Discover it Card

[Anonymous]

I need some advice. I was approved for a Discover it card today with a $6,000 credit limit. I would like to transfer my other credit card balances to this card as it as lower APR. Would this be beneficial to my credit score? Also, I have no experience with balance transfers. Is it even possible to transfer my other credit card balances to this card? Sorry for my newbie-ness and inexperienced-ness. 

[9CLINE]

Yes.. you can do transfer online @ Discover...
Would be beneficial to score if the other cards are at or near max limit,but I think would equal out if you use most of the Discover limit,,thus it would be maxed out...
Regardless unless you are planning a purchase it shouldn't matter about the score, since it will recover as you pay down the balances.The main questions should be if the cards you are planning to transfer are charging you interest, then it's a money saving move to BT over to the Discover@ 0%.
Of course Congrats on your approval & welcome 2 the Discover family !!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

You can BT to Discover online, or call them up for some help. If Discover gave you a 0% APR offer and you're currently paying interest on other cards, I would BT for sure!

Also, if your promotional APR runs out, call them up and ask for another one! They just gave me 3% APR for an additional year.

[Anonymous]

Thank you both! Great advice! Which is why I love this board.

[Anonymous]

balance transfers are best for paying down debt and saving money. that's the primary goal and you'll see your credit go up if some responsibly

[longtimelurker]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

You can BT to Discover online, or call them up for some help. If Discover gave you a 0% APR offer and you're currently paying interest on other cards, I would BT for sure!

Also, if your promotional APR runs out, call them up and ask for another one! They just gave me 3% APR for an additional year.

---

Isn't there a balance transfer fee?

[Anonymous]

The standard transfer fee for Discover is 3%, however there is not always a fee.

Right now if I go to BT online, I get two options: 0% APR on BT for 12 months, 3% transfer fee OR 4.99% APR on BT for 18 months, 0% transfer fee.

[Anonymous]

the 4.99% is the better deal.

[takeshi74]

---

@Kyliemarie85888 wrote:

I need some advice. I was approved for a Discover it card today with a $6,000 credit limit. I would like to transfer my other credit card balances to this card as it as lower APR. Would this be beneficial to my credit score?

---

Depends on how individual utilization is impacted on your cards and to what degree.  Do the math and make sure you're not going to end up maxing the Discover it in the process.  You want to avoid exceeding 30% or $2,000 on the Discover it if possible.  If you are going to exceed 30% then don't stay over that for more than a couple to few months.

While I agree that worrying over score probably doesn't matter you do want consider utilization as it is a risk factor even if you don't intend to apply for credit in the short term.  Short term high utilization generally isn't an issue but prolonged high utilization can get you into trouble.