Credit Card Addict » Balance Transfers http://www.creditaddict.com feeding your credit card addiction... Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:03:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en hourly 1 Zero percent balance transfer offers: here to stay, or just a tease? http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/zero-percent-balance-transfer-offers-here-to-stay/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/zero-percent-balance-transfer-offers-here-to-stay/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:26:21 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=772 Remember the days when the mail would arrive, full of unsolicited 0 percent balance transfer offers? If you played your cards right, you could keep the interest on your credit card balances very low. Alas, those good times had to end. With the Great Recession and the passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, zero percent balance transfer offers dried up.

It might have seemed like those glory days were gone, never to return, but we have news for you. In 2011, balance transfer credit card deals could be making a comeback.

Discover the right 0 percent balance transfer credit card for you

Take, for instance, these two balance transfer promotions attached to the Discover More credit card:

* 0% interest for 12 months. Transfer a balance, then get 24 months at zero percent interest on that balance. That’s right–your transferred balance is frozen for two years, giving you time to pay down that debt. When it comes to avoiding new interest charges on your old balances, the Discover More 24 month promotional balance transfer credit card is a blast from the pre-recession past.

* No balance transfer fee. If you don’t think you’ll need two years to pay down your debt, you could opt for the Discover More no balance transfer fee credit card. This is a zero percent balance transfer card that gives you 12 months of no interest. That is less time than the other Discover More promotion, but it does come with the added bonus of no balance transfer fee. If you need to transfer a large amount, skipping the fee could save you a lot of cash.

Other balance transfer credit card offers worth considering

* 0% balance transfer for 18 months. JP Morgan Chase is one of the companies that weathered the banking crisis relatively well. Now, they are sharing their good fortune with their customers by offering Slate from Chase. This is a fairly basic credit card that is great for those who don’t want to get lost in complex reward programs. Even better, the card offers zero percent balance transfers for 18 months.

* Low introductory rate for 36 months. There is something to be said for finding a card and sticking with it. If you would rather not bounce your balances around to different balance transfer credit cards, look for a card with a fixed low introductory rate. The PenFed Promise VISA Card is one option to consider. While not a zero percent balance transfer credit card, it does offer a low introductory rate for 36 months. Currently, intro rates are 7.49 percent. After the three-year period, the interest rate remains relatively low at 9.99 percent.

These 2011 balance transfer credit card offers are a great tool to help reduce your debt. But there’s no guarantee that these credit card offers will stick around. If you have been waiting for the return of balance transfer credit card deals, don’t hesitate: visit the card details pages and apply online.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/zero-percent-balance-transfer-offers-here-to-stay/feed/ 0 0% Balance Transfer on State Farm “Good Neighbor” Card http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-on-state-farm-good-neighbor-card/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-on-state-farm-good-neighbor-card/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 10:00:38 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=602 If you’re in the market for a 0% balance transfer, you might want to check out State Farm Bank. Their “Good Neighbor” card currently comes with a no-fee, 0% balance transfer offer that’s good for up to 9 months. Simply open an account and execute the transfer within the first 90 days of card membership.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-on-state-farm-good-neighbor-card/feed/ 2 Create Your Own 0% Balance Transfer – No Fees and Earn Rewards! http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-no-fees-earn-rewards/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-no-fees-earn-rewards/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:00:54 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=520 The other day I mentioned the possibility of maxing out your credit card rewards by buying cash from the US Mint. Here’s another use for that strategy: creating your own 0% balance transfer. While it’s getting harder and harder to find 0% balance transfers without a transfer fee, there are still a number of great offers out there for credit cards with 0% on purchases for up to 12 months.

Here’s the Deal

Simply apply for a 0% credit card and then use it to buy up as much cash as you can from the Mint. When your cash arrives, use it to pay off other debts. Voíla! A homemade 0% balance transfer with no fees. And you might even earn some credit card rewards while you’re at it!

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-no-fees-earn-rewards/feed/ 0 No Fee Balance Transfers From IberiaBank http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/no-fee-balance-transfers-from-iberiabank/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/no-fee-balance-transfers-from-iberiabank/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:00:01 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=462 IberiaBank is offering three different no fee, 0% balance transfer credit cards. If you haven’t heard of IberiaBank, you’re not alone. I hadn’t heard of them either until I ran across these offers.

