HSBC / Citibank long term low rate cards

twists_and_turns

Has anyone recently applied for either the HSBC card at 2.9% for 24 months for balance transfers, or the Citibank LOB cards at either 4.9% or 5.9%?

Knowing that the recent credit crunching has meant that the likely hood of getting a 0% BT card is unlikely, I have been considering applying for either the HSBC or Citibank cards, so wondered how people were finding getting hold of these cards.

I have a balance of just under £10k at 19.9% atm with LTSB, so I'm not going to risk applying for a 0% card again and getting rejected, and thought applying for a low-rate card at the beginning of march (giving me a clear 3 months since last application for credit) should give me a better chance of being accepted.

I'd be much happier with a low rate, even up to as much as 9.9%, rather than the crippling 20% I'm paying atm.

So has anyone applied for either of these cards recently with a view to balance transferring?

sheslookinhot

no, but I applied for a 0% on purchases for 12 months CC from HSBC.

CannyJock

sheslookinhot wrote: »

no, but I applied for a 0% on purchases for 12 months CC from HSBC.

Ditto on the 0% purchases for 12 months. Also got the Virgin Money 0% on BT for 15 months, a Halifax One 0% on BT for 12 months, Natwest 0% on BT for 13 months, a Barclaycard 0% on BT for 10 months. January was a busy month for me

There are still plenty of deals out there, don't assume you won't get one. I think general attitude to Citibank at moment is that they're really tightening their purse strings.

I'd nudge you towards the Virgin Money card I think for the 15 months 0% and think most people are getting decent credit limits.

You can apply for more than one card in the same month, the searches show on your credit file but the cards themselves don't appear right away.

RavingMad

I just got a Tesco and a Virgin card last month

Amanda_Midlands

twists_and_turns wrote: »

Has anyone recently applied for either the HSBC card at 2.9% for 24 months for balance transfers, or the Citibank LOB cards at either 4.9% or 5.9%?

Knowing that the recent credit crunching has meant that the likely hood of getting a 0% BT card is unlikely, I have been considering applying for either the HSBC or Citibank cards, so wondered how people were finding getting hold of these cards.

I have a balance of just under £10k at 19.9% atm with LTSB, so I'm not going to risk applying for a 0% card again and getting rejected, and thought applying for a low-rate card at the beginning of march (giving me a clear 3 months since last application for credit) should give me a better chance of being accepted.

I'd be much happier with a low rate, even up to as much as 9.9%, rather than the crippling 20% I'm paying atm.

So has anyone applied for either of these cards recently with a view to balance transferring?

Yes, we recently applied and after them sending us a letter asking questions about transactions from our unused HSBC account to check we were who we are, they gave us a card with a 3% fee. We only had £900 to transfer and they only gave £1500 limit. Not sure it was the best deal in hindsight as the fee was £22.50, but it's done now.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

I think it all depends on how fast you're gonna pay off the debt, if you think you can do it in 15 or 12 or 9 months period, by all means try your luck on a couple of 0% cards. But if you want to take the worry out of constantly switching maybe the Citibank card would be for you. I managed to get a £5000 limit on a Cititbank last October and managed to transfer most of my M&S More Than limit onto it in time. I considered 5.9% was a better deal than 18.9%, plus for me it did cut out the worry of where my next card was coming from!!

AMD

twists_and_turns

Thanks for all the replies.

Noticing how Virgin / MBNA are pushing up their interest rates, it seems best to stay clear of them for now.

CannyJock, did you apply for most of those cards within the same month? From reading on here I thought that was a sure fire way to being rejected for credit. If not then when I apply in March, I might try applying for a number of cards again. Just over 2 months ago I made 3 applications in the space of a few days. I was accepted on the first (which sadly was just a basic A&L current account), and then rejected on the two apps for credit cards. So I was only going to apply for 1 card this time, although may try for 2.

I was mainly going on the fact that it seemed that banks are really tightening down on the 0% BT cards, so figured getting a low-rate card would be much easier, especially as I'm slightly concerned that having £10k outstanding on current credit cards, may put some banks off.