Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

Steveh wrote: »

I've never done a balance transfer before. I was going to take out a loan, but thought I'd use a 0% balance transfer instead to save money, given the current rates available. However my current credit card balance is less than I'd like to lend [sic]. Is it possible to transfer more than the existing balance?(My current CC limit is more than I wish to borrow)

Which credit card(s) do you have at the mo?

AdamBrunt

Anyone got any recommendations for a good 0% Balance Transfer offers.

I applied for a Barclaycard OnePulse card (0% on BT for 14 months) over a month ago. Two weeks ago I got the letter with my PIN number saying use this once you've activated the card - but I hadn't got the card. Phoned them up (on the 29th July) and they said they sent it out on the 15th - must have got lost so they cancelled it and sent out a new one. Phoned them again today, as the new one had not arrived either. Once, for some reason, they confirmed my address (why ?? the PIN letter got here so why not the card(s) ??!!??) they said they'd cancel the 2nd one and send out a 3rd.

To be quite honest I've lost all faith in Barclaycard, so anyone got any good recommendations. Currently got just over £1000 credit with Cahoot (APR 12.9%)

Moggles_2

AdamBrunt wrote: »

Anyone got any recommendations for a good 0% balance transfer offer? ... To be quite honest, I've lost all faith in Barclaycard. Currently got just over £1000 credit with Cahoot (APR 12.9%)

To maximise the 0% period on BTs:
15 months is currently available to new customers from Virgin. There's a 2.98% handling charge
http://uk.virginmoney.com/credit-card-v3/

I can also recommend Halifax. A 3% BT fee applies
http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/pluscard153.asp

Which option is best depends, to some extent, on which card(s) - besides Cahoot - you have at the mo.

Steveh_3

Moggles wrote: »

Which credit card(s) do you have at the mo?

Currently have a Tescos card, still want to keep it though, just trying to find a cost effective method of taking out the equivalent of a loan. Cheers

Moggles_2

Steveh wrote: »

Currently have a Tescos card, still want to keep it though, just trying to find a cost effective method of taking out the equivalent of a loan.

If I've understood your original post correctly, the answer depends on which lender is involved.

Credit card companies take a dim view of any transaction which breaches their Ts & Cs and where a balance transfer is miscalculated, either by accident or design, companies like Tesco will insist on returning the surplus funds to the account from whence it came. If, as in your case, this account happens to be another credit card, you could incur two balance transfer fees and gain nothing. Credit cards - other than Egg Money - are not designed to carry a positive balance.

A safer strategy would be to apply for a card like Virgin.
http://uk.virginmoney.com/credit-card-v3/

Virgin is one of a handful of cards which 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 2.98% BT fee applies, but there are no other charges during the introductory 0% period. You then have funds in your current account with which to pay off the loan

Moggles_2

Is it sensible to transfer a balance from a loan to a credit card, to make use of
a 0% deal?

If you will have savings to pay off your credit card balance before the 0% period expires, that's great. The risk in paying off a loan this way is that you can't be sure of another 0% credit card offer with a sufficient credit limit when your current deal ends and the interest rate leaps to anything from 16.9% to 34.9% APR variable. For all we know, 0% BT deals may not be around in 12-15 months time and BT fees could have jumped to 5% or even 6% :eek:

Bear in mind that the reason the card providers can afford to lend you money at 0% for X months is because, more often than not, customers do not clear the debt and end up paying crippling interest when the promotion period ends. This is the main way lenders claw back the cost of these promotions. (If this were not the case, these 0% offers would have dried up long ago.) If 15 months at 0% isn't long enough to clear the loan, it may be safer to stick with the fixed rate that you are currently paying.

Also, you'll need to factor in the balance transfer fees and check the loan Ts & Cs. Some providers charge an early repayment penalty if the loan is settled in full before the scheduled date.

Little_Chicken

Yay!!! got approved for Virgin this week - £7500 limit - will be transfering £7000 from my egg card onto it before it runs out next month and paying off the remaining few hundred....then I won't need to tart again until my Halifax 0% runs out in december....

smartarse

Very useful info Moggles...thanks!

Steveh_3

Thanks very much Moggles, I'll look into the Virgin one.

snow_garden

Hi guys

Thanks for all your help with my question last year

I have transferred my balances from an egg and HSBC card to a Virgin one which has balance transfers 0% free until april 2009

Since this ive had a holiday and a new laptop to purchase which I bought on my other cards then transferred over to the Virgin one - dont want to spend on my virgin one

But this now leads me with having more money on my virgin card then i had originally planned so when april 2009 comes around I am thinking of getting a new card and transferring the balance across

Obviously next year there may be different offers but can anyone reccommend a good card with about 12 months interest free on balance transfers

I only earn about 12k a year so im assuming capital one would be out of the question any other ideas?