credit cards

[stuart bloomsbury]

Advice please.

I recently took out a credit card with a 0% on purchases limit for 10 months to spend on various marketing efforts for my business.

However, I recently found out from the credit card company (Halifax) that paying invoices via money transfer did not count as a purchase and would therefore be subject to astronomical fees. Having now read about this on various internet sites, it would appear that credit card companies stopped enabling this a few years ago to stop people making money out of existing debts by transferring them around.

Its not a problem at the moment as I have funds to cover everything, but thinking more long term I want to use the cards funds to pay invoices. Does anyone know a way round this? I spoke to them and they stated that paypal did count as a purchase. Could I transfer money to a debit card via paypal and then use this to pay invoices? Any other suggestions welcome.

[Mattonella Tile Studio]

Could you not pay the invoices using the credit card as a credit card, and not as a cash advance?

We have to pay one of the publications we advertise in up front and they just take it as a normal card payment, and then issue an invoice/receipt for our accounting records.

[stuart bloomsbury]

The issue I have encountered is that some of the people (small businesses) who have sent me invoices only accept things like money transfers or cheques. They do not have the facilty set up to take card payments over the phone or online.

Halifax stated that you cannot transfer money into a current or debit account, only to other credit cards (as a balance transfer) or a purchase (via sale of goods). The 0% interest offer only applies to balance transfers or purchases.

[Jenni384]

The fees for using Paypal as an intetrmediary (if possible, I don't know the mechanics of it) might outweigh the benefits of using the credit card.

And yes, if you are paying someone who doesn't take cards, only cheque or BACS, a credit card is not a cost-effective option for paying them.

The only other option is to use the credit card for things you'd normally pay 'cash' for, thus freeing up some cash to pay the invoices.

General word of warning on racking up a balance on a credit card, make sensible provisions for paying it off once the introductory period comes to an end :)