advice on getting another good BT

[Anonymous]

Last summer, before all of the banking crisis came to light, I got some real sweet deals on BT on a new card - 0% for a whole year from BofA.

Using that, it has helped me to pay down about 50% of my CC balances. By the time it expires, however, I will have about 40% of it left, and want to BT another good deal to help me get it paid off by the end of the year.

Perhaps because of the banking crisis itself, or perhaps my recent credit history shows me as much less of a "risk" (meaning more likely that I will screw up and they can ratejack me), I don't seem to get the offers in the mail quite like I used to.

Are they still offering these kinds of "teaser rates"? (If not, I have an offer of 3.99% with a 4% transfer fee on my Discover card with no balance, that I can use.) I also have a current offer from my Capital One card (again no balance) that I just looked up - with them I can just BT to my regular rate - 7.9% with no fee. Or I can 0% APR for 6 months with a 2% fee, when it's over it goes to my regular rate too.

In general, will I do any harm by applying for another credit card? Which Cap1 offer is better? Will applying for another card only help my util?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Other than Discover More all the offers I've seen have been 0% for 6 months.

[Anonymous]

Depending on your situation this may not help much, but I started getting lots of BT offers in the mail almost immediately after I paid off the last of 3 large previous BT's with Boa, Chase and Citi.  I thought that they wouldn't be very good or even offered at all, and they are very different depending on who's doing the offering.  I've gotten 3.99% for 9 months from BoA, 0% for 9 months, or 4.99% until 03/2011 offers from Chase (3% fee capped at $199), and from Citi, 0% until 03/2010 or 2.99% until 09/2010.

If we hadn't been able to pay off our last BT with our tax return I was planning on transfering it to our HELOC and then waiting for another good BT offer, and it would have had to be good since our HELOC is based on the prime rate.  But as it is we didn't need to.  If you aren't in a position to move the balance to a non-CC account then this probably isn't much help, but I thought I'd let you know the range of offers I've gotten recently.

[marty56]

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@Anonymous wrote:

In general, will I do any harm by applying for another credit card? Which Cap1 offer is better? Will applying for another card only help my util?

Thanks!

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The toal effect of opening a new CC account would probably raise your FICO score if you have high util since if your CC util is say 50% on a total CL of 5k and you get another 5k CC, your util would be 25%.  Your net result after the hit of a new CC account and INQ would probably have a higher FICO score.

The answer to your question of whether you should do this depends on youe end game.  Moving debt around from BT to BT until it is PIF will only work if you stop using the other CCs.  Also you cant use the BT card since they pay the lower APR balance first so if you use it, you will be paying interest on the new charges which in most cases would defeat the idea of using BT to reduce your interest rates.

If you have your CC use under control then it would be okay to do another BT as long as you can PIF by the term date stop revolving further balances.

If you dont have your CC use under control, the doing another BT will make the situation worse in the long run.

[smallfry]

Just moving the jello around the plate methinks. With the rates the banks are paying these days the best thing you could do is pay the derned things off.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your responses.

Thank you Smallfry, please help me to understand your post. As I stated, I reduced my CC debt by 50% in less than one year. I feel that having a 0% rate on it was very helpful to making this happen. I am not sure how doing another BT to get the best rate available to me would not be more beneficial than just paying the purchase APR on this card when the introductory offer expires. Why pay interest? If I had the money to just pay the debt, I would, or would have never gotten into the debt to begin with. Like many who realized their financial irresponsibility, I have to pay my debt down month by month. Please help me to understand your comment. Am I missing some advantage by not BTing to get the best interest rate? Again, thank you - I sincerely appreciate your comment but want help in understanding it.

Others - thank you as well. My CC spending is very much under control now. In fact, I carry no balances except for the card I already mentioned, and use Discover and Chase Freedom to get rewards and PIF each month. So in the past year, CCs have paid me, instead of the other way around.

Thank you all.

[itsjustmeibe]

I got some advice on the board that PSECU in PA offers Experian credit scores for free to members. So I happily went to their website to see that I qualified for membership. (They didn't ask for verification, so not sure how they know, but I had 2 ways to qualify, PA Alumni of West Chester and my mom is a retired schoolteacher). Anyway, I opened a personal loan with them after the checking account, and when they sent me the check, they sent me a prequalification for their credit card. The personal loan was $8k, and I asked for $12k credit card which they also gave me. Then they sent me checks for a 3.9% interest rate until 12-2010 which I thought was fantastic. I don't have anything to transfer though. No fees, no nothing. And the regular rate is just 9.99% all day everyday, purchases, cash advances, whatever.  

They did do 3 hard pulls, one for checking account, then for personal loan, then for cc. All within 10 days. yukkk, but I love credit unions anyhow.

[llecs]

Congrats on the PSECU accts!

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itsjustmeibe wrote:

I got some advice on the board that PSECU in PA offers Experian credit scores for free to members.

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Do you know if they still offer EX FICO scores. I looked on their website and noticed some changes from before, but haven't called. I don't live in PA, anyway.

[itsjustmeibe]

They do still offer EXP scores. I didn't get one yet, but I am enrolled for the service.

[itsjustmeibe]

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@llecs wrote:
Congrats on the PSECU accts!

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@itsjustmeibe wrote:

I got some advice on the board that PSECU in PA offers Experian credit scores for free to members.

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Do you know if they still offer EX FICO scores. I looked on their website and noticed some changes from before, but haven't called. I don't live in PA, anyway.

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Got my EXP FICO yesterday and it jives with the real score. I just got a mortgage pull this week, so I know my scores. Way to go PSECU!