Best bar none! (Virgin Mastercard)

Member Name: roversjenny

Product:	Virgin Mastercard
Date:	18/05/09 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 0% on balance transfers for 16 months

Disadvantages: Withdrawal of promotional rates if you miss payments

Virgin Mastercard is one of the best cards on the market if you are looking to make a balance transfer. They offer an initial 0% rate on balance transfers for a whopping 16 months, which no other credit card provider can beat, or even match.

Application process
You can apply for the Virgin Mastercard online via the Virgin Money website. At the start of the application you can pick which colour card you would like if you are successful in your application, which is becoming more commonplace with providers.

There are 4 steps to the application, the first step is to tell them more about yourself, you need provide details of your name, address, date of birth, phone numbers, email address and residential status. If you have lived at your address for less than 3 years you will also need to input your previous address(es).

The next step is about your employment, they ask for your employers name, the length of time you have been with your current employer and your job title. They also ask for your salary and any other household income. This step also includes details of your current borrowings and bank details. You can also opt in to take lifestyle cover and state any balances which you would like to be transferred. If you want to transfer balances, the next page gives you space to input the details of the balances you want to be transferred so that this can be done as part of the application process rather than after you receive your card.

The next step of the application is about the card, what colour you want, whether you would like to add an additional card holder and if you would like to receive more information from Virgin via phone and emails. You also have to enter a password for your account on this page.

The final stage of the application is the legal side, where you tick a box to agree with the credit agreement.

The whole application process only takes between 5 and 10 minutes at most, and is very straight forward. Virgin normally offer an instant decision, and tell you what your credit limit is on the next page, however sometimes they require additional information and you have to call them to complete the application. This doesn't automatically mean you are rejected, it just means that they cannot verify some information, my other half had to ring up when he applied for the card and they accepted his application.

Virgin advertise that the typical apr is 16.6% however, most of the people I know who have this card have a rate which is higher. The card is ran by MBNA and they are well known for hiking up interest rates at every available opportunity.

As mentioned above, one of the best feature is the 16 month 0% period for balance transfers, however, they also offer a 3 month 0% period on purchases.

The balance transfers can be used to transfer balances from other credit cards, this attracts a 2.98% charge (minimum of £3). The balance transfers also cover money transfers, so that you can transfer money into your bank account, this is something that not many providers offer, it now comes with an increased charge of 4% (minimum of £3).

The main way to manage your Virgin account is online. Their online system is very easy to use, and you can view your balance, credit limits and the last 6 months transactions online. You can also download statements, make payments, action balance transfers and view your pin. I find the online system a god send and very rarely service my account by any other means. They also have a free 24 hour helpline which you can call to get help, or service your account if you don't want to use the online system.

Aside from the benefits mentioned above, the Virgin Mastercard has lots of other benefits which you may not find from other providers, which include:

- Up to £100,000 Free Travel Accident Insurance if you pay for your travel tickets in full using your card.

- Money off at Virgin Media, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Wines, Virgin Money, Virgin Trains, Virgin Active, Virgin Vie at Home and Virgin Experience Days.

As you can see, it is a very handy card to have!

One of my favourite features is that the minimum payment on the card if you simply have balance transfers on there, is only £25 a month, which means you can enjoy low repayments whilst the balance is interest free. This means that you can earn money on the transfer elsewhere if you have a high interest account (also known as stoozing), however, this is slightly more limited now due to the higher money transfer fee and low interest rates in general.

I have never experienced any downsides to holding a Virgin Mastercard, however, they can be quite harsh if you miss payments or go over your credit limit. If you do either of these, they will withdraw promotional rates, so if your balance is at 0%, you could find it shooting upwards even if you have only missed the payment date by a few days. This is where the online system comes in handy, means you don't have to wait for statements to come through the post.

I would say that out of all the credit cards I have had, the Virgin one is by far the best, their introduction rates cannot be beaten, and they regularly offer other promotional rates when the introduction ones have ran out.

When I have had any issues, I have found their staff pleasant and courteous and would recommend them to all

Summary: The best on the market for balance transfers.