A credit card balance transfer involves transferring the balance of one card to another card. You can also use balance transfers to move balances from multiple cards onto a single card.
Many people choose to make a balance transfer in order to save money on interest repayments or consolidate their balances in one place, which can make it easier to stay up to date with their monthly payments.
There are several benefits to making a credit card balance transfer, including:
It’s a good idea to check how much the balance transfer fee is first, as the amount will vary between lenders. If you’re looking for a lower rate, you should also check how your existing rate compares with the card you are transferring to.
A balance transfer fee is charged by the lender as a fixed fee or percentage of the amount you transfer. This is usually between 2% and 5%. You would then pay interest on the amount you have transferred at the applicable interest rate for balance transfers.
You should factor in the balance transfer fee when you’re choosing a card to transfer a balance to, as it will be added to the balance of the card to which you are transferring.
For example, if you were to transfer £891 from a card with a balance transfer fee of 1% to a new card with a zero balance, the balance transfer fee would be £8.91, giving you a total balance on the new card of £899.91.
The process of making a balance transfer varies from lender to lender, but there are some simple steps you’ll need to go through:
Check how much you want to transfer and compare the interest rate for balance transfers and the balance transfer fee on your current card and on the card you are considering making a transfer to. This can seem daunting, but it’s worth it to work out whether how much transferring a balance to another card will save you.
In the end, you will want to pick a new card that will take the full amount you want to transfer with a lower rate of interest for balance transfers and as low a balance transfer fee as possible.
When you pick a card to transfer your balance to, you want to make sure of a few things:
It’s a good idea to read all the details of any credit card you wish to apply for, to make sure it meets your needs and that there are no surprise fees. If you can, it’s a good idea to use an eligibility checker before you apply for a card.
Once you’ve been accepted for your new card, you can contact your card provider to arrange a balance transfer.
Once the balance has been transferred, you can focus on paying it off at a faster rate and without all that extra interest!
Balance transfers can take either a few days or a few weeks, depending on the lender and the time of year you make the transfer. Generally speaking, most balance transfers should be complete within 14 days.
Once you’ve activated your card, you can use Online Account Manager or the Aqua App to request a balance transfer.
Once logged in, select the Balance Transfer option and tell us how much you want to transfer, providing the details of the card you wish to transfer the balance from and we will do the rest.
It’s worth checking the terms of your Aqua card to make sure you’re definitely eligible to make a balance transfer.
The minimum you can transfer is £100, and you can transfer up to 90% of your available credit limit (including the balance transfer fee).
Failure to make payments on time or to stay within your credit limit means that you will pay additional charges and may make obtaining credit in the future more expensive and difficult.
Contributors
Team Aqua
Aqua’s contributors are experts in their field, from a range of backgrounds including banking and lending.
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