To use a credit card to pay off another credit card

[Wittyend]

Hi I have just got a credit card which I planned to do a balance transfer so I can clear my old credit card. (The new one allows 0% interest for 12 months)


However I have just tried to do the balance transfer and it won’t allow me as they are both issued from the same provider.


Is it possible to make a payment from the new credit card to the old one instead rather than doing it as a balance transfer? So I will still benefit from the 12 month no interest?

Or is it possible to use my other credit card (with nothing owed and from a different provider) to pay off the card I’m wanting to clear and then transfer that balance to the new 0% one?


It’s so confusing , just wanting to clear this debt as quick as I can without continuing to pay loads of interest

Ok, can you find the T&C's of cards #3 and #1?

Can you do a balance transfer from the 0% one into your bank account and pay the other one from your bank?

My 3 cards are as follows:

#1 Lloyds
#2 Halifax
#3 Capital One (Post Office)

I buy things on Lloyds, then do a balance transfer to Halifax. If I bought things on Halifax, the interest rate for new purchases is very very high.

Some people might not understand what you're asking.

I know exactly what you're asking as I do the same thing all the time (except that none of the cards are with the same bank).
I think you're very shrewd in transferring to new card from different provider and then transferring to the 0% card.
The only thing to check is whether there's a time limit between bouncing between the cards.

If you can post the T&C's of cards 3 and 1, we'll be able to help.

I’m just searching now for any t&cs, I just know I won’t have kept any in paper format hopefully it will be on an email too 😫

I don't think you understand entirely what the OP is asking.

She has a debt of £2066 on her card #2 where she pays let's say 30% interest.
She can't balance transfer to the 0% card #1 from the same company as they don't allow it.
She's asking whether she can transfer the £2066 to card #1 as it's with a different provider and THEN transfer the balance to card #1 where the interest rate is 0%?

Open a new credit card from a different provider with a 0% interest and transfer the balance over. I used to do this regularly. I would then make a note in my diary when the interest free rate was coming to an end so that I could repeat the process.

Oh God - I've confused everyone again:She has a debt of £2066 on her card #2 where she pays let's say 30% interest.
She can't balance transfer to the 0% card #1 from the same company as they don't allow it.
She's asking whether she can transfer the £2066 to card #3 as it's with a different provider and THEN transfer the balance to card #1 where the interest rate is 0%?

Another 0% card application might be rejected.

@QwithaC so card 3 is a purchase card I think it doesn’t show any options for a balance transfer I was wondering if I can use it like a debit card to pay off £2000 (then transfer that balance to card 1) omg it’s so confusing 😫🤣🤣

You need to find those T&C's. If you're paperless, it will be in your emails when you log into your various bank accounts.

If your monthly spend on food, petrol, is spent using card 1 to buy everything, and each time you spend on it pay the same amount off card 2. Do this for the first couple of months or so until card 2 is clear, remembering to make sure you make your first payments of at least the minimum against card 1 for your initial purchases.
The interest on your debt will have transferred from 27.something% at card 2 to I assume 0% on card 1.
Do NOT be tempted to buy ANYTHING bar the essentials you'd buy anyway (food, fuel, etc).
Once the balance at card 2 is zero, then stop spending everything on card 1 other than a limited spend and hit the balance on card 1 as hard as you can to pay it off, aiming to pay it all off well within 12 months.

I put new purchases on my Lloyds card at 5.4% and then balance transfer to the Halifax card which has a lower interest rate for balance transfers but A FAR HIGHER RATE new purchases.

I don't think that some people commenting understand how balance transfer rates and new purchase rates work!

Say I want to buy a new washing machine. It costs £500.

If I bought that on my Halifax card, I would pay 26% (as it's a new purchase).

However, if I buy my washing machine on my Lloyds card and do a BALANCE TRANSFER from my Lloyds credit card to my Halifax credit card, I will pay 3.9%

Do you get me?

The exact same card can have 0% for balance transfers and maybe 20% interest for new purchases.

I can’t find any t&cs on email. I have checked capital one have t&cs on their website for their credit cards but don’t know if they are the same for everybody? The other 2 cards are with new day (1&2)

Do you think I should contact them and ask them to send me mine

Yep - give them a call and ask for the T&Cs for cards 1 and 2.

It's kind of alarming that people don't realise that there are different rates for new purchases than balance transfers.
The key is to make sure you make new purchases on the card with the lowest interest rate for new purchases and then balance transfer to the card with the lowest interest rates for balance transfers.

Card # 1 will possibly have come with a booklet when the physical card arrived.

Usually T&C's are viewed (and accepted) at the point of applying for the card, you can usually save or print them at that point too.
If you have online banking you'll usually find them there, if not, give them a call.
Most balance transfers can't be done from one card to another within the same banking group.

Lloyds and Halifax are within the same group but I balance transfer between them.

It varies.

Let's go back to my washing machine costing me £500.

If I know that I can pay it off the minute the bill comes in, then interest rates are not an issue.

However, if I know I'll pay £100 a month over five months in order to pay it off, then I know that I'm going to be 5 months paying interest.

If I buy my washing machine on my Lloyds credit card, I'll pay 5.4% interest.

If I buy my washing machine on my Halifax credit card, I'll pay 26%.

BUT

If I buy it on my Lloyds card and transfer it to my Halifax card, I'll pay 3.9% as it's a balance transfer.

I'm really crap at explaining things so let me know if anything doesn't make sense.

The only clause I'd be looking out for would be one which says you can't balance transfer and then balance transfer? Then you'd end up with a very high interest rate.