As it turns out, IberiaBank is a Louisiana-based bank that has been in business for over 120 years. They’re FDIC insured and, as of the end of 2008, they held $5.6 billion in assets. Not too shabby.

Here are the links to their three balance transfer offers:

As with the Pulaski Bank balance transfer offers that I wrote up earlier this month, these are six month offers. While this isn’t as good as you can get with certain other 0% balance transfer credit cards, there’s no transfer fee. Thus, while you might not want to use these cards for balance transfer arbitrage (especially since high yield savings account rates have tumbled), you can still get a six month break from interest payments without spending a dime.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/no-fee-balance-transfers-from-iberiabank/feed/ 0 No Fee 0% Balance Transfer Offers From Pulaski Bank http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/no-fee-0-balance-transfer-offers-from-pulaski-bank/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/no-fee-0-balance-transfer-offers-from-pulaski-bank/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:39:28 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=426 Pulaski Bank is offering a pair of no fee, 0% balance transfer credit cards. If you’re not familiar with Pulaski Bank, don’t worry… While they’re not as well known as some of their banking brethren, they’re totally legitimate. In fact, Pulaski Bank is both FDIC Insured and a member of the BBB Online.

Here are the links to the two balance transfer offers:

Note: Pulaski Bank has re-branded under the name of its parent bank, IberiaBank.

As for the length of these offers, they’re both good for six months. While this isn’t as long as what you can get with some of the other 0% balance transfer credit cards that are out there floating around, it’s totally fee-free. Thus, while these offers aren’t ideal for playing balance transfer arbitrage (especially given that rates on high yield savings accounts have taken a tumble), you can still get a six month break from your interest payments without paying a penny in fees.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/no-fee-0-balance-transfer-offers-from-pulaski-bank/feed/ 6 Discover Card 0% Balance Transfer Fee Changes http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/discover-card-0-balance-transfer-no-fee-cap/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/discover-card-0-balance-transfer-no-fee-cap/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:21:17 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=246 Well, it was a good run, but… I recently learned that Discover is no longer capping their 0% balance transfer fees. This change affects all consumer cards, including the incredibly popular Discover More card. Until now, Discover has charged a 3% fee with a $10 minimum and a $75 maximum.

This is an unfortunate turn of events, as Discover was previously amongst the best issuers when it came to 0% balance transfer credit card offers. While it’s still possible to find no fee 0% balance transfer offers, they’re starting to get scarce.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/discover-card-0-balance-transfer-no-fee-cap/feed/ 1 0% Balance Transfer Guide http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-guide/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-guide/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:15:09 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=140 This is just a quick note to point out that Jim over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has published a guide to taking advantage of 0% balance transfers. While I’ve covered a couple of related topics recently, Jim’s article is well worth the read — check it out.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-guide/feed/ 0 How to Make Money With 0% Balance Transfers http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/how-to-make-money-with-0-balance-transfers/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/how-to-make-money-with-0-balance-transfers/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:33:39 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=139 Last week I talked about how to use 0% balance transfer credit card offers for debt reduction. Today I thought I’d talk about a different angle — using 0% balance transfers to make money. In short, you just need to get your hands on the money from the balance transfer money then stick it in a high-yield, online savings account so you can collect interest.

Accessing the balance transfer money

The easiest way to access your credit line is to request a balance transfer check from the card issuer, and then simply deposit it in the bank. Citi has traditionally been the easiest in this regard, though I’ve also heard that you can get balance transfer checks from Chase.

If you can’t get your hands on the money by depositing a balance transfer check, then you’ll have to get a bit more creative. Here’s one possible scenario…

If you can’t get your hands on the money right off the bat, you’ll need another credit card (let’s call it Card A). The good news here is that you don’t have to be carrying a balance on this card. In fact, you really don’t want to have a balance even though you’re technically doing a balance transfer.

