Why have my balance transfer fees risen

[lurchersforever]

I have four credit cards which I use semi-regularly to make bigger purchases safer and easier to manage. Usually, at any one time a couple have a balance of 0, and the others have up to maybe £2k spread across them on 0% deals. I move money between them to ensure 0% interest at all times. I always pay well above minimum amount to get things paid off before 0% ends, and with small-medium purchases I clear the balance when the first bill is due, without moving the money around. I've never defaulted on a payment. Adding them all together my available credit would be something like £40k, but I've never gone above £4-5, and almost always it's far less.

Recently, I made a far higher purchase than I normally do - £4k for a holiday. I want to move it from the card I paid on so it can be 0% and all paid off before we go next summer. I notice that my 3 possible cards to move it to all have a 5% fees when I'm sure it's usually 3%. Just did a quick Google and Martin Lewis has offers at 2-3%, including one on one of the cards I have! Why, when surely I'm a reliable bet, am I getting worse offers? I don't really want another card as I already have more than enough for my needs.

You need to close some off them and then take out other ones to get introductory rates again.

Why, when surely I'm a reliable bet, am I getting worse offers?

Because you’re an existing customer, so they don’t need to give you an introductory rate to lure you to them, and it doesn’t sound like you’re making them very much money either…

The best rates go to new customers, close a couple of your cards and shop
around

Oh ok, I feel silly now! I thought it was like the mortgage, where they give you a better offer if they know you! I suppose it works more like insurance and all that shit. I just did eligibility checker thing on Martin Lewis and it said I'm 100% pre-approved for a better rate on one of the cards I've got...Annoying to have to faff around like this.

Those balance transfer deals are generally loss leaders offered in the hope that if you transfer a balance they'll make money from you later on down the line. So they best deals tend to be for new customers.

plus the fact that we are no longer in the period of time where the BoE interest rate was practically zero like it has been the last decade or so.

Interest rates are much higher, lenders attitude to risk is likely adjusted too.

Never assume you are going to be able to shift a balance to another card on more preferential terms.

I agree it's likely to be due to higher interest rates, as well as the fact that you're a serial balance transfer user that's never actually paid any interest, which they must need some people to do to avoid losing money now interest rates have risen.

I've exploited balance transfers for years but noticed when I renewed some recently that I could no longer get a fee free, interest free deal (I'd never actually paid either before and always thought it was a bit mad that there were banks out there who were prepared to lend me money for free that I could then offset in their savings accounts paying 3-5% interest.

The best one I've currently got is a Santander card that's a fee of £3 a month instead of an interest rate, which is good for all but very small amounts that I CBA to work out.