Apathy is valuable. Many companies make a fortune out of our forgetfulness. The tart alert is a way to fight back. Quite simply it's a free text or e-mail reminder six weeks before you need to act, so you can beat the bank.
Be a tart, be disloyal. Shift to the best products and you'll keep the cash in your pocket not companies'. Originally designed to warn when credit card 0% interest ends, it can be used for car and home insurance renewal dates and other reminders too.
 How does it work? What you need to do Why is it called the ‘tart alert'? The mortgage alert Related Articles/Discuss |
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Simple. It's a free text or e-mail reminder of when your 0% (or other) credit card rate is going to end. Just put in the date and you'll be sent the reminder six weeks before.
And don't worry; as always with MoneySavingExpert.com there are no ads, no data collection, and no attempt to sell you anything. It's purely a service to help you out.
Credit Card Newcomers first read Credit Cards - Which Is Right For Me?
Click on the Tart Alert box either above or at the end of the article. Choose whether you want a text message or email reminder, then enter the name of your card(s) or however you choose to identify them. When the time is right, you'll be sent the following message:
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Are you sure this won't be used to flog me stuff?
Absolutely. Remember this site is completely free to use and completely free of advertising. You'll get the reminder and that's it.
Let's be real, though, I ain't stupid. Of course I want you to come back to MoneySavingExpert.com so as you can see above there's a wee plug at the end of the text but that's as far as it goes. After all, all the unbiased, independent info on the best deals is available here. You'll only get one message and the data will never be used by this site or anyone else again.
Why six weeks before?
The rough time it takes to apply for a new card and balance transfer to it (shift debt from the old card to the new one, hopefully at a cheaper rate) is six weeks, so this is when you need to know.
If your card's intro offer is due to end in the next six weeks, there's no point in using the tart alert and it won't accept the data, as it is time to switch now.
Can I use this for other products ?
It's a very simple piece of technology. So if you want a reminder to shift your Savings from an account after an introductory bonus has ended, simply enter ‘savings accounts' into the text message and that's what you'll receive. Also, why not put your car and home insurance renewal dates in to give you plenty of time to follow the Car Insurance and Home Insurance cutting edge cost cutting systems.
You can also use it as many times as you like; it's free although for those thinking about special offer mortgage rates see below.
It's free, hmmm...so who's footing the bill?
Of course this technology and the texting, costs. To be honest, I struck a deal. It's actually piggybacking on top of the service London & Country mortgages, a fees free mortgage broker, is about to start to remind people when their mortgage deal ends.
It already has the technology in place, so the only real cost is the rather small one of the text message. Technically it is actually London & Country who will hold and collect the information, but don't worry. It is not allowed (and won't) use that for any other purpose than this specific tart alert.
The aim is everyone should get the text or the e-mail, but it can't be guaranteed. The e-mail may be stopped by spam filters. With the text message, it is possible you may change mobile phone number or, let's be honest, there may be a technology glitch.
Of course, every effort will be made to get it to you, but neither MoneySavingExpert.com nor London & Country can accept responsibility if glitches happen so do ensure you diarise the end date too.
There are two ways to deal with credit cards; either ‘a stable relationship' or as a ‘credit card tart'.
With stable relationships you pick a good solid stable low rate deal so you don't need to do much work and keep shifting. Yet a better system, for those who are comfortable with playing the game and have a decent credit score, is being a ‘tart'.
Tarts move from short term rate offer to short term rate offer and that's what this is about. If you're on a 0% or other low rate card, then this alert will remind you to shift the debt. If you don't shift the debt, the credit card company will massively increase the rate it is charging you and you'll be stuffing pounds into its pocket.
If you think continually shifting is too much for you, then at the end of your current deal change strategy and go for a stable relationship. For more details on tarts and stable relationships see the Best Card For Purchases or Best Card For Balance Transfers articles.
The reason London & Country has provided the tart alert technology for free, is because I said if it did, I'd inform MoneySavingExpert.com users of its Free Mortgage Alert Service which reminds you when your mortgage deal is due to end.
Its mortgage reminder works totally independently from the tart alert - and is nothing to do with this site. If you want to access that service the link above will take you there.
As London & Country are currently one of my mortgage broker picks (see Sneakily Get The Best Advice For Free) it makes it better. However, if anything changes and it is no longer worth using, then I'll drop my recommendation of it immediately, regardless of this deal. Articles are always completely editorially independent of any other considerations.
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