Balance transfer advice please

[Anonymous]

Set the transfer up today. 

[Anonymous]

Excellent advice in this thread OP. I'm glad you listened. You will feel much better once your BTs are complete and you start seeing your balances decrease. You defintiely may see some  from PenFed after you start making $500 monthly payments. Best of luck to you and I'm glad everyone is doing better. 

Will you be joining us in the garden while you pay down your balance?

[Anonymous]

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

Excellent advice in this thread OP. I'm glad you listened. You will feel much better once your BTs are complete and you start seeing your balances decrease. You defintiely may see some  from PenFed after you start making $500 monthly payments. Best of luck to you and I'm glad everyone is doing better. 

Will you be joining us in the garden while you pay down your balance?

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Penfed has been so helpful to me! I called in to set up the transfers, and the rep adised I needed to get credit approval before the transfers could be done. They ended up looking at my recent Equifax pull, and the rep came back on line and said, "I have a question for you.. How's your auto loan interest rate"? I told him it was terrible. I had to buy a new car in the middle of all this and the interest rate I qualified for was 15.99%. I told him I've been trying to refi since my credit has improved and no one would even take an app due to the car being an '05. He tells me, "If you'd like to put in an app, I'm sure we can get you favorable terms based on what I'm seeing here". So I went through the app with him and they refi'd my car at 2.24% for 36 months!! payment stayed the same but term shortened - a lot. 

I discussed my plan with the rep for debt paydown, and he told me I should make about two of the $500 payments and app for a CLI on the existing penfed american express or for the VISA Sig as an additional card within the 90 days that they have my report on file. They moved my first payment for the auto refi to february to give me breathing room to pay down the balance transfers. So I may appy for a CLI on the penfed american express or I may apply for the visa sig. within 90 days but it will not be a hard pull. Then I plan to garden. 

I ended up transfering my two Capital One balances as well as the Firestone card for a total of $3109.42 transfered plus transfer fees. 

I paid off the America's tire ($361.40) and paid off the Kohl's ($425.31). Paid $150 on Amazon store card (Brings it below 30%, remaining bal is at 0%) 

Now I just need to work on the Toyota rewards balance - plan to pay $600 on it in 2 weeks, and will make my first $500 penfed American Express payment, despite it not being due until february. 

Hoping to see a socre bump next month. 

[Aahz]

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@nwmusic wrote:

I am super excited to have been approved on RECON for a Premium Travel Rewards American Express from Penfed! I am rebuilding, and a large roadblock to raising my score has been utiliazation. Utilization is high due to relatively low credit lines. All in all I can pay off all CC's within about 4-5 months, but I'm looking to save interest in the short term, and improve my utilization, while building my relationship with Penfed.

The Amex will have a limit of $5k, and will have 0% for all balance transfers for 12 months, then reg APR of 13.24% So I need help determining how I should allocate balance transfers. I do not want to exceed 30% utilization on the AMEX, so I'm wondering if I should transfer my highest balance and pay all others down to 30% in time, eventually paying all off.. or spread balance transfers out to get most lines down to 30%.

*I have applied for CLI's with these creditors, and many turned me down due to utilization. I know what is below is not great... I came onto some rough times with my wife getting diagnosed with Leukemia and it caused us to use credit while utilizing cash to pay medical expenses/ bills/ Rent. We are on the other side now- She is in remission, and those medical expenses are paid in full. I have a much better income now as well.. so looking for some help on what to do here. Please don't beat me lol.

Budget to pay off is 1k - $1500/ Month. The ultimate goal is to have no balances and to pay in full on new charges.
 

My current balances / APR's are as follows (In order of APR)

@card 1 (America's Tire store card): $400 credit line/ $361.40 balance @ 26.99%

@card 2 (Amazon Prime store card): $700 credit line/ $331.10 balance @ 26.24% ($300 of this balance is at 0% until march 2017)

@card 3 (Kohl's MVC Store Card): $700 credit line/ $425.31 balance @ 24.24% 

@card 4 (Firestone Store Card): $1200 Credit line/ $954.88 balance @Anonymous.80%

@card 5 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $700 Credit line/ $554.54 balance @ 20.15%

@card 6 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $1750 Credit Line/ $1600.00 balance @ 18.15% (Hoping to combine the $700 Quicksilver credit line to this card once it's paid in full. Good Idea?)

@card 7 (Toyota rewards store card): $1000 Credit Line/ $900 balance @ 0% until 6/2017

Big kudos to Penfed to giving me the opportunity to do this, and halping me with my goals. Loving them so far!

Thanks for your help everyone.

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For future readers... Here's what I would have done....

