Slate initial CL and balance transfers

[LTomBerry]

I find myself in need of a balance transfer of a few thousand dollars to a 0% BT card due to unexpected dental bills I put on my BofA Visa. I should be able to pay everything off with my tax refund in Feb-March or so.

I want to transfer to the Slate due to the 0 BT fee. The application page has a section to input BTs. The question is, should I input them on the app or should I wait until I am approved for the card first? Would it influence my initial credit limit if I listed them on the app? FYI I already have a Freedom and a Sapphire Preferred, both with $8k limits.

Second question: After it's paid off, what do I do with the card? It has no rewards so it wouldn't get used at all. I was told I could only PC it to another Chase "house brand" card, eg. another Freedom or Sapphire. I can't change it to a Marriott or Hyatt card or anything like that. Too bad, a Military Star card would be nice. So do I SD it? Close it? Have the CLs transferred to my other cards then close it? The only other thing that might be worthwhile would be to turn it into a second Freedom for if I exceed the $1500/qtr spend limit on the first. If I did that I would try to get the second one in a MasterCard flavor since my current one is Visa.

Thoughts?

[youngandcreditwrthy]

If you need it, go ahead and do it assuming all other stats are in line, ie aaoa, util, etc. You could just SD or try to have the limit combined after you're done with 'er....
Or better yet, maybe Chase will come out with a brand new card by then and auto pc it for you!!! Lol :-) They do that sometimes lol. That's how I got my first Slate actually....I'd put the amt of the bal xfer on the app., maybe even more... I think that increases your chance of getting the limit you want...again, assuming your stats are in line!!:-)

Good luck!

[Autumnslight]

In my personal experience, I've had better luck getting approved for decent limits on a card that seems to "like" balance transfers (i.e. the Slate, or another card that specifically advertises itself as having a 0% BT fee and promo APR) by including the BT on the application.

For example, I apped for Barclays a while ago, and included a significant BT request ($4,500) on my application. I was denied, called for recon, and was then approved. The credit analyst specifically said that she saw I had requested a $4,500 BT, so she was going to approve me for $5,000, so that they could process the entire amount. Had I not done that, I think I would have gotten a lower limit.

In your case, I'd request the transfer, and if you have to call for recon, just explain that you had unexpected medical bills and want to use the 0% promo, and you plan to have it paid off in four months. Credit analysts tend to like to know that you have a good solid plan for paying off your balance, and they also seem to like good explanations for balances, such as unexpected medical bills.

In terms of what to do with the card later, you can transfer the CL to your other Chase cards and then close it. Or, you can transfer most of the CL, leave a small amount on the Slate, and keep it open. I just transferred CL the other day between my Slate and Amazon Visa, and it was quick and painless.

[LTomBerry]

Update:

I applied online 2 days ago, and got the "we'll let you know in a few weeks" line. So I called the backdoor number, answered a few questions about my identity and the BTs, and was approved for $6k. The BTs were for just under $4k. I will be able to do the BTs once the card arrives in the mail and is activated. My scores are still pretty much the same as in my signature line, and no baddies. (Had to remove that gold spade...darn.)

I still don't know what I'll do when it's paid, off, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

[Epcot]

Congrats on the approval.

[Cadillac-XTS]

Congrats

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Congrats!!! Slate is a great BT card. I just helped a friend get approved for one earlier this week :-)