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BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

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BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

I have a Discover More card balance of 3500 and its at 0% until 11/2012.
I also have a Citi Simplicity card with a 1600 limit, no balance, and 0% on purchases and BT'S until 12/2013.

My girlfriend has been getting offers from Discover and got a pre-approved (NOT AN INVITATION...A PRE-APPROVED LETTER) for a Discover More card and she has to respond by October 31st.
What do you all think of this plan:
Transfer 1600 of the 3500 Discover balance to the Citi card. THEN...transfer that 1600 from the Citi card to my girlfriends new Discover More. THEN...take the remaining amount from my leftover Discover amount and transfer it to the zero balance Citi card.
And to anyone who questions the possibility of this whole scenario based purely on the amount that my girlfriend will be approved for on her Discover card...we're not one bit worried.
When I got approved for my More card, I had a 1500 loan balance, a car loan balance of 1,000, and a measly 700 limit on my Walmart CC. I was approved on a pre-approval letter for 3,200 and also was asked after calling in to CS if that's enough!
My scores at that time were 670-680 all around.
My girlfriend has a Furniture Row card with 1200 limit and 500 balance and a car loan balance of 5k, with scores around 720-730.
So...since I value everyone's opinions on here so highly, what do you all think?
Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

You're forgotting the BT fees you're going to be paying when moving the money.  Since you're moving it multiple times, you're going to be paying the transfer fee multiple times, which in the end might not save you any money than if you were to simply keep it where it's at.

 

There's a lot of information we don't know, such as the APR you'll experience once the 0% ends in 11/12.  How much you plan on paying, or do you plan on having the entire $3500 still in 11/12?  Seems like a lot of work if you plan on paying off the balances relatively soon, and you might spend more money moving the money than you'll save in interest charged.

Message 2 of 12
AndySoCal
Valued Contributor

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

Two problems  both moves to your Citi card one will max the card out theother will put over the limit both which will have nagative effects on your score. I also do not see the point in all this moving of money.

FICO Scores XPN v8 802 V2 831 (SDFCU) TUC 803 v8 EFX 807 (10/2023)
Discover 09/90 19,000, JCPenney 10/2008 4,700 US Bank Cash+ 12,000 Citibank Custom Cash 5/2015 11,100 C State Dept. FCU 15,000 06/2023 , 02/2024 Redstone FCU Signature VISA 10,000 Banking: Ally Bank Credit Unions: Lafayette FCU Quorum FCU State Department FCU State Department FCU Pelican State CU Redstone FCU

Message 3 of 12
cmthomas06
Regular Contributor

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

Figure out the amount of interest you would be paying on your Discover balance once the 0% APR offer has ended. If this amount is less than the BT fees for Citi, leave the balance and go directly to your GFs Discover when she opens it. BT fees are usually 3% of the transferred balance whereas the amount of interest can be 1.08% of the balance (using 12.99% APR as reference).  Just do some number crunching and figure out which costs less. 

 

If you plan on paying the balance over the long run, then this scenario makes sense; however, if you are going to be paying the balance relatively quickly, you may actually be losing money. 

 

Edit: BTW, lenders take into consider a lot more than just scores when deciding on limits. I would wait and see what she got approved for before moving anything. The last thing you want is to max out her newest account with your debt and lowering her score. 

Ex 752 (Amex) Tu 758 (Walmart) Eq 703
Goal: 750+ on all
Current Cards: Cap1 Cash Back; Chase Freedom; Chase Amazon; Citi Thank You; Citi Forward; Discover iT; Amex Zync; GE WalMart; BoA 3-2-1
Message 4 of 12

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

The APR after the 0% ends on 11/2012 for my Discover is 18%.
I am not planning on making a big dent in the 3500 balance by 11/2012. Maybe down to 3k but 3k at 18% is well over $500.
The maximum amount of BT fees I will do is:
1 to my Citi card of 1500 @ 3%: 45. So $45 for the 1st BT. Which puts my Citi card at 1545 of a 1600 balance.
2. The 1545 over to her Discover more with a fee of
3% of 1545 is $47. So the final amount over to her new card is 1592.
At that point my Citi card is at 0 balance and MY Discover is at 2000. Even 2000 balance at 18% is I believe 450 or so of interest accrual. Before that happens:
3. ONE FINAL BT of 1500 of that 2000 to my 0 balance on my Citi with a BT fee of 3% is another 45. After that my Discover balance will be 500 which at 18% is only $90 of accrued interest.
Amount of all BT fees combined: 45+47+45=$137.