Transfer to PenFed Amex-

- @card 4 (Firestone Store Card): $1200 Credit line/ $954.88 balance @Anonymous.80%

- @card 5 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $700 Credit line/ $554.54 balance @ 20.15%

- @card 6 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $1750 Credit Line/ $1600.00 balance @ 18.15%

With January's "Budget to pay off is 1k - $1500/ Month"

@- Card 1 (America's Tire store card): $400 credit line/ $361.40 balance @ 26.99%

- $31.10 of @card 2 (Amazon Prime store card): $700 credit line/ $331.10 balance @ 26.24%

- @card 3 (Kohl's MVC Store Card): $700 credit line/ $425.31 balance @ 24.24%

@- $100 of Card 7 (Toyota rewards store card): $1000 Credit Line/ $900 balance @ 0% until 6/2017

- $93.28 BT fee on PenFed Amex

---TOTAL 1st Month payments - $1011.09

This will leave you with-

- Card 1 (America's Tire store card): $400 credit line/ $0 balance

- Card 2 (Amazon Prime store card): $700 credit line/ $300 balance at 0% until march 2017)

- Card 3 (Kohl's MVC Store Card): $700 credit line/ $0 balance 

- Card 4 (Firestone Store Card): $1200 Credit line/ $0 balance

- Card 5 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $700 Credit line/ $0 balance

- Card 6 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $1750 Credit Line/ $0 balance

@- Card 7 (Toyota rewards store card): $1000 Credit Line/ $800 balance @ 0% until 6/2017

- Card 8 (PenFed AMEX): $5000 Credit Line/ $3109.42 balance at 0% until 12/17

@Anonymous, this puts your PenFed utility @ 62%, but, trust me, all those PIFs look much better than everything being at 25%+ and you're now paying ZERO interest.

Besides it won't last long.

As soon as all of the above posts ask for CLIs on BOTH CapOne cards then combine them.

With February's "Budget to pay off is 1k - $1500/ Month"-

- Pay off all $300 Card 2 (Amazon Prime store card): $700 credit line/ $300 balance at 0% until march 2017)

@- Pay off $500 Card 7 (Toyota rewards store card): $1000 Credit Line/ $800 balance @ 0% until 6/2017

- Pay off $209.41 Card 8 (PenFed AMEX): $5000 Credit Line/ $3109.42 balance at 0% until 12/17

---TOTAL 2nd Month payments - $1009.41

This will leave you with-

- Card 1 (America's Tire store card): $400 credit line/ $0 balance

- Card 2 (Amazon Prime store card): $700 credit line/ $0 balance

- Card 3 (Kohl's MVC Store Card): $700 credit line/ $0 balance 

- Card 4 (Firestone Store Card): $1200 Credit line/ $0 balance

- Card 6 (Capital One Quicksilver One): $2450+ Credit Line/ $0 balance

@- Card 7 (Toyota rewards store card): $1000 Credit Line/ $300 balance @ 0% until 6/2017

- Card 8 (PenFed AMEX): $5000 Credit Line/ $2900 balance at 0% until 12/17

And that's a mighty fine profile that will likely allow you to app for another prime card or two.

[NRB525]

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@nwmusic wrote:

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

Excellent advice in this thread OP. I'm glad you listened. You will feel much better once your BTs are complete and you start seeing your balances decrease. You defintiely may see some  from PenFed after you start making $500 monthly payments. Best of luck to you and I'm glad everyone is doing better. 

Will you be joining us in the garden while you pay down your balance?

---

Penfed has been so helpful to me! I called in to set up the transfers, and the rep adised I needed to get credit approval before the transfers could be done. They ended up looking at my recent Equifax pull, and the rep came back on line and said, "I have a question for you.. How's your auto loan interest rate"? I told him it was terrible. I had to buy a new car in the middle of all this and the interest rate I qualified for was 15.99%. I told him I've been trying to refi since my credit has improved and no one would even take an app due to the car being an '05. He tells me, "If you'd like to put in an app, I'm sure we can get you favorable terms based on what I'm seeing here". So I went through the app with him and they refi'd my car at 2.24% for 36 months!! payment stayed the same but term shortened - a lot. 

I discussed my plan with the rep for debt paydown, and he told me I should make about two of the $500 payments and app for a CLI on the existing penfed american express or for the VISA Sig as an additional card within the 90 days that they have my report on file. They moved my first payment for the auto refi to february to give me breathing room to pay down the balance transfers. So I may appy for a CLI on the penfed american express or I may apply for the visa sig. within 90 days but it will not be a hard pull. Then I plan to garden. 

I ended up transfering my two Capital One balances as well as the Firestone card for a total of $3109.42 transfered plus transfer fees. 

I paid off the America's tire ($361.40) and paid off the Kohl's ($425.31). Paid $150 on Amazon store card (Brings it below 30%, remaining bal is at 0%) 

Now I just need to work on the Toyota rewards balance - plan to pay $600 on it in 2 weeks, and will make my first $500 penfed American Express payment, despite it not being due until february. 

Hoping to see a socre bump next month. 

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Congrats on the success with Pen Fed   Getting those interest rates down makes paying off the balances so much easier.

Good to hear they are interested in financing older vehicles. BECU does not finance cars over 10 years.