Hey guys. I have a fairly high interest rate on one of my CC's and am looking to do a balance transfer at a credit union. My concern is this: I've had the CC for a very long time (13 years) and have a decent payment history. If I do a balance transfer, does that card shut down, and will it show up on my credit report as having opened a new card? Sorry if this question sounds elementary, but I've never done a balance transfer before. Thanks.
@MissExcellentCredit wrote:Hey guys. I have a fairly high interest rate on one of my CC's and am looking to do a balance transfer at a credit union. My concern is this: I've had the CC for a very long time (13 years) and have a decent payment history. If I do a balance transfer, does that card shut down, and will it show up on my credit report as having opened a new card? Sorry if this question sounds elementary, but I've never done a balance transfer before. Thanks.
Are you talking about doing a BT from a card you have with a CU? Or do you mean a personal loan? Sorry for my confusion.
Doing a BT will not affect the status of of that 13 year old CC. And if you are doing the BT from another already existing card nothing new will show up on your reports.
Am I making any sense? 
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".
Hi Marinevietvet,
I'm talking about doing a BT from Wells Fargo bank to a community credit union - not a personal loan. Please advise based on this new info. Thanks so much!
The credit union doesnt charge anything to receive the transfer and open the card, but Wells Fargo charges 3% of my balance as the balance transfer fee. I'm wondering if it's best to pay down my current balance with Wells Fargo and raise my FICO before going with a lower rate card. Right now, the APR on my Wells Fargo card is 21% and the credit union card is 7.95%. I could possibly get a higher credit limit if my score qualified me. Someone whose done this before, please advise. I called the bank and got these answers -- thanks marinevietvet.
And just for clarity, when you do a balance transfer, how does it show up on your credit report? Would I be closing my account with Wells Fargo? Or would it just show up as Balance transferred from Wells Fargo to ABC Credit Union?
@MissExcellentCredit wrote:The credit union doesnt charge anything to receive the transfer and open the card, but Wells Fargo charges 3% of my balance as the balance transfer fee. I'm wondering if it's best to pay down my current balance with Wells Fargo and raise my FICO before going with a lower rate card. Right now, the APR on my Wells Fargo card is 21% and the credit union card is 7.95%. I could possibly get a higher credit limit if my score qualified me. Someone whose done this before, please advise. I called the bank and got these answers -- thanks marinevietvet.
And just for clarity, when you do a balance transfer, how does it show up on your credit report? Would I be closing my account with Wells Fargo? Or would it just show up as Balance transferred from Wells Fargo to ABC Credit Union?
I guess I was confused from the beginning. I thought you were doing a BT from an existing account to another existing account. You are talking about getting a new card at a CU and then doing the BT from the WF card to it. Now I have it.
If they give you the card at the CU your score will be hit a little because of a new inquiry and new credit showing on your report plus it might lower your AAoA (Average Age of Accounts). Whatever point hit you take will recover in 6-12 months. You will need to decide if the application for the new card is worth it or if you just need to work on getting the balance on the WF card down as fast as possible. What is the balance and credit limit on the WF card?
The BT itself will not show on your reports and your WF card will not be affected. Since you will be going from the CU card to the WF card (correct?) there will be no transfer fee. That 3% quoted by WF is only is you do a BT from their card to another account.
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".