topic How do I manage my credit card debt? in Personal Finance

How do I manage my credit card debt?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 03:41:37 GMT

Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 04:49:51 GMT

Am I misunderstanding you or are you asking if you can use the BT offer on your credit card on the debt that’s already on the credit card?

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 04:59:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Am I misunderstanding you or are you asking if you can use the BT offer on your credit card on the debt that’s already on the credit card?

Yup that's exactly what I am asking. If I take that offer and just pay one time fee of $90 on $3000, can I pay off my credit card using that same money? Because the offer has 0% APR until April 2020 and right now I am paying regular interest rate. Even though my debt is still going to be there, I will avoid paying higher monthly interest.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 05:08:19 GMT

Edit: totally missed you said BofA. I don't think they like when people do that, but I'll leave it to someone with actual experience.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 06:09:32 GMT

I’m with Brian on this. It doesn’t sound like something you should be able to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s not doable. Hopefully a BT expert will chime in.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

TheBoondocks — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 09:13:43 GMT

So, you're telling me that you have a BT offer on your card which you have debt on, can you have that debt paid off completely but still owe that debt plus interest? To me, logically and economically it doesn't make sense. That's like saying, can you have a personal line of credit to pay off your credit card. I mean yeah you can... But why would you? It's like more debt on more debt.

Bro, if I were you, this is what I would do. Real talk, I would get a full time job with a lot of overtime, and I'll get a part time job on the weekend, work thru a temp agency if you have to. That's what I do and will continue to do, I'm almost done paying off my $1.7K debt.

If say you 0% promo is over just like you said you're not paying that much and interest on, I would use a BT card like Slate, Diamond Preferred/Simplicity and transfer the money to that account, yeah you will pay a fee but your debt would be paid off, however you will have almost 21 months if you choose the Diamond/Simplicity and do it that way. Pay $300-500/m on it. Live life frugal bro. You have to make sacrifices if you want to make it in the real world...

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

CreditInspired — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 11:02:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks

Hi OP

Do you have another checking account that is not with BOA? If yes, have the BT deposited to that checking account. Let it season for about a month. Then use it from there to pay off the BOA credit card. The reason for doing it this way is that usually a financial institution will not allow you to use one of it’s CC to pay off one of it’s accoints.

It is absolutely nothing wrong with saving $76/month and using that interest to pay off the CC quicker and with less monies. That $90 fee is almost taken care of with one month of interest that you’ve been paying.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

CreditInspired — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 11:09:02 GMT

@TheBoondocks wrote:
So, you're telling me that you have a BT offer on your card which you have debt on, can you have that debt paid off completely but still owe that debt plus interest? To me, logically and economically it doesn't make sense. That's like saying, can you have a personal line of credit to pay off your credit card. I mean yeah you can... But why would you? It's like more debt on more debt.

Bro, if I were you, this is what I would do. Real talk, I would get a full time job with a lot of overtime, and I'll get a part time job on the weekend, work thru a temp agency if you have to. That's what I do and will continue to do, I'm almost done paying off my $1.7K debt.

If say you 0% promo is over just like you said you're not paying that much and interest on, I would use a BT card like Slate, Diamond Preferred/Simplicity and transfer the money to that account, yeah you will pay a fee but your debt would be paid off, however you will have almost 21 months if you choose the Diamond/Simplicity and do it that way. Pay $300-500/m on it. Live life frugal bro. You have to make sacrifices if you want to make it in the real world...

OP has asked a legitimate question. How can he/she manage debt on one CC? Please let’s try to stay on topic and not give advice that wasn’t asked for.

It is okay to see if there’s a way to save money on interest and this is what a lot of us use BTs for. I know I do and it doesnt mean I’m in debt and need another job or a PT gig. It only means if I transfer to a 0% APR card, I’ll save X amount of dollars for X number of months, thereby saving interest money and using that savings to pay down the balance quicker and hopefully before the promo expires.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

tacpoly — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 11:44:51 GMT

@CreditInspired wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks
Hi OP

Do you have another checking account that is not with BOA? If yes, have the BT deposited to that checking account. Let it season for about a month. Then use it from there to pay off the BOA credit card. The reason for doing it this way is that usually a financial institution will not allow you to use one of it’s CC to pay off one of it’s accoints.

