One much over-looked aspect of selecting your Balance Transfer Credit Card is whether or not you are actually permitted to make the transfer that you need to. Most, if not all credit card issuers, will not allow you to transfer a balance from a credit card that they are also the issuer of, or, where the bank that has issued the card is part of the same group as the credit card you've just applied for. Two good examples of this are the Virgin Credit Card and any of the NatWest Credit Cards or RBS Credit Cards. The Virgin Money Credit Card is actually issued by MBNA and you're not allowed to transfer a balance to it from any other MBNA-issued credit card. NatWest is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group so you can't transfer a balance to and from any credit cards issued within the RBS Group.
So, as well a choosing the credit card that has the longest balance transfer period or the lowest balance transfer fee, ensure you don't waste your time applying for a card that is not suitable for your balance transfer and then you end up missing the opportunity to balance transfer altogether.
| Applying for | Cards you cant transfer your balance from |
| Abbey | Any credit card issued by Banco Santander, Aliance & Leicester and Abbey. |
| Alliance & Leicester | Any credit card issued by Banco Santander, Aliance & Leicester and Abbey. |
| Bank of Scotland | Any credit card issued by Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of Scotland and Sainsbury's Bank. |
| Citi | Any credit card issued by Citigroup and Egg Banking PLC. |
| The Co-operative Bank | Any credit card issued by The Co-operative Bank and Smile Bank. |
| Egg | Any credit card issued by Citigroup and Egg Banking PLC. |
| first direct | Any credit card issued by HSBC and first direct. |
| HSBC | Any credit card issued by HSBC and first direct. |
| Lloyds Bank | Any credit card issued by Lloyds Banking Group and Bank of Scotland, Sainsbury's Bank. |
| NatWest | Any credit card issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts & Co. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Any credit card issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts & Co. |
| Sainsbury | Any credit card issued by Lloyds Banking Group and Bank of Scotland, Sainsbury's Bank. |
| Santander | Any credit card issued by Banco Santander, Aliance & Leicester and Abbey. |
| Smile Bank | Any credit card issued by The Co-operative Bank and Smile Bank. |
| Virgin Money | Any credit cards issued by MBNA. This includes a number of branded Rewards Credit Cards. |
| Ulster Bank | Any credit card issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts & Co. |
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