The BT Credit Card

thatboydean

Good morning all

I received an invite yesterday from BT for me to apply for there Money off phone bill and 0% for 12 months on balance transfers and transferring cash into current account at 3% plus 0% for 3 months

You can make an annual saving of £75 Quid on phone calls just by using your card

I just recently was approved in april this year for the Halifax 0% deal
but have two other cards that i've had for a year and a half one sub prime card with a £500 limit at 30.40% and a student CC with a £280 limit at 14.9.
Should i close one of these two lower limit cards if i apply and get approved for this offer as i feel its time for a change anyone got any ideas

nzseries1

In my experience, just because you were sent an invite doesn't make you any more or less likely to get the card.

Last year I got sent an "invite" from MBNA to apply for a platinum card. I had only had credit cards for 1 year at that time and didn't think my chances were high but I thought since they "invited" me I should apply. What a mistake!

They said "You've been declined because you need at least 3 years address history". I said "Why did you send me the invite then?" They said something along the lines of "It was a random mass-mailing" - I wasn't targeted in particular.

I would say apply for the deal, but DON'T close the cards you already have, and don't get your hopes up.

bethanyrayne

thatboydean wrote: »

Good morning all

I received an invite yesterday from BT for me to apply for there Money off phone bill and 0% for 12 months on balance transfers and transferring cash into current account at 3% plus 0% for 3 months

You can make an annual saving of £75 Quid on phone calls just by using your card

I just recently was approved in april this year for the Halifax 0% deal
but have two other cards that i've had for a year and a half one sub prime card with a £500 limit at 30.40% and a student CC with a £280 limit at 14.9.
Should i close these to lower limit cards and apply for this offer as i feel its time for a change anyone got any ideas

Close them if you want but it could take a couple of months to reach your credit file and I don't think it will make any difference as to whether you get accepted for the BT card.

thatboydean

nzseries1 wrote: »

In my experience, just because you were sent an invite doesn't make you any more or less likely to get the card.

Last year I got sent an "invite" from MBNA to apply for a platinum card. I had only had credit cards for 1 year at that time and didn't think my chances were high but I thought since they "invited" me I should apply. What a mistake!

They said "You've been declined because you need at least 3 years address history". I said "Why did you send me the invite then?" They said something along the lines of "It was a random mass-mailing" - I wasn't targeted in particular.

I would say apply for the deal, but DON'T close the cards you already have, and don't get your hopes up.

i know doesn't make you any more or less likely to get the card.

but i was thinking if i did get accepted would it be a good idea to then close one of those cards above.

nzseries1

thatboydean wrote: »

i know doesn't make you any more or less likely to get the card.

Then that makes you smarter than I!

thatboydean wrote: »

but i was thinking if i did get accepted would it be a good idea to then close one of those cards above.

I thought you were asking "would closing the cards above make me more likely to get the BT card" - in that case bethanyrayne had good advice - it takes a month or two for this to show on your credit file.

But if you're asking "once I get the BT card, should I close my other card", well what benefit are you hoping to gain by doing this? If you've already got the BT card, why would you consider closing your other ones?

I am of the opinion that you should keep other cards open, especially if they have low limits, as you never know when they might come in handy. But I think opinion on this is generally divided.

thatboydean

nzseries1 wrote: »

But if you're asking "once I get the BT card, should I close my other card", well what benefit are you hoping to gain by doing this?.

I plan on getting a loan in a few months and thought it might make my credit report look a bit more tidy

bethanyrayne

thatboydean wrote: »

I plan on getting a loan in a few months and thought it might make my credit report look a bit more tidy

I would decide whether to close them or not on whether there is any benefit now or in the future in keeping them open.

Providers are not interested in how tidy your file is only in how well you handle past and present credit so that they can predict how you will handle any future credit they may extend you.