Chase BT offer--should I?

[LexieCat]

I have the following balances/limits on my cards right now (not counting my Arrival + that is paid in full each month).  

    Card                    pmt    APR                    bal.              CL

Wells Fargo              500    6.24                   6,664         25,000

Lowes                       500   5.99                    2,456         10,000

Chase                       250   4.99                    9,613         30,000           

Barclays                   409   0                         1,365          9,500 

Best Buy                   112   0                         1,123          4,700

Comenity                  500   0                         5,996          6,500

At the rate of payments I am making, I expect to have all of them paid off about a year from now.

I just received a BT offer from Chase for 2 percent transaction fee, 0% interest till January 2016.  The maximum BT amount is $15,000.  I could transfer the balances on the WF and Lowe's card, or take a $15,000 deposit and pay off WF and most of the Chase balance (I know the offer says you can't pay off a Chase card with a BT, but given that you can deposit a check in your account I don't see why one couldn't deposit it as cash and still pay it off).   I know that would make my util high on the Comenity and on Chase, but I would still be making the same total payments on all cards and saving interest.  

Thoughts?  I want to apply for another good rewards card, but probably not until next summer.  I don't really NEED to do the BT, but if it will save me some money and not cause unexpected adverse consequences, I could do it...

[Anonymous]

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@LexieCat wrote:

I have the following balances/limits on my cards right now (not counting my Arrival + that is paid in full each month).  

    Card                    pmt    APR                    bal.              CL

Wells Fargo              500    6.24                   6,664         25,000

Lowes                       500   5.99                    2,456         10,000

Chase                       250   4.99                    9,613         30,000           

Barclays                   409   0                         1,365          9,500 

Best Buy                   112   0                         1,123          4,700

Comenity                  500   0                         5,996          6,500

At the rate of payments I am making, I expect to have all of them paid off about a year from now.

I just received a BT offer from Chase for 2 percent transaction fee, 0% interest till January 2016.  The maximum BT amount is $15,000.  I could transfer the balances on the WF and Lowe's card, or take a $15,000 deposit and pay off WF and most of the Chase balance (I know the offer says you can't pay off a Chase card with a BT, but given that you can deposit a check in your account I don't see why one couldn't deposit it as cash and still pay it off).   I know that would make my util high on the Comenity and on Chase, but I would still be making the same total payments on all cards and saving interest.  

Thoughts?  I want to apply for another good rewards card, but probably not until next summer.  I don't really NEED to do the BT, but if it will save me some money and not cause unexpected adverse consequences, I could do it...

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If you had a CapitalOne with a high limit you could BT to it for free and BT it back to Chase

[LexieCat]

I really don't want a CapOne card.  I had sort of an unpleasant experience with them several years ago, and what I've read in the forums hasn't made me eager to get another one.  I've recently applied for two new cards, and I'd rather save my next app for another great rewards card like CSP with a large signup bonus.  As I said, waiting till next summer.

My interest rates are low enough and I'm paying down the balances fast enough that I don't really need to go there.

[JSS3]

Capital One doesn't have a transfer fee but you'll pay your standard APR monthly on the BT. Crappy deal for people with 19% or more/those wanting to carry a balance for a few months.

OP: I would transfer Wells and Lowes then apply the rest to either Comenity or Chase. You'll be able to zero out two cards.

Edit: Nixon: I see now from re-reading your post, you were suggesting using Capital One as a "truck stop" and not the destination. In that case, I guess if the OP did have a Cap 1, that would be an option. Apologies for the misinterpretation. 

[Anonymous]

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@JSS3 wrote:

Capital One doesn't have a transfer fee but you'll pay your standard APR monthly on the BT. Crappy deal for people with 19% or more/those wanting to carry a balance for a few months.

OP: I would transfer Wells and Lowes then apply the rest to either Comenity or Chase. You'll be able to zero out two cards.

Edit: Nixon: I see now from re-reading your post, you were suggesting using Capital One as a "truck stop" and not the destination. In that case, I guess if the OP did have a Cap 1, that would be an option. Apologies for the misinterpretation. 

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They really do make a GREAT truck stop.

[JSS3]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@JSS3 wrote:

Capital One doesn't have a transfer fee but you'll pay your standard APR monthly on the BT. Crappy deal for people with 19% or more/those wanting to carry a balance for a few months.

OP: I would transfer Wells and Lowes then apply the rest to either Comenity or Chase. You'll be able to zero out two cards.

Edit: Nixon: I see now from re-reading your post, you were suggesting using Capital One as a "truck stop" and not the destination. In that case, I guess if the OP did have a Cap 1, that would be an option. Apologies for the misinterpretation. 

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They really do make a GREAT truck stop.

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LMAO!

[LexieCat]

Thanks, guys,  

I don't see any point in paying off Comenity--I have zero percent on that and am paying it off at a rate that will continue before it expires.

My biggest concern was bumping up the utilization on the Chase card (especially since my Comenity balance is relatively high for the CL as a result of my previous BT).  I'm assuming, though, that if I throw the payments I am currently making on the WF and Lowe's card into my payments on Chase that it would come down pretty quickly and that any ding to the score would recover fairly soon.

The only concern re my credit score right now is that I'd like it to be as good as possible when I apply for the next rewards card next summer, so I get a decent CL on that.

[LexieCat]

I decided to pay off the WF and Lowe's accounts, and also take enough to pay off the balance I just transferrred to my Simmons card (7.25 percent), which will be paid off within a month or two when I sell the tickets I recently purchased.

I wrote the BT check and tried to mobile deposit it to my WF account, but the amount exceeded the limit for mobile deposit (which I didn't even know HAD a limit).

So then I drive to the local WF to make a deposit at the ATM, and it isn't taking deposits!  I called WF to find out what the deal is, and apparently there is a glitch in their ATM system since Friday--deposits are not being properly credited!

Maybe this is a SIGN--if anyone thinks of a reason I should reconsider, please let me know!

[LexieCat]

Just an update, did the BT as planned, and guess what--my EQ just rocketed 23 points to 801!  My other scores went up, as well.

I have my payoff plan in place and will be putting all the money I was paying on WF and Lowe's toward my Chase/Slate balance.  I'm still on track to have all of these cards paid off by about this time next year, barring something unforeseen.

[takeshi74]

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@LexieCat wrote:

The maximum BT amount is $15,000.  I could transfer the balances on the WF and Lowe's card, or take a $15,000 deposit and pay off WF and most of the Chase balance (I know the offer says you can't pay off a Chase card with a BT, but given that you can deposit a check in your account I don't see why one couldn't deposit it as cash and still pay it off).   I know that would make my util high on the Comenity and on Chase, but I would still be making the same total payments on all cards and saving interest.

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Do the utilization calculations and figure out how long it would take you to pay off after the BT.  Your Chase card already exceeds the generally recommended max of 30% and your Comenity is already maxed.  It's not just interest that you need to be concerned about but whether or not you run the risk of adverse action due to prolonged high utilization.  If you can get it back under 30% in a few months it's no big deal but there is potential risk if it's going to take you a long time to pay down.

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@LexieCat wrote:

Just an update, did the BT as planned, and guess what--my EQ just rocketed 23 points to 801!  My other scores went up, as well.

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Be very careful assuming that the BT's helped.  You need to look at the data on your reports to verify what balances are reporting.