UKC

I'm thinking about transferring my card balance to get 0% interest but I'm a bit confused by the following:

A)0% on balance transfers for up to 43 months from the date your account is opened (2.99% handling fee). Offer only applies to transfers made within the first 60 days. When this offer comes to an end and for transfers made after the 60 days, a standard rate of 20.9% p.a. (5% handling fee) applies.

B)0% on money transfers for up to 20 months from the date your account is opened (4% handling fee). Offer only applies to transfers made within the first 60 days. When this offer comes to an end and for transfers made after the 60 days, a standard rate of 22.9% p.a. (5% handling fee) applies.

I assume that if I transfer my existing balance to a new card A) means that for up to 43 months I pay no interest on repayments.

Can anyone clarify for me please. Thanks

In reply to FesteringSore:


You will pay not interest on the transferred balance for 43 months from date the account was opened - so the longer you delay the shorter the interest free period you will actually get.

You will still need to pay the minimum amount each month on the outstanding balance on the new card every month, otherwise they will start charging you interest. So unfortunately you can't just transfer the balance to the new card and not pay anything until the end of the interest-free period.

To qualify for the interest-free period you have to complete the transfer(s) from your other card(s) within 60 days of the new card account having been opened. When you do this you will be charged 2.99% of the balance being transferred as a handling fee. IIRC this will be added to the total amount you owe on the new card, and I believe that sum will not be interest-free - I'd call the card company to check. If it isn't then you will need to pay off the handling fee(s) ASAP to avoid being charged interest on them.

In reply to Martin W:

Thanks.
Say my balance is £2000 and I am currently paying, say, £100 per month by DD. If my balance is transferred on, say, 1st March does that mean I have until October 2020 before I pay interest on what is left of the outstanding balance?

In reply to FesteringSore:
When did you open the new card account? That's when the 42-month interest-free period starts, not when you transfer the money.

It'll cost you £59.80 to get a £2,000 balance transferred. As I said above, I think you need to clear that from the new card before the first minimum payment comes due, otherwise you will get charged interest on it. But don't take that from me, call the card company to check.

Do you know what the minimum payment is on the new card? It's usually a small percentage of the outstanding balance, so it will go down over time as the outstanding balance won't (shouldn't) be accruing interest. It's highly unlikely that paying the minimum over 42 months will pay off the full amount, so you need a plan to pay off what's left at the end of the interest-free period.

Re-reading your OP, it's not clear to me whether you will get deal A) or deal B). I would urgently clarify which one you are on/will get. Deal A) is vastly better than deal B).