Good plan.
Message 5 of 12
cmthomas06
Regular Contributor

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

Is the balance on your Discover card from a BT special or an introductory 0% APR? If it is the later, then you will NOT be charged the full 18% in interest. Instead, they will just begin the 18% APR on the balance. 

 

For example, if the 0% is from introductory, you will end up paying ~ $45 of interest on a $3000 balance. However, if the ENTIRE balance is from a BT then you would be correct about paying ~$550 in interest 

Ex 752 (Amex) Tu 758 (Walmart) Eq 703
Goal: 750+ on all
Current Cards: Cap1 Cash Back; Chase Freedom; Chase Amazon; Citi Thank You; Citi Forward; Discover iT; Amex Zync; GE WalMart; BoA 3-2-1
Message 6 of 12

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

So cmthomas06,
I originally got a 0% offer from this Discover More for 18 months 0% on purchases and balance transfers.
I am not understanding you.
The balance of 3500 that is on my Discover more at this time is just from purchases ever since I first got the card.
My Discover statement says the balance subject to the 18% interest rate is 3500 if not paid by 11/2012.
I was of the mindset that if that the 3500 is not paid by the end of the promotional period, the balance would be attacked at 18%?? Am I wrong?
Message 7 of 12
cmthomas06
Regular Contributor

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?


@heytherehitherehothere wrote:
So cmthomas06,
I originally got a 0% offer from this Discover More for 18 months 0% on purchases and balance transfers.
I am not understanding you.
The balance of 3500 that is on my Discover more at this time is just from purchases ever since I first got the card.
My Discover statement says the balance subject to the 18% interest rate is 3500 if not paid by 11/2012.
I was of the mindset that if that the 3500 is not paid by the end of the promotional period, the balance would be attacked at 18%?? Am I wrong?

You only get charged accrued interest on balance transfers. If the balance is from purchases only, then you will get charged the normal APR for that balance (NOT accrued). I appologize if Im not that clear; its rather hard for me to adequately explain in text. 

 

To further clarify, you will be charged 1.5% (18% / 12 months) of the balance in interest, assuming it is all from purchases. The promotional 0% APR for purchases is like a freebie from Discover; probably so we are willing to use the card more during that time frame. 

 

Edit: From my calculations, you will be paying $52.50 in interest on a $3500 balance at the end of the promotional period. So, paying $137 in BT fees doesnt make sense at this point unless you plan on carrying a balance for a long time. If you can pay the balance off in about 2-3 months, you will be saving money by keeping the balance on Discover and just paying the interest charges; anything over that time frame will end up costing you more in interest than just paying the BT fees. 

Ex 752 (Amex) Tu 758 (Walmart) Eq 703
Goal: 750+ on all
Current Cards: Cap1 Cash Back; Chase Freedom; Chase Amazon; Citi Thank You; Citi Forward; Discover iT; Amex Zync; GE WalMart; BoA 3-2-1
Message 8 of 12

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

All I know is I can't stand having this More card near its limit.
So cmthomas06,
what APR does Discover put my card at when they estimate on the statement that it'll take 13 years to pay off that balance with a monthly minimum of $71?
Or it'll take 3 years to pay off at a monthly amount of 126?
Thank you so much for the help.
Message 9 of 12
AZHeather
Frequent Contributor

Re: BT from Discover to Citi to Discover?

Do credit card companies let you transfer other people's balances onto your card?  I don't know, so this is a genuine question to those who do know.

Message 10 of 12
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