When you apply for your 0% balance transfer credit card (let’s call it Card B), simply request a balance transfer from Card A to Card B. This causes the issuer of Card B to make a payment against Card A, creating a negative (credit) balance. The next step is to request a credit balance refund. In some cases (e.g., you used Citi for Card A), you can do this online. In other cases (e.g., AmEx as Card A) you may have to call to make your request.

Once you get the money, you’re ready to proceed…

Turning a profit

This is the easy part… Simply deposit the proceeds of your balance transfer into a high-yield savings account (click through for a rundown of the best online savings accounts). The earnings from the account (minus taxes) represent your profits — just be sure to minimize your fees (below) if you want to maximize your return. My current favorite in the online banking realm is FNBO Direct.

Balance transfer gotchas

Before you wade into this, there are a few things to keep in mind…

First and foremost, fees. More and more balance transfer offers come with fees nowadays. While it’s still possible to find no fee 0% balance transfer offers, they’re generally quite short (typically around six months) which means means you’ll have to roll the money into new offers more frequently than with longer term offers.

Also keep in mind that virtually all 0% credit card offers are contingent on you making your minimum payment on time each and every month. If you slip up, you interest rate might shoot up to their normal levels. Be sure to read the fine print.

Another potential downside is the impact that this will all have on your credit score. When you max out your credit lines, you increase your percentage utilization. And increased utilization can reduce your credit score. The good news is that this is a temporary thing. As soon as you pay of your balance, your utilization will fall and your credit score will rebound.

Where to start

I maintain lists of 0% balance transfer offers both here and over on FiveCentNickel (see 0% credit cards on FCN). If you’re looking for an up to 15 month balance transfer, I’d suggest taking a look at the Citi Platinum Select card. If you’re okay with a shorter promo period, then check out my list of no fee balance transfers.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/how-to-make-money-with-0-balance-transfers/feed/ 3 Using 0% Balance Transfers to Dig Yourself Out of Debt http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/using-0-balance-transfers-to-dig-yourself-out-of-debt/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/using-0-balance-transfers-to-dig-yourself-out-of-debt/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:25:06 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/?p=136 While it’s true that you can’t borrow your way out of debt, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use credit cards to help dig yourself out of a financial hole. The trick here is to apply for and use balance transfers to reduce your interest rate, ideally all the way to zero.

How it works

Start by applying for one of the many 0% balance transfer offers that are out there floating around. These cards come with promo periods as long as 12-15 months, so they can save you a ton of interest. After approval, simply transfer your higher rate debts to your new, lower rate card.

Next, get serious about paying down your balance before the promo period expires. If you can’t get your balance completely paid off before the promo period ends, you can always rotate your debt to a fresh 0% credit card offer. Even if you can’t find a suitable offer, you’ll have saved 12-15 months worth of interest payments, so you’ll be way ahead of the game.

One nice thing about this approach is that it’s not limited to credit card debt. Because many card issuers provide balance transfer checks, you can use this strategy to consolidate debts from a variety of sources, including car loans, home equity loans, and student loans.

The downside

While this strategy can save you a ton, it’s not without its pitfalls. For example, the days of the no fee 0% balance transfers are rapidly coming to an end. Nowadays, pretty much all of the 12-15 month offers have a balance transfer fee that can eat into your savings. While these fees often top out at $50-$75, sometimes they’re not capped, so be careful.

It’s also important to stop adding to your debts when using this strategy. Since most credit card issuers will preferentially apply your payments to the 0% portion of your balance, any new charges will incur finance charges until you get your balance down to zero. If you can’t control your credit card spending, then you’ll need to work on that problem before using this strategy.

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]]> http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/using-0-balance-transfers-to-dig-yourself-out-of-debt/feed/ 2 0% Balance Transfer Offers Updated http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-offers-updated-2/ http://creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-offers-updated-2/#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:49:09 +0000 admin http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/0-balance-transfer-offers-updated-2/ This is just a quick administrative note to say that we’ve updated our list of 0% balance transfer offers. If you’re in the market for balance transfer credit card, be sure to check it out — there are over 40 great offers.

I should also note that the Carnival of Personal Finance has been published over at Four Pillars. This week’s edition included “How to Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Record.” Also included was “Twelve Tips for Preparing Your House for Sale” from over at our sister site, FiveCentNickel.

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