CC questions - 0% on balance transfers
Discussion
Just received an offer from Barclaycard of 0% on balance transfers for 19 months with a 1.9% fee.
I've never done this before and it all seems a bit too good to be true*. Obviously if you don't pay it off on time it reverts to 20% or so, but are there any other catches? And how do you go about doing the transfer? Presumably just tell Barclaycard to pay Natwest?
I've never done this before and it all seems a bit too good to be true*. Obviously if you don't pay it off on time it reverts to 20% or so, but are there any other catches? And how do you go about doing the transfer? Presumably just tell Barclaycard to pay Natwest?
*Everyone has occasional cash flow issues, right?
A normal catch would be anything you spend afterwards on the card goes onto the normal interest rate, but anything you pay goes towards paying off the 0% transfer so you end up paying the interest on the subsequent purchases until the balance is cleared. Easily avoided if you do the transfer and then never use the card though.
No catch as long as you pay the minimum each month and on time.
I've taken advantage of the offers a couple of times with no problems. All you'll need to do is call Barclaycard and tell them how much the transfer is for and the card number of the account you're transferring from.
I've just been on the phone to Nationwide about 10 minutes ago sorting out a balance transfer as they're doing 26 months interest free on them for new cardholders
I've taken advantage of the offers a couple of times with no problems. All you'll need to do is call Barclaycard and tell them how much the transfer is for and the card number of the account you're transferring from.
I've just been on the phone to Nationwide about 10 minutes ago sorting out a balance transfer as they're doing 26 months interest free on them for new cardholders
general rule of thumb for balance transfers is once you've done one, do not use that card for purchases. This is because you'll get charged interest as you only get the interest free period if your statement balance is zero.
So if you transfer 10K and then buy something for 100, even if you pay the 100 off, you'll not have a zero balance so will be charged interest for the 100 you spent.
As for the transfer, tell Barclays the card number you want to pay off and they'll do it. It takes 1-2 days
In the example of 10K at 1.9% you'll end up with a balance of 10190 on your Barclaycard and will need to keep up the minimum payments through to the end of the period. If you screw up and not meet your commitments then they'll cancel the offer mid term and start charging at the going rate.
So if you transfer 10K and then buy something for 100, even if you pay the 100 off, you'll not have a zero balance so will be charged interest for the 100 you spent.
As for the transfer, tell Barclays the card number you want to pay off and they'll do it. It takes 1-2 days
In the example of 10K at 1.9% you'll end up with a balance of 10190 on your Barclaycard and will need to keep up the minimum payments through to the end of the period. If you screw up and not meet your commitments then they'll cancel the offer mid term and start charging at the going rate.
PulsatingStar said:
A normal catch would be anything you spend afterwards on the card goes onto the normal interest rate, but anything you pay goes towards paying off the 0% transfer so you end up paying the interest on the subsequent purchases until the balance is cleared. Easily avoided if you do the transfer and then never use the card though.
Worth checking with you card, but I seem to remember they changed the rules, so that anything you paid off went to the purchases\transfers that attracted the highest interest rates first.Bill said:
Thanks.
Presumably it varies from offer to offer, but how long can you transfer balances over? There must be a limit or you could just keeping racking bills up on other cards and shifting the balance.
You mean do the credit card shuffle? You can keep going indefinetely or until you either pay them off or run out of card providers.Presumably it varies from offer to offer, but how long can you transfer balances over? There must be a limit or you could just keeping racking bills up on other cards and shifting the balance.
A>B
open C and D.
A>D
B>C and carry on until they have 8 cards and there are no providers left to switch to. It's how people end up on crappy TV shows with the equivalent of 2 years salary in debt.
The right way would be to transfer then put the money into an interest bearing account until the balance transfer period ends and then pay the card off with the money saved and hope that the interest earned exceeds the balance transfer fee (which it normally does not these days).
ETA, most offers go from 9>24 months, with better offers for new customers. BT fees range from 0-4%
Bill said:
Thanks.
Presumably it varies from offer to offer, but how long can you transfer balances over? There must be a limit or you could just keeping racking bills up on other cards and shifting the balance.
