asking for extention to BT 0% rate

mstar

i know its cheeky but has anyone tried to increase there 0% rate for another 6-12 months? mine expired in feb, its a mbna platinum and i have 6k debt on it, what are my chances of pulling off another 6-12 months 0% (probablt low to none ) but is it worth trying??

Benthosboy

mstar wrote: »

i know its cheeky but has anyone tried to increase there 0% rate for another 6-12 months? mine expired in feb, its a mbna platinum and i have 6k debt on it, what are my chances of pulling off another 6-12 months 0% (probablt low to none ) but is it worth trying??

It's worth it for the cost of a 'phone call but if they are anything like LloydsTSB, don't hold your breath!

I called them a couple of weeks and told them that I was having a difficult time with my finances and could they help me with a lower interest rate. When they said no, I said "fair enough, I'll transfer the balance onto a card with a lower APR, close the account with Lloyds and you won't get another penny out of me."

I've since paid the balance off and, yes, that's right, they WON'T get another penny out of me

Martyn.

lynnexxxo

I had an MBNA card and recently was a day late with a payment and they removed my 0% rate. I threw my toys out the pram and told them to stick their card and paid the balance in full. Phoned to cancel the card and they enticed me with 0% for an extra ten months and a 1% bt fee.

Worth a shot, although they didn't offer me anything initially and said i could not pay the full balance over the phone so had to pay balance online and then phone them back to cancel it

jamalfatty

They wont extend existing rates at all, only offer you promo rates for new transfers you do.

Clariman

mstar wrote: »

i know its cheeky but has anyone tried to increase there 0% rate for another 6-12 months? mine expired in feb, its a mbna platinum and i have 6k debt on it, what are my chances of pulling off another 6-12 months 0% (probablt low to none ) but is it worth trying??

MBNA does offer extensions to existing deals if you play your cards right (excuse the pun). However, the key thing you have to do is to pay off the balance before the end of the 0% offer so that you have a nil balannce. If you have real debts then you may not be in a position to pay it off, but if you Balance Transfer the balance somewhere else first, then you would have a fair chance of getting an MBNA extension.

BTW - LTSB also give extensions but they are harder to come by. Nevertheless I have had 0% on the same LTSB card for nearly 4 years by paying off the balance then negotiating an extension.

You do need to be well prepared for making the call. I wrote the this article for the stoozing website to help folk who wanted to negotiate extensions.

Clariman
(Disclosure - I am connected with the above website. MSE sponsors the stoozing site which I run, but not the one linked to above)

jamalfatty

Clariman wrote: »

MBNA does offer extensions to existing deals if you play your cards right (excuse the pun). However, the key thing you have to do is to pay off the balance before the end of the 0% offer so that you have a nil balannce. If you have real debts then you may not be in a position to pay it off, but if you Balance Transfer the balance somewhere else first, then you would have a fair chance of getting an MBNA extension.

They wont extend it under any circumstances, what they do in this case is apply a brand new promotional rate to the account. If you had a balance on the account and the promo rate was coming to an end - this balance would go to your contract rate and they may allow you to do new transfers at the new promo rate

CannyJock

jamalfatty wrote: »

They wont extend it under any circumstances, what they do in this case is apply a brand new promotional rate to the account. If you had a balance on the account and the promo rate was coming to an end - this balance would go to your contract rate and they may allow you to do new transfers at the new promo rate

Very useful article on that link. It basically advises to clear the balance one way or another, so that you get a new introductory offer a few weeks later. You don't get a new credit search and you don't need to apply for a new card so you can treat it as an extension.

Bokkens

Clariman wrote: »

MBNA does offer extensions to existing deals if you play your cards right (excuse the pun). However, the key thing you have to do is to pay off the balance before the end of the 0% offer so that you have a nil balannce. If you have real debts then you may not be in a position to pay it off, but if you Balance Transfer the balance somewhere else first, then you would have a fair chance of getting an MBNA extension.

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I haven't had any problems with A&L they have provided me with continuious 0% BT for over 48 months now but I follow the above advice and clear the balance before asking for another 9-12mths at 0% .It will be interesting to see if they continue with these offers to me after May in light of the credit crunch etc.

jamalfatty

CannyJock wrote: »

Very useful article on that link. It basically advises to clear the balance one way or another, so that you get a new introductory offer a few weeks later. You don't get a new credit search and you don't need to apply for a new card so you can treat it as an extension.

Above is spot on, but what the OP wanted to know is if they would extend the 0% rate on his existing balance by a further period of time, which I know for a fact they wont.

Clariman

jamalfatty wrote: »

Above is spot on, but what the OP wanted to know is if they would extend the 0% rate on his existing balance by a further period of time, which I know for a fact they wont.

Er... I never said they would. I said that they do extend offers but you need to pay off the balance first.

Clariman