credit card balance transfers

[stampy]

citibank are currently advertising 1.9% interest for 15 months and with a card debt of $8000 i checked out what the interest reverts to - nearly 22% which put me off, had a look online and banksa offer .99% for 12 months and revert to 13.75% so went ahead and applied.

received a letter saying after thorough consideration under their lending criteria i was rejected so i rang up to ask what crieteria i failed to meet and they couldnt tell me!! wont ever deal with them

[MW]

Simple solution is to never spend on your credit card what you can't pay off after the 55 days interest free.

[gadj1976]

Hehehe, Stampy that's hilarious. I worked for the bank when the old credit card/balance transfer system was brought in. It's since been replaced by a 'new' 40 year old system that Westpac has, that's completely buggrred the balance transfers up. The criteria is actually hidden from the users you would've spoken to, hence they can't answer it. Find that odd?.......welcome to banking in Australia.

[Mr Beefy]

The criteria is most likely that if you are going to pay the balance off by the end of the period then they are not interested as they wont make enough money out of you.

[mighty_tiger_79]

we did a rollover and have dropped the debt limit by 75% and will be all gone by the end of the year, transferred from westpac to an ANZ card at 1.99% for 18months i think it was, it ends in feb next year. and during the time of paying it off despite the options to increase the limit beyond what it was initially keep lowering it.

[Gingernuts]

Simple solution is to never spend on your credit card what you can't pay off after the 55 days interest free.

Even simpler solution is don't have a credit card. Just have a debit card so you can purchase online etc and only use the money you have. I've never had a credit card and never will.

Sorry, doesn't really help you though stampy. Can't try for a personal loan with a much lower rate at that amount can you?

[Johno6]

easy solution... win the lotto

[Drop Bear]

easy solution... win the lotto

Here's a fun fact: 70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt.

[Pseudo]

easy solution... win the lotto

Here's a fun fact: 70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt.

Yeah, but 100% of them have fun getting there...

[Dog_ger]

It's the anuall fee for the transferred credit card that is unattractive.

You get nothing for free, hey.

[stampy]

Hehehe, Stampy that's hilarious. I worked for the bank when the old credit card/balance transfer system was brought in. It's since been replaced by a 'new' 40 year old system that Westpac has, that's completely buggrred the balance transfers up. The criteria is actually hidden from the users you would've spoken to, hence they can't answer it. Find that odd?.......welcome to banking in Australia.

exactly gadj!

[Psyber]

Simple solution is to never spend on your credit card what you can't pay off after the 55 days interest free.

Even simpler solution is don't have a credit card. Just have a debit card so you can purchase online etc and only use the money you have. I've never had a credit card and never will.
Sorry, doesn't really help you though stampy. Can't try for a personal loan with a much lower rate at that amount can you?

I was checking rates on the ANZ site the other day to check I was getting the best deal on my deposits.
I noticed Personal Loan rates are not much better than the Bank SA credit card rate Stampy mentioned.
However, they are a lot better than the Citibank deal.
(Home loan rates are a lot better.)

I agree that low rates on transfers are aimed at buying in perpetual debtors and slugging them high rates later when they (usually) don't pay down the balances.
They aren't giving away money with temporary lower rates for no reason, and they are not charities, so don't believe their promotions...

I agree with the principle of never using credit cards to buy more than you can pay off within the 55days.
The rates are crippling if you use them to borrow - it's a mugs game.
So, if you must borrow negotiate first, and if they won't lend to you take the implied message on board.
Start saving to strengthen your position before you buy anything non-essential.

[gossipgirl]

other option is to wear a ski mask and go to a bank. they will give you plenty of money

[mighty_tiger_79]

other option is to wear a ski mask and go to a bank. they will give you plenty of money

but the interest you pay if you get caught is sky high

[Tooting Bec]

citibank are currently advertising 1.9% interest for 15 months and with a card debt of $8000 i checked out what the interest reverts to - nearly 22% which put me off, had a look online and banksa offer .99% for 12 months and revert to 13.75% so went ahead and applied.
received a letter saying after thorough consideration under their lending criteria i was rejected so i rang up to ask what crieteria i failed to meet and they couldnt tell me!! wont ever deal with them

AS of January 1 this year, all lenders are alligned to responsible lending practices to deter situations like the GFC in the US ever eventuating here in Australia. The most probable problem is that even though you were transferring the 8 grand over, that card would still have been active and would still be classed as a liability when the bank assesed you. And if you also have a mortgage, wife a couple of kids even though you think you would have been fine making the repayments you may have failed capacity with Bank SA's guidelines. The other thing is only if you enter into a contract for a credit with them is do they have to tell you how you were assesed, and even then that is after you have requested it in writing.

[Sojourner]

Everyone knows that not having a credit card is the best option, its little comfort though to anyone who does have a burgeoning credit card debt though.

The good news is that there are strategies that can get you out of it providing you are prepared to make changes and meet the challenge head on instead of burying your head in the sand. There is little point activating a strategy of transfering credit card debt if its going to lead to more hardship because the problem hasnt been solved.

The no 1 issue is that people must simply stop spending more than they earn, usually that means giving up takeaway, giving up a second car, giving up private health insurance and so on, you need to go through all your outgoings and look at what you can cut off to supply the funds to pay down the principle on the credit card.

I wont bore you all with more than that, yet Google "Dave Ramsey" and find his website and book to get started, alternativley check out this link and go over the list accordingly. I have worked as a volunteer for Lifeline and have discussed debt problems with many people over the years and am more than happy to reply to a PM for further info or help from anyone.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/02/ ... g-started/


As to the actual initial query though, I would not waste 2 minutes of my life dealing with BankSA and would not respond to their advertising, Citibank and ANZ Bank have some good options along with some of the Credit Unions, I will try and find the site that compares credit cards and pust it here, The Aussie Home Loans Company have a card through ANZ which also is supposed to be ok. Yet the very first thing I would do with a large credit card debt is to contacy your own bank where you hold the card and tell then that you have seen the ad for CitiBank and you are llooking at taking up there offer and is there anything they could possibly do to lower your interest rate to retain your business? More often than not they will halve your rate on the spot to retain you as a customer, you dont need to tell them that you applied and were refused! You might be surprised just how low they will go to keep your business as the operator has the authority to do that if they hear the the magic words that "you are looking elsewhere" and "considering another offer from CitiBank" or so on.

Again, please also work on the reason why the debt is there and really learn the actual lesson over it, you are not on your own, there are many many people that have been there before also.

[stampy]

great advice mate, cheers for that