BT checks for C/S promos

[wasCB14]

I'm toying with the idea of using a "write yourself a check" BT offer from Barclaycard. 2% fee for a 16.5-month BT at 0%. I'm aware they give better BT offers, but I could possibly work with that.

I would use the funds to chase some sort of risk-free checking/savings cash promotion. I've not decided exactly which one. I do have enough money in a conventional savings account to pursue a few promotions, but I'm fascinated with the idea of arbitrage. It's on my no-AF Arrival, a card for which I don't really have any use since pure Chip+Sig works for my occasional trips to Canada. I use my Sallie, though, so I'm logging into Barclaycard often anyway.

Can anyone suggest a resource...maybe some sort of calculator that factors in the timing of minimum payments...that could let me calculate exactly how much I would net? Or other advice? If it would be hardly anything, I might hold off until I get a better BT offer.

[NRB525]

Do you have a specific savings / checking offer in mind? 

If your question is whether you can make any money from such an arbitrage, your cost will be the BT fee to get the funds, benefit would be dependent on the savings bonus. 

My my guess is it will be a narrow benefit, like a few tens of dollars. Fun, to be sure, and a win, but more a learning experience than something to make you wealthy

[Kenny]

Generally not a good idea, to be honest.

[wasCB14]

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@NRB525 wrote:

Do you have a specific savings / checking offer in mind? 

If your question is whether you can make any money from such an arbitrage, your cost will be the BT fee to get the funds, benefit would be dependent on the savings bonus. 

My my guess is it will be a narrow benefit, like a few tens of dollars. Fun, to be sure, and a win, but more a learning experience than something to make you wealthy

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Thanks for the bump. I have to say...it's strange to read a thread just a few days old in which I refer to Sallie as an ongoing card.

There is no specific checking/savings offer I had in mind. I probably have enough accounts at the moment. I could find something, but I'm mostly interested in figuring out the "money in" side of this and the full cost of a BT.

The math is a little more complicated than just paying the BT fee, since minimum payments mean I can't have all of the funds available for my use for the full length of the BT.

I'm leaning towards just not bothering. If I had a $25k CL, doing a $10k "write myself a check" BT could be worth it. But with a CL of only $9k, the return wouldn't be much. If I used half the CL, it wouldn't be enough for many promotions without extra funds from an existing savings account.

[wasCB14]

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@Kenny wrote:
Generally not a good idea, to be honest.

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Think there's a high risk of  AA somewhere along the line? Or just a lot of hassle for a low reward?

[Kenny]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@Kenny wrote:
Generally not a good idea, to be honest.

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Think there's a high risk of  AA somewhere along the line? Or just a lot of hassle for a low reward?

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Both. I've heard so many people say that a 0% offer is the worst thing ever... same as a 0% BT offer, except you usually have an upfront cost in the form of some fee. It's hard to make higher than that fee on that money without a good deal of risk: whether that be the lender calling in the loan, the lender closing your card, balance chasing you, other lenders balance chasing you, you not making enough money, taking a loss, other lenders CLDing you, or you just snowballing debt, etc. It can be a very slippery slope. 

[FocusedAndDetermined]

BT's are useful for paying off high interest cards/loan. Cost savings can be easily realized that way. I agree with Kenny that otherwise not a great option.

[wasCB14]

Without doing unconventional BTs, without getting decent rewards promos, and with Chip+Sig cards working well enough in my travel...I may tell them to "Commence" to close all my accounts!

Really, the only thing holding me back is the desire to not look like a churner...at least until I actually am one.