I was looking for a new credit card to transfer my existing credit card balances as I wanted to reduce the amount of interest that I was paying.
I shopped around on the moneysupermarket web site as this is a great place to compare financial products and gain the best & most competitive deal.
After filling in a short questionnaire, moneysupermarket searches through hundreds of lenders and finds the best deals to suit you! I was presented with the Citibank Platinum Visa and I was impressed with their current offer of 0% APR on balance transfers
and all purchases within the first six months of opening, then 13.9% APR (variable) after that.
I decided to apply and this can be done on their website. The application form was nice and easy and not too long. I don't know about you but some of these applications are such a bore! I entered all my details and submitted my application and a decision was made within about two minutes.
I was advised that I had been accepted for a Platinum Visa card but at this stage it does not advise you how much they are willing to lend you, although I do know that Visa regulations state that a Platinum card must have a minimum of £3500 credit limit so I knew it would be at least that.
A few days later I received a credit agreement in the post to sign and return and my beautiful shiny Platinum card arrived about seven days later with a £4000 limit and a booklet explaining the many benefits that come with their Platinum card such as emergency card replacement, fraud liability and travel insurance.
I immediately called Citibank and transferred balances from my other cards which took only a few minutes and the transfer went through in about four days. No fees were incurred for doing this. I am now saving around £40.00 per month as I am not paying interest on anything.
I would definitely recommend Citibank for their ease of application and great benefits. Why not give them a go and save yourself a few quid!
A word of warning though to all potential bargain hunters! As with any promotional offer there will be drawbacks so I have devised the following useful credit card tips!
1. If a balance transfer offer is based on 0%APR on balance transfers and purchases you will pay no interest during the promotional period, however after this the balances revert to the lenders standard variable rate. Just before the promotional period is up, apply somewhere else and transfer your balance over to get another X amount of months interest free. 2. If the balance transfer offer is based on the balance transfer only you will be charged interest on any purchases you make. DO NOT use the card for purchases in this situation as you will pay through the nose. As with all cards, any payments that you make to the account will go to pay off charges and interest first. If you have more than one interest rate on your card i.e 0% BT & 15.9% APR purchases, the payment will go towards the BT balance as this is the cheaper of the two. Therefore the balance of your purchases is not reduced and you pay more interest. 3. Never withdraw cash off of a credit card. The interest rate is extortionate. Not only do you get charged a cash withdrawal fee, you will attract the Cash rate of interest (in most cases much higher than purchases) and this is calculated on a daily basis. As explained in tip 2 your payments are apportioned so that the lower interest rate balances are reduced first, therefore any payments will not affect your Cash outstanding balance by very much and you will pay lots of interest. 4. If you pay your full balance each month by the due date you will not be charged interest on Purchases only. If you have withdrawn cash this rule does not apply as interest is charged daily. 5. Statement cheques are also a No No as they often attract fees and are generally treated as a cash withdrawal therefore attracting the cash rate of interest. 6. Ensure you read all the small print when applying for a card as there could be additional fees. Some credit card companies are now charging up to 2% for transferring balances in an attempt to stop people moving their money around.
I hope this has been of some use to you. Happy card hunting!
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Advantages: free £500 overdraft, able to draw money from all ATMs without charge,free internet banking Disadvantages: no high street presence apart from London
sivam 08.04.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Citibank
Oct 15th, 2003
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