topic Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC? in Credit Cards

Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 19:11:18 GMT

I was just approved for a $21,500 CL on NFCU's Cash Rewards card at 14.9%

I have a balance of about $7500 on my BofA account (currently closed, but paid as agreed) and about $9000 on my Chase Freedom (paid as agreed, never late).

My other cards don't have a balance and I'd like to bring my utilization down by doing a balance transfer to my new card. Having only one card with a balance may help my FICO score in the long run.

Is that the way this could work for me? I've never done a BT before, but in my head this makes good sense.

Approximately, what would my monthly payment be with $16,500 on a card with a 14.9 APR and a 2% minimum payment? I have no idea how to even begin to figure that out.

Thank you in advance. This is going to really turn things around for me. Phew!!!

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Creditaddict — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 21:48:34 GMT

@MontegoMack wrote:
I was just approved for a $21,500 CL on NFCU's Cash Rewards card at 14.9%

I have a balance of about $7500 on my BofA account (currently closed, but paid as agreed) and about $9000 on my Chase Freedom (paid as agreed, never late).
My other cards don't have a balance and I'd like to bring my utilization down by doing a balance transfer to my new card. Having only one card with a balance may help my FICO score in the long run.

Is that the way this could work for me? I've never done a BT before, but in my head this makes good sense.
Approximately, what would my monthly payment be with $16,500 on a card with a 14.9 APR and a 2% minimum payment? I have no idea how to even begin to figure that out.

Thank you in advance. This is going to really turn things around for me. Phew!!!

Should put your minimum somewhere in the $300's.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 21:58:59 GMT

So would you recommend that I do the BT? Are there any downsides?

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Creditaddict — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 22:00:17 GMT

I would do it! Especially with that closed account with a balance

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

txtjjs — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 22:50:07 GMT

I pulled almost everything under my NFCU CC when I got it because it was a lower rate, and it's helping to save some money in interest. It was also nice that there was no BT fee. I usually only consider a BT if it'll save money though. I'm also not going to be doing any major purchases soon (like a house or car), so I don't need to worry about gaining a few points on my score. I wish you the best though, and congrats on the NFCU card.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 23:09:09 GMT

Sounds like it'll save me money even in the short term. Down side? I was told my NFCU that there's no grace period. Besides that, I can only see it helping, not hurting in any way.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 02:47:07 GMT

Ok since you didn't get a BT , low % offer which they normally do... I got 0%, and some BT on a 2.99% offer with them right now.

But because of your debt load you can't afford to wait and see.
It appears the consolidation and making of one payment would be of value to your financial situation.

The additional upside of cleaning up those loose ends, is with the new CL added, helping to pad you utilization the score boost may help you garner a PL at a fixed rate, rather than trying to tackle a debt that size using an revolving account.

Now I'm fairness the PL you may be qualify for probably will not be big enough for the entire elephant but that's ok, it still allows you to
A) Kill the debt w/O revolving such a high amount monthly
B) know exactly what your fixed amount is on said amount, now your pay down becomes easier to see when and where you're saving money

Even if at 1st you only qualify for say a 5-7k PL ..great because the fixed rate nature of said loan allows you to Gameplan it's payback much easier and generally cheaper than even 14.9% revolving

0% BTs are one thing otherwise flat rate PLs are generally better because you can see...ok 60 payments at X amount= Y dollars, no more
Now you can pay a bit more per month, quarter whatever and reduce whatever the % would have been, you're in total control of how much % you pay vs allowing it to revolve monthly

Also by grabbing a 5-7k PL during the payback process further reduces the debt load vs CL thus possibly qualifying your profile for a future 0% BT big enough to clean up this mess cheaper than one might think.

Yes it may take 2-3 moves but overall each step
1) builds history
2) Saves $
3) Each makes it easier to choke down that 16k elephant

That would be my plan vs just throwing 16k on a card hoping to pay it off over time....

