Just a quickie, but can someone tell me what is the maximum balance transfer you can take when applying for a new credit card? Is it written in the small print or can you put in any figure which is then considered when the application is processed?
oneilldo said:I think It depends on the applicant and the credit limit they give you based on your circumstances.
McDaniel said:There is no specific maximum however they might not provide you with a credit limit high enough - depends on your credit rating
OoOverclockaoO said:Transfer up to the limit on your card
Watch out, some cards have a 2%-3% fee for balance transfers. I currently use M+S More card, 0% for 9 months and no fee!
Only other one I believe with no fee is Natwest...
starscream said:It's normally 95% the credit limit of the card.
Maximum positive balance: £99,999
McDaniel said:The majority of Credit Cards max limits are around £15,000
There are the odd few who have 20k+ limits, but 15k is the stnadard max - depends on your financial status!
McDaniel said:Thats not a balance transfer - a balance transfer is something ONTO the new card from a current Card.
What you want to do is withdraw the maximum Credit available - stick it into a high interest account while having a 0% interest and paying just the minimum payment?
Yes?
starscream said:Most companies are now clamping down on what you are trying to do, but there is a cunning way around it. Egg let you do balance transfers to current accounts so what you can do is get a 0% credit card, balance transfer as much as possible to an egg card, then move that onto a current/savngs account.
starscream said:How much is the limit on your Egg card? I suppose a good estimate would be around the same ammount.
starscream said:It depends on so much. What is your age, salary and do you have a mortgage?
starscream said:Your age and lack of mortgage will be the things that told you off the really big credit limits. From cards I've seen issued in the past, I would guess at around 6-8k.
stu.artd said:Just remember that when you transfer the balance onto the card you'll also get charged 2% of the amount transferred as the fee for doing this. The card co's started this ages ago to limit people doing similar things to what you're doing.
I'd reckon Egg will offer no more than £5K as your inital limit, but likely less than that as they don't tend to like starting poeople with high limits. As has been said they start low then ramp them up after special offers finish, or you display the ability to spend high on the card and pay it off (ie not balance transfer it) promptly.
stu.artd said:Egg do charge for balance transfers onto their card, they charge 2.5% of the amount transferred during the initial 0% stage. They don't charge the fee on balance transfers made at their standard APR but that's not what you're talking about doing. It's in their FAQ page.
Pug said:seriously, the amount you'll make from this will be pretty insignificant as to warrant it (imo) pointless - decent savings accounts will offer what, 5% APR? Factor in the 2-2.5% charge for transfers you would have to pay after the initial period runs out, if you wanted to carry it on ast the 6 months and then thats before the tax man takes a cut of your 5% savings account. You'll barely stay above inflation, and the length of time you'll be doing it over will mean it'll be pretty pointless (all imo of course)
The only way it may offset the worth is to use a CASH ISA - but then you're limited to a pretty small amount each year anyway. Think I was allowed £7k a year, thats so much cash ISA, and the rest as tax free share options...
stu.artd said:I think I get what you mean. You're going to be transferring debt from a credit card to an egg money account as that incurs no transfer fee.
I had thought you were getting an Egg credit card and transferring debt from another card onto that. I hadn't consdiered Egg Money as you can't transfer from an Egg credit card into an Egg money account.
How are you going to get the debt/balance to transfer from the first card though ? Most cards don't let you withdraw to a bank account without fees, and you can't be doing it using Egg Money as that's only coming into action once you have an initial balance to transfer from somewhere else.
stu.artd said:That explains that then
I'd double check the T's and C's regarding the no transfer fee on the 0% card though, as they may view that as something other than a standard balance transfer (maybe a money transfer) due to it going to a non credit card account.
tarunmistry said:Stoozing (for anyone interested http://www.stoozing.com/full.htm) has a bunch of problems I hope you are taking into account.
1) Most credit card companies now impose a 2% balance transfer fee, meaning you can't keep getting a new card and switching money between them for free. This 2% will eat into your profits.
2) You need to get lots of credit to get a decent Stooz pot, unfortunately this destroys your credit rating. I.e. asking suddenly for lots of credit appears negatively in your favour. The major warnings here are, if you starting stoozing a lot, don't expect to be able to get a mortgage, if you have a mortgate then go right ahead.
3) You HAVE to make sure you transfer money before any payments or interest is accrued and maintain your minimum payments (you still have to keep paying these!) otherwise you'll get hit with a huge interest bill.
If you can keep on top of all that and have done the sums, go for it. If you haven't already, give the above site a good read.
Finally, i would suggest that by having to ask such questions here, you may not YET be ready to try this.
tarunmistry said:Your credit rating is actually damaged the more times you ask for credit and/or are refused it.
Everytime u apply for credit, it is logged on your credit record along with a date. The more applications for credit you make, the worse your credit rating becomes. Obviously theres a normal range but when you go outside this, its noticed.
It was all on that stoozing site link i gave before.
Taz
tarunmistry said:Can you provide more details?
Taz