for £4K I will only pay £25 per month...

The first minimum payment will be 3% of the balance (the balance being the amount BT'd + the 2.98% BT fee). Subsequent minimum payments will be £25 per month.

(will set up DD to pay this)

Check your first statement for the message...

"Your minimum payment of £xxx.xx will be collected from your nominated account on xx/xx/xx"

If it's not shown, then you MUST pay by other means. If you don't, you'll be hit with a £12 late payment fee AND lose your 0% rate.

JimmyTheWig

Agree with all of YorkshireBoy's advice.
The answer to the £40 cash back is, as he says, to buy something cheap.

First check the terms and conditions if there is a minimum spend, but assuming that there's not buy something for, say, a pound in a supermarket with the card. That pound will stay on the card while you have the balance transfer and will accumulate interest. It will be a bit gutting - what you bought for a pound will probably end up costing you about £1.20. But for the sake of that 20p in interest you will gain your £40 cash back.

After that, don't spend any more on the card!

martinduffy

I have £8985 at a 6.9% lifetime rate
Is it worth tranfering that to a 0% until Jan 09
The balance transfer fee is 2.98%

I also £4095 at 0% until July 08
Is it worth transferring that to 0% until Nov 08
The balance tranfer rate on that is 3%

Thanks!

NickX

martinduffy wrote: »

I have £8985 at a 6.9% lifetime rate
Is it worth tranfering that to a 0% until Jan 09
The balance transfer fee is 2.98%

I also £4095 at 0% until July 08
Is it worth transferring that to 0% until Nov 08
The balance tranfer rate on that is 3%

I would say no in both cases.

In the first case you are looking at 8 months of 0% for a 2.98% fee - this works out as an APR of around 4.47%. I know this is less than the 6.9%, but with the 6.9% you have got this for life. If you transfer, then you need to have a plan as to how you will handle the debt when January 2009 comes around. With the LOB (Life od Balance) you do not have to worry about finding another deal.

In the second case, you are considering transfering to a new 0% card for an extra 4 months - for this they are charging you 3%, so works out to be an APR of around 9% for those 4 months - not a fantastic deal. You would be far better to go for a new card with a 15 month deal to transfer to before your promotion expires in July 2009. The fee is usually 3% but you benefit from the promotion for over a year.

Good Luck.

martinduffy

I couldnt get my head around the figures Nick here on my own
Thanks for making it clear!

:beer:

becsAmania

Hi

I have recently been approved for a barclaycard 0% balance transfer card.
Because I didn't get the amount I wanted I applied for a Tesco's 0% one and also got accepted.
Great news as I have managed to switch quite a substantial balance from a Virgin card card to two cards on a 0% deal.

I do however have another card with £4k on and it ould be great to shift this. I read on the site however that its advised not to apply for too many applications at once and spread them out.

Therefore can anyone tell me how long I should wait ideally before I apply to other 0% balance transfer cards and does anyone recommend a specific card?

Thanks