Questions about Balance Transfers

A question about : Questions about Balance Transfers

Hi folks,

In the updated Balance Transfers article, these is a new Q&A section where some of the most commonly asked questions are answered.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards#qa

Hopefully this will be of use, especially to newcomers. But if you have any more questions you want answered, or think warrant a mention in the article, reply to this thread with them, and we will endeavour to include it

Cheers,

Dan

Best answers:

• I am new to credit cards etc and want to know how I transfer a balance onto another card? I'm not familiar with the process and don't know where to start!:confused:
• Hi, my Son who is a Student in his final year has got himself into financial difficulty. He went over his overdraft facility, not by much to which they charged him Ј90 not just once. Apparently Lloyds almost forced him to take a loan out for about Ј1300. I'm sure I haven't got all the facts out of him yet. I hate the thought of him paying interest and would be happy to put it onto an interest free visa card, is this possible?
  I am going to look into the bank charges, he says he is going to go and see the CAB, not sure how much help they will be.
  Thanks,
  Catherine
  Quote:
• Are there any cards now that allow you to transfer a % balance to your bank account.?
  I will soon have an account to settle that would carry an extra charge if I pay with a credit card but I would consider taking out a new card for it and spread the load if I could transfer the balance to my bank account then pay the account by debit card.
  Sorry if the question has already been answered elsewhere on the site, but I have looked and can't find a reference.
  Many thanks
  KP
• i had an abbey credit card for a year on 0% interest
  which ran out on jan 2008
  so ive got a barclaycard platinum (as recommended by M.S.E.)
  I PHONE TO TRANSFER my balance and barclaycard tell me
  "OH THATS ABBEY, SORRY WE CANT TRANSFER THAT !"
  "why not " i ask
  "THEY'VE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY SANTANDIER, THEY'RE SPANNISH SO WE WONT DEAL WITH THEM, IF THERE'S ANY PROBLEMS WE CANT GET HOLD OF THEM"
  IM STUCK NOW PAYING 20 % OR MORE
  ANYONE succesfully moved from abbey credit card lately ?
• Oh no don't say that I was hoping to BT my Abbey to Mint. :-(
• Can you confirm if a current bank account overdraft can be transferred in the same manner as switching debt between credit cards. I'm looking to make a purchase of just over 2k, and the 0% balance transfer option, including a handling fee seems to be the far cheaper option to finance the purchase, by comparison to a small loan.
  I was intending to make a purchase using my current account (its a private sale) and then tranfer the amount to a credit card.
  Thanks.
• I've noticed from my statement that my CC company has decided to use my payments to pay off the most recent TB at 0% interest whilst leaving an older debt with a monthly rate of 0.639% untouched. I feel hard done by because I paid a handling charge. I had calculated that the move would be cheaper but hadn't taken into account that they would first deduct the card debt from thew new TB. Is this allowed? Is this common? Do I not have a say in which debt my money pays off?
  Thanks
  Chuk
• This is standard practice Chuk and will be in your terms and conditions you agreed to. The money is allocated to the CC companies best advantage and not a lot you can do about it other than try and transfer to a 0% deal.
• Hi,
  I'm sure there used to be a section on whether the transfer fees were capped (most at Ј50 but some unlimited). Can you reinstate this for the ones that still are - makes a big difference to the AER of an up-front fee.
  Thanks
• Does anyone have a list of common balance transfers that normally work?
  Also ones that don't.
  As an example I have used a Halifax to pay off a capital one and a mint card.
  BUT (if I remember rightly) I couldn't pay off a virgin money card with a Halifax.
• When balance transferring, what's the general rule for keeping the 'old' card? I've got 2 or 3 credit cards that I never use after having used up their 0% rate and transferring away.
  Should I cancel them? What effect does keeping or cancelling have on my credit score?
  TIA
• I have a a bank loan with Lloyds bank. It is possible to do a balance transfer to a 0% credit card from the Lloyds loan?
• i recently transferred Ј800 from barclaycard to virgin. The full amount owed to barclaycard was transferred before the due date given, yet i have received a statement form barclaycard saying i owe them Ј10.19 in interest. Is this right? And do i have to pay the interest, even though the balance was payed in full, and i haven't used my card for purchases for months? i know its only a tenner, but im confused as to why i have to still pay them interest, even though the balance is now zero!
  Thanks in advance.
• Hi
  I have an M&S Credit card which I opened about a year ago and transferred the balance of a different card onto. The card advertised a life of balance interest rate of 3.9% but today I received a letter stating that from 1st April the interest rate on the card is going to be 22.9%.
  There is a note that 'This will not affect any promotional introductory rate you may have.'. Does this mean that the 3.9% life of balance rate will still apply, or should I be looking to move the debt onto a different card?
  Many thanks (and sorry if this is a stupid question!)
  Mat
• I'm prepared to be corrected but they're referring to new purchases...just keep your card locked away and you should be fine....there would be uproar if the CC providers were backtrack like that on LOB transfers....