Could a balance transfer be useful for me?
If you have a credit card with us, you may receive a 0% balance transfer offer from us. A balance transfer is when you move your existing credit card balance from one card to another. A balance transfer could help you:
- consolidate balances from more than one credit card
- benefit from a 0% interest rate for a set period (potentially useful if you’re paying a higher interest rate on another card).
Before making a balance transfer, you should consider your borrowing options to make sure that a balance transfer is right for you and your circumstances.
Balance transfer offers may be included when you open your credit card. This is known as your introductory period. Once you’re outside of your introductory balance transfer period, our balance transfer offers are personalised. We’ll communicate to you through email or messages in Mobile or Online banking. If you’re unsure if you’ve got an offer, you can call us or contact us through chat as detailed below.
How to make a balance transfer with us
What do I need to know?
- You need to be the primary cardholder to complete your balance transfer on both your Santander credit card and the credit card you want to transfer your balance from.
- You can transfer more than one balance and make full or part balance transfers, (minimum £100).
- You will pay a fee of 3% of the balance you’re transferring (minimum charge £5). We'll confirm the fee when we contact you or when you make the transfer if it’s different. For example, if you transfer a £1,000 balance, you will be charged £30. This means your balance will increase by £1,030.
- Maximum transfer is 95% of your available credit limit. So, if you’ve a credit limit of £1,000 and request a transfer of £1,500, only £950 would be transferred.
- You can’t transfer your balance from another Santander or cahoot credit card or any loan or overdraft.
- You may want to increase your credit limit so you can transfer a larger balance. Not everybody will be eligible to do this, but you can request this in Online Banking or by contacting us.
- Once your 0% balance transfer period is over, you’ll be charged interest at your standard rate.
If you’ve taken advantage of a 0% balance transfer offer, using your card for purchases may not be the best option. Why?
- If you don’t have a promotional offer on purchases, we’ll charge you interest on those purchases. This will happen even if you make a repayment to pay off the purchase amount. The only way to avoid interest is if you pay off your full statement balance, including any balance transfer by your next payment due date.
- At the end of any promotional offers, your remaining balance will be charged at your standard interest rate.
- If you withdraw cash, remember, if you use your card to take out cash, you’ll be charged a 3% (minimum £3) fee. Interest will be charged on the cash you take out from the day it’s withdrawn. It’s the same fees whether you’re at home or abroad.
When you opened your credit card, it may have come with an introductory balance transfer offer. You would have been sent the details when we sent your credit card to you in the post. If you’re not sure what this offer is or the amount of time remaining on your balance transfer, you can call us or contact us through chat as detailed above.
If you’ve recently opened a credit card and asked us to transfer a balance as part of your application, this will be processed once you’ve activated your credit card. We’ll be in contact if we can’t process your request.