Santander balance transfer credit cards let you transfer an existing credit card balance to a new card, and then give you a certain period of time to pay off the balance without paying interest.
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When you take out a Santander balance transfer credit card, you’ll be able to transfer an existing balance you have on another non-Santander credit card. You can do this by logging into your Santander online banking account, or by contacting Santander via phone.
Once the balance has been transferred, you’ll have a number of months to pay off the balance before you start being charged interest, but this period will vary depending on which Santander credit card you have. If you haven’t paid off the balance by the end of this period, it will begin accruing interest at your standard purchase rate.
Unfortunately, you can’t transfer a balance from one Santander credit card to another, which means existing Santander card customers are not eligible for a Santander balance transfer. However, if you’re an existing customer, Santander may occasionally contact you with 0% balance transfer offers that allow you to transfer a balance from a non-Santander card.
This will depend on where you’re transferring the balance from, and can take anywhere from one or two days, to up to two weeks. While you’re waiting for the balance to transfer, make sure you’re not missing any payments on your existing credit card.
There are some restrictions on the types of balances you can transfer using a Santander balance transfer credit card. These are:
Most Santander balance transfer credit cards let you transfer a balance with no additional fee, as long as you do so within the 0% balance transfer period.
You should start with the cards that charge no annual fee and no balance transfer fee. If one of these can give you long enough to clear your balance within the promotional 0% period, then that’s likely to be your cheapest option.
Santander credit cards offer 0% periods on balance transfers, and these range from 1 month to over 2 years, depending on the card. If you don’t repay your balance in full before the end of your 0% period, you’ll be charged interest at your standard purchase rate. Typical Santander representative APRs range from about 22% to about 50%.
This will depend on both your financial history and credit score, and the specific card you’re applying for. BUT, what’s great about Santander is that it can give you an indication of what your credit limit will be before you apply. This is quite unusual. Your indicative limit won’t be exact because it’s based on a “soft” search of your credit file, rather than the “hard” search that will happen if and when you proceed to the actual application.
Keep in mind that you’ll only be able to use 95% of your available credit limit for balance transfers.
You can apply to increase or reduce your credit limit via Santander online banking, or by phone.
Santander offers a number of competitive balance transfer credit cards with extended 0% balance transfer periods. But if you’re looking to transfer a balance using Santander card, keep in mind that you’ll only be able to transfer up to 95% of your available credit limit, and won’t be able to move a balance from another Santander card.
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