Best way to borrow c. £6000

Milky_Mocha

I haven't looked up credit card news or threads in a while so am a bit rusty and unsure as to the best way for me to raise about 6 grand.

I have the following cards:

Barclaycard @ 5.9% for life with a limit of £6,250 and a balance of £2,100

Egg card @ 0% starting this month (anniversary) for the next 5 months, zero balance and a credit limit of £6,000

Alliance & Leicester bank account with o/d facility of £1,000 for 12 months ending December '05, current balance approx £600 overdrawn

HSBC credit card @ 5.9% for life with a limit of £3,900 and a current balance of £2,692

Lloyds tsb advance @ 0% until December '05 with a limit of £5,000 and a balance of £4,192

Sainsburys cc @ 0% on purchases only, credit limit £6,000 and balance of about £1,200

So total credit limit = £27,150, plus the £1000 overdraft facility
Total cc debt = £10,184
I have a loan with Cahoot at 5.9% fixed rate and a balance outstanding of approx £5,500 with a year and a half to go

I have looked up my credit score with experian to give an indication of my chances for 0% credit and it has shown up as 'excellent'. However due to the amount of credit limit I already have I don't know if they would give me a credit limit of the full 6k I require and I don't want to apply for two cards or risk a rejection as I have plans of getting a mortgage when debts are clear.

So I was wondering whether I can SBT my egg offer with the full £6k into my current account even though I'm only overdrawn by £600. The problem is, after the 5 months I'd have to shift the lot again but if I keep my record clean then hopefully that shouldn't be a problem.

I look forward to your words of wisdom. Thanks in advce.

YorkshireBoy

Milky_Mocha wrote:

So I was wondering whether I can SBT my egg offer with the full £6k into my current account even though I'm only overdrawn by £600.

Yes, you can do this. The fact that you're only £600 overdrawn is irrelevant to Egg.

Milky_Mocha wrote:

The problem is, after the 5 months I'd have to shift the lot again but if I keep my record clean then hopefully that shouldn't be a problem.

If you spend this time reading up on CC's, you won't be as "rusty" come November.

Just a point though, you probably have a good reason for needing the £6K but have you considered using it to settle some of your other cards. If you then close the other cards down, you could re-apply for new offers ready for the end of the Egg anniversary offer in November and switch the balance again?

fatboyonadiet

Remember to apply for a new card about 6 weeks before your Egg 0% runs out, think you should considering doing a 0% shuffle with the cards you're paying interest on to save yourself some money.

Milky_Mocha

YorkshireBoy wrote:

you probably have a good reason for needing the £6K but have you considered using it to settle some of your other cards. If you then close the other cards down, you could re-apply for new offers ready for the end of the Egg anniversary offer in November and switch the balance again?

As I don't need the money asap, yes I probably would be better off using the 6k to clear my Barclaycard and HSBC balances hence reducing my current credit limit. This would save me interest and at the same time increase my chances of being offered the full £6k at 0% on a new card.

How do some people get offered huge limits of £10k and £15k? I don't recall ever being asked specifically what amount I want. The only thing the application form asks is whether I'd like to transfer balances during the application process. However I've always been reluctant to do this as it would give them an indication as to my existing debts and they might reject my application on that basis.

fatboyonadiet

Various factors depend on the limit, some of which is your credit rating, current available credit (i.e. other cards) and salary.

YorkshireBoy

Milky_Mocha wrote:

...I probably would be better off using the 6k to clear my Barclaycard and HSBC balances hence reducing my current credit limit.

At the risk of stating the obvious, simply "clearing" the balances will do nothing to reduce your credit limit. It will still exist as "available" credit. You need to CLOSE the card and terminate your relationship with the supplier.

Milky_Mocha wrote:

This would...at the same time increase my chances of being offered the full £6k at 0% on a new card.

You'll have to wait at least one month, and probably two months for the clearance/closure to be reported to the CRA's.

Milky_Mocha

fatboyonadiet wrote:

Various factors depend on the limit, some of which is your credit rating, current available credit (i.e. other cards) and salary.

I think I'll concentrate on reducing my credit limits (closing some cards altogether as advised). That, with a salary of just under £40k should really get me a decent limit shouldnt it? I'll give it a go and see what happens.

All advice much appreciated