Need advice on a balance transfer

[Anonymous]

I need advice on a balance transfer. I have a card with $7000 at 13.5% and my wife has one with $6,700 at 7%. I can transfer all of the first one and most of the second one to a card with 4% for a year and a half. The problem is, by transferring her balance to my card, it will increase my debt to available credit ratio. I have heard that this can hit your credit score and that the CC companies can raise your rates as a result.

I my overall credit available is $20,000, and I increase my debt from $7,000 to $12,000, how bad will it hurt my credit score? And how likely is it that this will cause the CC companies to raise my rate?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi Brasilnut, and welcome to the forums!

Hard to say what a particular CCC will do, but you could call them and ask.

You could also just transfer the $7000.  Then your DTI won't change much at all.

The amount you'll save by transferring some of $6700 from 7% to 4% isn't that significant, especially once you factor in transfer fees, plus the interest on the transfer fees.