card tarting

headsinashed

hi all new to this and a bit nervous about transferring balances about. i have £6000 on barclaycard @19.9% paying £133 a month but i need to shift it.
i also have other cards such as 1. capital one credit card £ 0
2. rbs credit card £ 0
3. hsbc credit card £ 0
4. morgan stanley credit card £ 0
would it be best to get in touch with one of these to transfer all the money across or go to another company, do i have to shut these cards down first?

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

You'll have to see what terms the other lenders will offer you for the BT and do you have enough credit on the other cards to transfer the whole amount?

If you apply for a new card, you may find you get offered a lower credit limit. Your 4 empty cards will give you a large 'available credit' on your file. You may want to consider closing the unused cards.

CannyJock

headsinashed wrote: »

hi all new to this and a bit nervous about transferring balances about. i have £6000 on barclaycard @19.9% paying £133 a month but i need to shift it.
i also have other cards such as 1. capital one credit card £ 0
2. rbs credit card £ 0
3. hsbc credit card £ 0
4. morgan stanley credit card £ 0
would it be best to get in touch with one of these to transfer all the money across or go to another company, do i have to shut these cards down first?

Yup, just to give a second vote for PFF's recommendation:

1. Contact inactive card companies if you currently have at least a 6K credit limit on their card and ask them for a 0% balance transfer offer - I'd contact them in largest credit limit first order.

If they say no, ask to be put through to someone to cancel your card. If they don't make you an offer, cancel the card it's no good to you - ask them to send out confirmation in writing. Once you get it confirmed, cut up the card.

If they say yes and it's a low transfer fee, give them your other card details and do the balance transfer. Remember there will be some additional interest to be added, so maybe transfer a little extra to be on the safe side.

2. If none of the cards will cut you a deal then cancel them all. Might need to wait a month or two before the cards being "settled" shows on your credit file - in theory you shouldn't have much problem getting a new card provided you've made your payments on the other cards on time.

mrsplinter

Wouldn't it be better for the OP to consider snowballing as well before closing all their cards. Is 19.9% the lowest interest rate amongst thise cards? They could try and get better deals from the other companies. If they are unsuccessful, they should should still check the interest rates for all their cards and make sure their current balance is at the lowest rate amongst them. Then get rid of a couple of the cards with the most expensive interest rate and apply for a low interest rate card.

Bokkens

I would close the unused cards after asking if they can match the Sainsburys 12mths @ 0% card that was launched today.
If they cannot or won't close them and get a Sainsbury's card and use their BT for 12 months.