Credit Cards and balance transfers - HELP!
Discussion
Hey 
I've never really "done" credit cards, in fact I've never had one before.
My wife has one that we both use for online purchases etc, but we are paying a lot of interest at the mo so thought we would look into doing a balance xfer.
The balance is 6K, so quite a saving to be had on a balance xfer deal.
We found out via my credit score that Barclaycard were offering a 30 month 0% balance transfer deal so we applied, and it wont tell you what the limit is till right at the end, after credit scores, and everything has been done, so at the end it comes back with a limit of 1k.
Its therefore of no use to us, as we cant xfer the balance, card arrived today they cant change the limit for 4 months for new customers, so I've cancelled it.
I thought this whole BT thing was supposed to be easy!
How can you find a 0% card that will give you a limit enough to xfer?
Thanks
Kieran
I've never really "done" credit cards, in fact I've never had one before.
My wife has one that we both use for online purchases etc, but we are paying a lot of interest at the mo so thought we would look into doing a balance xfer.
The balance is 6K, so quite a saving to be had on a balance xfer deal.
We found out via my credit score that Barclaycard were offering a 30 month 0% balance transfer deal so we applied, and it wont tell you what the limit is till right at the end, after credit scores, and everything has been done, so at the end it comes back with a limit of 1k.
Its therefore of no use to us, as we cant xfer the balance, card arrived today they cant change the limit for 4 months for new customers, so I've cancelled it.
I thought this whole BT thing was supposed to be easy!
How can you find a 0% card that will give you a limit enough to xfer?
Thanks
Kieran
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/bal...
Read this ^^^
There's an eligibility calculator further down which will give you an idea what you might be given by a CC company, without doing a credit scoring exercise - every application you make will show up on your credit file.
It takes time to build up a credit limit, so start with a lower limit and increase it when you can. Don't rush into applying for umpteen cards because they'll all see that you're applying multiple times and that will count against you. Look at the better cards and just apply for one and see what they give you. Keep it and ask for a higher limit in a few months' time.
Read this ^^^
There's an eligibility calculator further down which will give you an idea what you might be given by a CC company, without doing a credit scoring exercise - every application you make will show up on your credit file.
It takes time to build up a credit limit, so start with a lower limit and increase it when you can. Don't rush into applying for umpteen cards because they'll all see that you're applying multiple times and that will count against you. Look at the better cards and just apply for one and see what they give you. Keep it and ask for a higher limit in a few months' time.
Also, look on MSE at cheap loans as well. It's very likely that you could get a loan for £6k at a much lower rate than the credit card is charging you.
Incidentally, Barclaycard do good offers to existing customers, so I'd be inclined to call them back and see if you can reinstate the account.
Incidentally, Barclaycard do good offers to existing customers, so I'd be inclined to call them back and see if you can reinstate the account.
Edited by Bluesgirl on Thursday 8th March 18:37
andrewrob said:
You're going to struggle to get a 6k limit on a new card. Would have been worth just doing 1k onto the barclay card one and apply for another like Halifax etc.
Tesco were more generous than that for me recently, with a 0% card. This one I think - https://www.tescobank.com/credit-cards/low-fee/ind...
I've applied and been accepted for a Sainsburys bank credit card this week (0% for 33 months, 0.59% fee) to transfer a small balance (£1,000) over from another of my 2 existing cards and they've offered me a £6,600 limit (I didn't ask for a specific limit or anything). Just to add, I also used the MSE eligibility check that is mentioned in an earlier post before applying.
Edited by towser44 on Thursday 8th March 19:34
rossub said:
Virgin seem to be pretty generous too. Gave me £10.7k without me asking for a limit, though it was a few years ago now.
For me also, I’m holding a balance of around £6k for a few months so thought I might as well try. Using the money saving website tool I decided on Virgin at 33 months 0% and they gave me a limit of £7900 randomly. On the tool, there is a balance transfer box to fill in so it automatically selects cards that will have you.
One thing is to watch for fees, I'd have taken much shorter terms (even just 6 months) for no fees but in the end paid I think £40 all in for the service.
Chris Type R said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
One thing is to watch for fees, I'd have taken much shorter terms (even just 6 months) for no fees but in the end paid I think £40 all in for the service.
The Tesco card I linked to above is a 0% fee.Recently got a Tesco one with no fees and limit of £14k. I did already hold another Tesco one though which I've always paid off monthly so that probably have me good favour.
It's fine for me as I've been sensible enough with it and will have the balance paid off far before the offer period ends, but it's not hard to see why the country for into such a bad financial states if they give out that much credit so easily.
It's fine for me as I've been sensible enough with it and will have the balance paid off far before the offer period ends, but it's not hard to see why the country for into such a bad financial states if they give out that much credit so easily.
Sounds to me like the issue here might not be who the OP applied to but simply their credit history.
He stated he has never done credit cards before. I think it likely therefore that the provider will look to limit their initial risk by way of the limit being low, until such time that the OP has started to build a positive credit history.
Try the MSE process but I suspect you need to build a bit of credit history before you’ll be able to get a decent limit.
In the mean time focus on paying down the initial balance on the other card. £6k of revolving balance on a card “just for Internet purchases” sounds like spending is not perhaps under control. Could be wrong but worth focusing on.
NB: recently shifted £9k onto an MBNA Card. £13k 0% over 3 years. I have 15 years of credit card use. When I started out my first limit was £500
He stated he has never done credit cards before. I think it likely therefore that the provider will look to limit their initial risk by way of the limit being low, until such time that the OP has started to build a positive credit history.
Try the MSE process but I suspect you need to build a bit of credit history before you’ll be able to get a decent limit.
In the mean time focus on paying down the initial balance on the other card. £6k of revolving balance on a card “just for Internet purchases” sounds like spending is not perhaps under control. Could be wrong but worth focusing on.
NB: recently shifted £9k onto an MBNA Card. £13k 0% over 3 years. I have 15 years of credit card use. When I started out my first limit was £500
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