It is absolutely nothing wrong with saving $76/month and using that interest to pay off the CC quicker and with less monies. That $90 fee is almost taken care of with one month of interest that you’ve been paying.

Is this right? If certain financial institutions grant cash advances that shouldn’t be used to pay debt owed to them, isn’t this advice giving the OP a way to violate that agreement?

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

SouthJamaica — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 12:07:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks

No you're not allowed to use a Bank of America balance transfer offer to pay off a Bank of America debt.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

CreditInspired — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 13:04:37 GMT

@tacpoly wrote:
@CreditInspired wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks
Hi OP

Do you have another checking account that is not with BOA? If yes, have the BT deposited to that checking account. Let it season for about a month. Then use it from there to pay off the BOA credit card. The reason for doing it this way is that usually a financial institution will not allow you to use one of it’s CC to pay off one of it’s accoints.

It is absolutely nothing wrong with saving $76/month and using that interest to pay off the CC quicker and with less monies. That $90 fee is almost taken care of with one month of interest that you’ve been paying.
Is this right? If certain financial institutions grant cash advances that shouldn’t be used to pay debt owed to them, isn’t this advice giving the OP a way to violate that agreement?

Hmmm. I’ll let the pros answer about violating agreement. But this is the way I would do it and have done it to save money in interest. But I do understand what you’re saying. And, of course, I dont want to be giving out any kind of advice that would violate a CC agreement. So, if I’m wrong, I apologize.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

UncleB — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 16:54:17 GMT

@CreditInspired wrote:
@tacpoly wrote:
@CreditInspired wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks
Hi OP

Do you have another checking account that is not with BOA? If yes, have the BT deposited to that checking account. Let it season for about a month. Then use it from there to pay off the BOA credit card. The reason for doing it this way is that usually a financial institution will not allow you to use one of it’s CC to pay off one of it’s accoints.

It is absolutely nothing wrong with saving $76/month and using that interest to pay off the CC quicker and with less monies. That $90 fee is almost taken care of with one month of interest that you’ve been paying.
Is this right? If certain financial institutions grant cash advances that shouldn’t be used to pay debt owed to them, isn’t this advice giving the OP a way to violate that agreement?

Hmmm. I’ll let the pros answer about violating agreement. But this is the way I would do it and have done it to save money in interest. But I do understand what you’re saying. And, of course, I dont want to be giving out any kind of advice that would violate a CC agreement. So, if I’m wrong, I apologize.

While a bank will not allow you to use one of their cards to directly pay off another debt you owe to them, if you get the funds transferred to your checking account you're free to do so yourself.

This is one method of doing what some refer to as a 'debt shuffle' and is fine to discuss.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

iced — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 16:57:08 GMT

@CreditInspired wrote:
@TheBoondocks wrote:
So, you're telling me that you have a BT offer on your card which you have debt on, can you have that debt paid off completely but still owe that debt plus interest? To me, logically and economically it doesn't make sense. That's like saying, can you have a personal line of credit to pay off your credit card. I mean yeah you can... But why would you? It's like more debt on more debt.

Bro, if I were you, this is what I would do. Real talk, I would get a full time job with a lot of overtime, and I'll get a part time job on the weekend, work thru a temp agency if you have to. That's what I do and will continue to do, I'm almost done paying off my $1.7K debt.

If say you 0% promo is over just like you said you're not paying that much and interest on, I would use a BT card like Slate, Diamond Preferred/Simplicity and transfer the money to that account, yeah you will pay a fee but your debt would be paid off, however you will have almost 21 months if you choose the Diamond/Simplicity and do it that way. Pay $300-500/m on it. Live life frugal bro. You have to make sacrifices if you want to make it in the real world...
OP has asked a legitimate question. How can he/she manage debt on one CC? Please let’s try to stay on topic and not give advice that wasn’t asked for.

It is okay to see if there’s a way to save money on interest and this is what a lot of us use BTs for. I know I do and it doesnt mean I’m in debt and need another job or a PT gig. It only means if I transfer to a 0% APR card, I’ll save X amount of dollars for X number of months, thereby saving interest money and using that savings to pay down the balance quicker and hopefully before the promo expires.

