Do you think there will still be 0% cards next July?

[Busby]

I've got around £2800 on a 0% card which I'm currently paying off of the princely sum of £50 a month. Sometimes it will be a bit more but not often.

My 0% card will run out in July next year, with the current economic crisis do you think I would be able to transfer this onto another 0% credit card or are they likely to disappear by then?

I know none of you are fortune tellers but this is my first 0% card so I have no idea how popular they are and if they are likely to be around for long.

Thanks

[Mandrill]

Possibly but I would expect the fee to transfer the balance might rise.

[mjb1975]

Yeah, there will still be 0% offers but might be harder to get them and the transfer fees are around 2-3% now - that might increase but I doubt it.

Stoozing is still profitable at the mo (less so than before) and I've still got a range of cards to get through yet!

www.stoozing.com

[Mr Silly]

The amount of time for 0% on purchases is less now

[Kryten]

I would expect fees to be at 3% of the balance and the 0% offer to be shorter (say 12 months max) for balance transfers. I would start to pay it iff a little quicker than the 50 quid a month otherwise if you lose out on a 0% deal you will never pay it off!

[Busby]

Cheers. I think I will start to pay it off a bit faster. I can afford to pay it off at quite a lot more per month. £400 or so but I haven't bothered due to the 0% and have been naughtilly spending the money elsewhere.

Cheers for the advice :)

[neilalford]

Rather than paying off the extra each month you would be better off sticking everything bar the minimum payment into a savings account, then use that to pay it off when the 0% deals ends, you'll make a little bit on the interest then.

[farmroad38]

Rather than paying off the extra each month you would be better off sticking everything bar the minimum payment into a savings account, then use that to pay it off when the 0% deals ends, you'll make a little bit on the interest then.

I agree, but that will only work if the OP has the willpower to not subsequently dip into those savings.

[splobber]

You can tell the banks are not lending as I just applied for a Virgin credit card to bung my balance onto a 16 month 0% deal and got refused.

My circumstances haven't changed and I have a excellent credit history, so there's no reason why this should happen. I got a 20k car loan with no bother a few months back too.

Guess I'll have to go to Experian and see what is going on...

[splobber]

Oooh, I paid my credit card bill 2 days late last month, but that's it.

I'm only using 7% of my available credit (and half of that is my card I use for business expenses that I claim back).

What a load of arse, particularly as that now goes against me on my file.

[danielsesay]

I'm annoyed that Virgin won't let set a regular payment (of my own choice) on their website (like I can with Egg). It's either pay off the entire balance or the minimum payment, nowhere can I set my own DD payment. It's a right pain because I'd rather set my own DD payment, instead I have to remember to pay extra each month which is not happening right now.

I'm also a little miffed I might not be able to move the balance to another 0% card next September if they're being more iffy about lending. Guess I'll have to start paying it off quicker in the new year or just transfer it back to my Egg to pay a cheaper interest rate.

[DVDWotcha]

I havn't bothered with the balance transfers because of the 3% fee. If the borrowing period is only 6-9 months, a 3% fee isn't good value.

Better to take the 0% on purchases option and then put all your spending on that card. The wife and I run up about £900-1k a month and pay the min payment each month. Then pay off the whole lot at the end of the 0% period.

[liamail]

I'm annoyed that Virgin won't let set a regular payment (of my own choice) on their website (like I can with Egg). It's either pay off the entire balance or the minimum payment, nowhere can I set my own DD payment. It's a right pain because I'd rather set my own DD payment, instead I have to remember to pay extra each month which is not happening right now.Can you not set up a standing order for the extra?

[Busby]

Just checked my experian report as Splobber got me curious as to what mine may say.

My score is "981" out of a possible "999" and apparently should go a little higher once I've paid of my current credit card. Very please with that score as it put's me in the top bracket which is excellent :)

So as long as there are some 0% cards still available in July then I should be ok. I'll increase the payments each month to play it safe however :)

[ben.bayliss]

Just checked my experian report as Splobber got me curious as to what mine may say.

My score is "981" out of a possible "999" and apparently should go a little higher once I've paid of my current credit card. Very please with that score as it put's me in the top bracket which is excellent :)

So as long as there are some 0% cards still available in July then I should be ok. I'll increase the payments each month to play it safe however :)
Sorry to rain on your parade, but there is no such thing as a 'credit score'. Merely a set of facts which lenders will weigh up as they see fit. Unfortunately, the credit agencies are only too happy to sell their premium products, when you can get all the information that matters for free (well, £2).

OK the score might be slightly helpful as a reference, but it's not the be-all. Some lenders will actively avoid you if your credit-worthiness is too high.

[Pheonix]

Oooh, I paid my credit card bill 2 days late last month, but that's it.

I'm only using 7% of my available credit (and half of that is my card I use for business expenses that I claim back).

What a load of arse, particularly as that now goes against me on my file.

having access to a large pool of credit your not using can count against you; as you may not represent a risk now, but you could very suddenly run up a lot of debt... just a thought.

[AdminSpod]

Hmmm, if you sign up for a free Experian credit report just how easy is it to cancel before the 3 months trial is up?

[Busby]

took about 20 seconds to get through to them. Gave the account number and they cancelled it straight away without asking why.

Really easy