Discover - Balance Transfers

[Anonymous]

Along with each week's coupons in the Sunday paper, I always notice the Discover card insert about a balance transfer promotion.  After reading the fine print, it appears only the balance transfer done initially when applying is at 0% and then every subsequent balance transfer request is at a higher rate.  Am I reading this correct?  Has anyone else seen the Discover card insert in his/her local coupon section of the paper?  I also noticed the balance transfer is 4%, sometimes it's listed as 5%, never less than 4%.  I have only done balance transfers with B of A and will never do another one with them.  

[haulingthescoreup]

I would be awfully wary of rates like this printed on an insert in the Sunday paper. I'll bet if you could borrow a scanning electron microscope and look at the fine print, it would say something like "as low as" or "depending upon credit."

Since newspaper inserts aren't tailored to any sort of pre-screened group, it's hard to imagine that Discover would cheerfully hand out 0% BT's to anyone who grabbed a paper to check the Saturday college football scores.

Anything's possible, though, I guess, but I'd be awfully startled if Discover backed this up for everyone.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

The standard BT fee for a Discover card BT is 5% now. The APR's on the BT's can vary widely.

I just received an email message today informing me that Discover has extended me a new 0% APR BT offer exercisable through 22DEC. The fee is 5%. Considering the current APR on my account is 9.99% and new APR will be 11.99% whenever the CIT kicks in I doubt I'll be using it. The math doesn't work for me.

[haulingthescoreup]

Hey, welcome back!

Does Discover cap its BT fees these days? 5% uncapped is pretty brutal.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

Thanks! The cruise was great!

The "Balance Transfer Transaction Fee" is "5% with a minimum of $10.00 for each balance transfer". So it is uncapped = just awful. Nice enough of them to offer me another 0% APR BT, but I don't think it makes any sense to use it. Maybe if it rate was good for two years, but not for six months.

[MarineVietVet]

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@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:

Thanks! The cruise was great!

The "Balance Transfer Transaction Fee" is "5% with a minimum of $10.00 for each balance transfer". So it is uncapped = just awful. Nice enough of them to offer me another 0% APR BT, but I don't think it makes any sense to use it. Maybe if it rate was good for two years, but not for six months.

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I can confirm those terms with my Discover card. 5%. Wow.

[DI]

This is the message I got from Discover:

If you’d like to save money this month and for months to come, transfer your higher-rate balances to your Discover card. 0.0% Balance Transfer APR applies through your billing period ending during 04/10, then your standard purchase APR, currently a variable rate of 0.0%, will apply. There is a 5.0% balance transfer transaction fee with a minimum of $10.00 for each balance transfer made under this offer.

Mind you that my current viarable rate end in 04/10 also. Discover doesn't mention that tidbit.  One has to watch those banks.  They can be deceptive.  

[creditwherecreditisdue]

And mine says 9.99% although the then current rate is supposed to be 11.99%V. One does have to accept some responsibility for managing the details of their account. I would not view this as anything particularly sinister.

[DI]

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@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:
And mine says 9.99% although the then current rate is supposed to be 11.99%V. One does have to accept some responsibility for managing the details of their account. I would not view this as anything particularly sinister.

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In my case if Discover tells me my BT will end 4/2010, and will then go back to the 0% current rate is flat out deceptive.  I opened the card in July with the 0% purchasing rate, and it ends 4/2010.  Discover shouldn't say the BT will go back to the current rate of 0%,   when it knows that rate ends 4/2010 too.