Actually, it does mean you are in debt. There may be a compelling reason you're using a BT, but that doesn't mean it's not debt.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Kforce — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 18:05:46 GMT

I am going to give some numbers

New BT loan : 3090 @ 0 for 10 months = 310/month to pay off in 10 or ~100 minimum payment.

CC now 800 @ 25.24

Pay 100 on new loan and 210 on CC

CC paid in 4 months with loss of $43 interest

Now pay $450/mo on new loan and pay off in 6 months (4/2020)

Interest & Fees (90+43) = $113

Current cc 3800 with 450/mo = paid in 10 months with loss of 430 interest

Savings of ~320 total cost $113

200 month payments

Current loan $1,103 interest

New loan shuffle 100 each loan then 200 for remainder = ~700 interest

Savings of ~400 total cost ~700

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 19:52:23 GMT

OP, this will not work. You already owe BoA $3,800. If you do this direct deposit BT for another $3,000, you'll now owe them $6,800 (plus the 3% fee for the latest BT). You cannot pay off the existing debt by taking on more debt with BoA.

If you want to shift the existing $3,800 in debt to 0%, you'll need to look at another bank with a credit card offering an introductory 0% balance transfer offer. There are plenty to choose from, but I suggest AmEx's Every Day card. No BT fee and 0% for 15 months (I think).

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

OmarR — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 20:07:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
OP, this will not work. You already owe BoA $3,800. If you do this direct deposit BT for another $3,000, you'll now owe them $6,800 (plus the 3% fee for the latest BT). You cannot pay off the existing debt by taking on more debt with BoA.

If you want to shift the existing $3,800 in debt to 0%, you'll need to look at another bank with a credit card offering an introductory 0% balance transfer offer. There are plenty to choose from, but I suggest AmEx's Every Day card. No BT fee and 0% for 15 months (I think).

As the others have mentioned, he won't owe double the debt if he uses the 2nd debt to pay off the first.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

delaney1 — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 20:27:28 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@CreditInspired wrote:
@tacpoly wrote:
@CreditInspired wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks
Hi OP

Do you have another checking account that is not with BOA? If yes, have the BT deposited to that checking account. Let it season for about a month. Then use it from there to pay off the BOA credit card. The reason for doing it this way is that usually a financial institution will not allow you to use one of it’s CC to pay off one of it’s accoints.

It is absolutely nothing wrong with saving $76/month and using that interest to pay off the CC quicker and with less monies. That $90 fee is almost taken care of with one month of interest that you’ve been paying.
Is this right? If certain financial institutions grant cash advances that shouldn’t be used to pay debt owed to them, isn’t this advice giving the OP a way to violate that agreement?

Hmmm. I’ll let the pros answer about violating agreement. But this is the way I would do it and have done it to save money in interest. But I do understand what you’re saying. And, of course, I dont want to be giving out any kind of advice that would violate a CC agreement. So, if I’m wrong, I apologize.
While a bank will not allow you to use one of their cards to directly pay off another debt you owe to them, if you get the funds transferred to your checking account you're free to do so yourself.

This is one method of doing what some refer to as a 'debt shuffle' and is fine to discuss.

Thanks for this! I was confused about all the people who were saying no, you shouldn’t do it. I did this a few years ago without any issues, never would have thought that it wasn’t permitted since you’re dealing with cash.

Re: How do I manage my credit card debt?

Green456 — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 22:15:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone,

I have a credit card debt of $3800 with BofA. My credit limit is $15,800 and my APR is 25.24%.

I just saw that this month I paid $76 and some change in interest. I have an offer on the same credit card for direct deposit, 0% until April 2020 and 3% transaction fee. Should I take that offer and pay off my credit card debt?

Like take that offer and I will be charged $90 if I take out $3000 in cash and I won't be charged anything until April 2020? And can I use that money to pay off the same credit card, so that I pay less in interest?

Please help! Thanks

Youtube: Dave Ramsey. I used his method to pay off $30,000 credit card debt. Im on my way to be completely debt free 4 years from now.