0% ntelligent Finance Credit Card

Barneygirl

Hi, done a quick search on this forum but can't see any posts about the Intelligent Finance credit card, nor does Martin mention it in his 0% article. Have just applied for one with a balance transfer and they claim that it's 0% on balance transfers for 9mths with no balance transfer fee and 0% on purchases too for 9mths. Seems too good to be true? Has anyone else had experience of this deal or got an Intelligent Finance credit card?

YorkshireBoy

Barneygirl wrote:

Hi, done a quick search on this forum but can't see any posts about the Intelligent Finance credit card, nor does Martin mention it in his 0% article. Have just applied for one with a balance transfer and they claim that it's 0% on balance transfers for 9mths with no balance transfer fee and 0% on purchases too for 9mths. Seems too good to be true? Has anyone else had experience of this deal or got an Intelligent Finance credit card?

I have one and can't fault it so far. BT'd the entire limit on activation. Statement even details the exact date you must clear the balance by to ensure you don't pay any interest. Good online management too. Only downside is they're not renowned for giving high limits - according to several posters on here.

smartsaver

We got quite decent credit limits with IF considering out other 'debts'. Mr SM 11.5 K me 5 k...

I was chauffed to bits as I thought we had reached our personal maximum

Stonk

Yeah - I'd agree it's a good card, especially in the currently climate of fees for BTs, and limiting BTs to less than one's credit limit. I got £13.5K from them, despite also having Egg and MBNA with high limits too.

The online management is so-so. The site often tells you it is out of service (but not before taking your username and password - why?!). It used to be about 40% of the time, I kid you not, but it is getting better. This was a pain one time when I wanted to make a debit card payment close to the payment date, but now I'm all set up with a DD so it doesn't matter. Also, a request I made for a BT through the website has vanished into thin air.

On the whole, though, I like my IF card.

It is also a nice colour.

WSO

I got an IF credit card around 2000, it was my first dealings with IF and lead me to moving my current account with them. I joined when the rate was 8.9% and would happily use it to rebuke those stopping me asking if I wanted a card (few could beat it at the time and I knew it).

Over the years however the rate crept up, and up and eventually I stopped using it in favor of my Egg card (as I got into the position where I was able to clear the balance).

I read this thread with interest as I was lead to believe the IF card was no longer available, as I was invited to transfer it to a Halifax card as IF didn't have the facilities to offer chip and pin on the card that I had... apparently...

My card was part of my IF plan - do those of you with currently valid IF credit cards have a valid chip and pin card? If so, is it linked with a plan (for offsetting purposes) or is it a stand alone product? Is the IF card being phased out as they expire in favor of the Halifax card?

Having looked at the IF main website (I bypass this and go directly to my accounts) I notice that the IF credit card is still being advertised as being available with chip and pin support... so why didn't they offer me a chip and pin when they were due to reissue my card? Could it be anything to do with the fact that my account had not been used for the best part of a year? Perhaps it was because it was part of my plan and I could use offsetting to negate any interest on it (limit of £2500 on card when I had £3000 or so in an ISA)... who knows...

Needless to say, I turned down the 9 month interest free offer of a card from Halifax and the credit card account "expired" as there was £0 balance and I didn't need the 9 months interest free at the time and I still wanted the cashback from my Egg blue.

bob_builder_2

websiteowner wrote:

I got an IF credit card around 2000, it was my first dealings with IF and lead me to moving my current account with them. I joined when the rate was 8.9% and would happily use it to rebuke those stopping me asking if I wanted a card (few could beat it at the time and I knew it).

I read this thread with interest as I was lead to believe the IF card was no longer available, as I was invited to transfer it to a Halifax card as IF didn't have the facilities to offer chip and pin on the card that I had... apparently...

My card was part of my IF plan - do those of you with currently valid IF credit cards have a valid chip and pin card? If so, is it linked with a plan (for offsetting purposes) or is it a stand alone product? Is the IF card being phased out as they expire in favor of the Halifax card?

Having looked at the IF main website (I bypass this and go directly to my accounts) I notice that the IF credit card is still being advertised as being available with chip and pin support... so why didn't they offer me a chip and pin when they were due to reissue my card? Could it be anything to do with the fact that my account had not been used for the best part of a year? Perhaps it was because it was part of my plan and I could use offsetting to negate any interest on it (limit of £2500 on card when I had £3000 or so in an ISA)... who knows...

AFAIK, IF withdrew the offset credit card product but were intending to keep offering the standalone credit card (and are still advertising it). Why they did not offer you the other IF card instead of a Halifax card I do not know.

WSO

bob_builder wrote:

AFAIK, IF withdrew the offset credit card product but were intending to keep offering the standalone credit card (and are still advertising it). Why they did not offer you the other IF card instead of a Halifax card I do not know.

Well that is what I kind of suspected - in which case I would have been happier if they had said that they were discontinuing my product rather than telling me it would not support chip and pin (and then later finding out that there is one available that does).

The fact they offered me a Halifax card seemed to support my impression that the card no longer existed... perhaps that was the impression they were trying to give.