I've been juggling nearly £15k from my wedding like this for the last 3 years and apart from the transfer fees not paid any interest and now down to about £5k Only another year to go and it'll be paid off finally...(obviously you need to not spend on your cc's) but if you find yourself with a big cc bill to pay then that's the way to do it.Presumably it varies from offer to offer, but how long can you transfer balances over? There must be a limit or you could just keeping racking bills up on other cards and shifting the balance.
The other thing is, if you keep all your payments up to days they keep upping your limit so I have nearly £100k available on credit cards...ridiculous and I'd never use it but you can see how people find themselves in so much debt when they make it so easy!
Bluequay said:
Worth checking with you card, but I seem to remember they changed the rules, so that anything you paid off went to the purchases\transfers that attracted the highest interest rates first.
Yep - since 2011;http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12225935
0to60tv said:
I've been juggling nearly £15k from my wedding like this for the last 3 years and apart from the transfer fees not paid any interest and now down to about £5k Only another year to go and it'll be paid off finally...(obviously you need to not spend on your cc's) but if you find yourself with a big cc bill to pay then that's the way to do it.
The other thing is, if you keep all your payments up to days they keep upping your limit so I have nearly £100k available on credit cards...ridiculous and I'd never use it but you can see how people find themselves in so much debt when they make it so easy!
Blimey. The other thing is, if you keep all your payments up to days they keep upping your limit so I have nearly £100k available on credit cards...ridiculous and I'd never use it but you can see how people find themselves in so much debt when they make it so easy!
You could just get an Aston
Just another vote for setting up a DD to cover the minimum payment.
I'd used my MBNA card while oversea's for work a month or so ago,later the following month I sent through a minimum payment as usual..£100 and thought nothing of it, checked the next months statement and i'd been clobbered with full interest...ouch.
Checked my statement again and minimum payment was £100.01, I was 1p short...doh!
Computer said no and pulled the 0% offer automatically, and it cost me a hefty chunk of interest.
Called up MBNA and they took pity thankfully after somewhat groveling conversation and put me on 1.9% for the remainder, which I didn't argue too much about...lesson learned.
So, yeah DD, can be quite handy..apparantly
I'd used my MBNA card while oversea's for work a month or so ago,later the following month I sent through a minimum payment as usual..£100 and thought nothing of it, checked the next months statement and i'd been clobbered with full interest...ouch.
Checked my statement again and minimum payment was £100.01, I was 1p short...doh!
Computer said no and pulled the 0% offer automatically, and it cost me a hefty chunk of interest.
Called up MBNA and they took pity thankfully after somewhat groveling conversation and put me on 1.9% for the remainder, which I didn't argue too much about...lesson learned.
So, yeah DD, can be quite handy..apparantly
aquarianone said:
Just another vote for setting up a DD to cover the minimum payment.
I'd used my MBNA card while oversea's for work a month or so ago,later the following month I sent through a minimum payment as usual..£100 and thought nothing of it, checked the next months statement and i'd been clobbered with full interest...ouch.
Checked my statement again and minimum payment was £100.01, I was 1p short...doh!
Computer said no and pulled the 0% offer automatically, and it cost me a hefty chunk of interest.
Called up MBNA and they took pity thankfully after somewhat groveling conversation and put me on 1.9% for the remainder, which I didn't argue too much about...lesson learned.
So, yeah DD, can be quite handy..apparantly
I think I'm going to learn by your mistakes here and set up a DD on my Nationwide transfer so I don't get caught out I'd used my MBNA card while oversea's for work a month or so ago,later the following month I sent through a minimum payment as usual..£100 and thought nothing of it, checked the next months statement and i'd been clobbered with full interest...ouch.
Checked my statement again and minimum payment was £100.01, I was 1p short...doh!
Computer said no and pulled the 0% offer automatically, and it cost me a hefty chunk of interest.
Called up MBNA and they took pity thankfully after somewhat groveling conversation and put me on 1.9% for the remainder, which I didn't argue too much about...lesson learned.
So, yeah DD, can be quite handy..apparantly
Some CCs let you set up a direct debit and specify whether you want them to take the whole balance or the minimum payment. If you are using balance transfers to borrow cheaply, there is something to be said for setting up the DD to ensure that the minimum payment is never missed and then making additional payments manually as and when you can.
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