Again unless you get huge monthly commissions or something, in which case the debt wouldn't have balloone to where it is now.

When CC debt gets that high for regular W2 non large lump sum folks creative proactive measures need to be taken or its a ish storm

But if you treat it like a 16k car loan you know you can do it in 5 years of less, especially if the amount isn't revolving on you to much constantly.

Any of us can handle a 16k car FIXED car note over time, you want that to be your worst case scenario...any better you save but at worst you can handle a used car note over 4-5 years, right?

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:07:48 GMT

Um. Okay. Thank you. That was a lot of information on the benefit of PLs, which I don't have, nor do I have an interest in obtaining, though I do have a $15k CLOC, if that makes a difference.

In there though, I think I read that you'd advise in favor of the BTs.

Looks like you put a lot of thought in to your response. I appreciate that.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:35:19 GMT

Good luck to you OP!

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:58:01 GMT

@MontegoMack wrote:
I was just approved for a $21,500 CL on NFCU's Cash Rewards card at 14.9%

I have a balance of about $7500 on my BofA account (currently closed, but paid as agreed) and about $9000 on my Chase Freedom (paid as agreed, never late).
My other cards don't have a balance and I'd like to bring my utilization down by doing a balance transfer to my new card. Having only one card with a balance may help my FICO score in the long run.

Is that the way this could work for me? I've never done a BT before, but in my head this makes good sense.
Approximately, what would my monthly payment be with $16,500 on a card with a 14.9 APR and a 2% minimum payment? I have no idea how to even begin to figure that out.

Thank you in advance. This is going to really turn things around for me. Phew!!!

First off Congrats!! Thats an awesome SL!! They gave me a 10.1k SL which is huge to me. May I strongly suggest a Personal Loan with a lower interest rate. When doing this you not only get a better interest rate but, you also lower you utl.

Best of Luck to you OP!! and Congrats again!

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 06:25:17 GMT

@MontegoMack wrote:
I was just approved for a $21,500 CL on NFCU's Cash Rewards card at 14.9%

I have a balance of about $7500 on my BofA account (currently closed, but paid as agreed) and about $9000 on my Chase Freedom (paid as agreed, never late).
My other cards don't have a balance and I'd like to bring my utilization down by doing a balance transfer to my new card. Having only one card with a balance may help my FICO score in the long run.

Is that the way this could work for me? I've never done a BT before, but in my head this makes good sense.
Approximately, what would my monthly payment be with $16,500 on a card with a 14.9 APR and a 2% minimum payment? I have no idea how to even begin to figure that out.

Thank you in advance. This is going to really turn things around for me. Phew!!!

I'd suggest against moving all of this to the cashRewards. Why? Mainly because it would result in 76% util on the cashRewards, which somewhat defeats the purpose.

Since you also have the $15k CLOC, why not also use that? if you put the $7500 on the CLOC, and the $9000 on the CashRewards, your util would be 50% on the CLOC, and 41% on the cashRewards - a scenario which is likely to have a lot more favorable score impact.

(edited to correct my math)

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

UncleB — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 07:16:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@MontegoMack wrote:
I was just approved for a $21,500 CL on NFCU's Cash Rewards card at 14.9%

I have a balance of about $7500 on my BofA account (currently closed, but paid as agreed) and about $9000 on my Chase Freedom (paid as agreed, never late).
My other cards don't have a balance and I'd like to bring my utilization down by doing a balance transfer to my new card. Having only one card with a balance may help my FICO score in the long run.

Is that the way this could work for me? I've never done a BT before, but in my head this makes good sense.
Approximately, what would my monthly payment be with $16,500 on a card with a 14.9 APR and a 2% minimum payment? I have no idea how to even begin to figure that out.

Thank you in advance. This is going to really turn things around for me. Phew!!!
I'd suggest against moving all of this to the cashRewards. Why? Mainly because it would result in 76% util on the cashRewards, which somewhat defeats the purpose.

Since you also have the $15k CLOC, why not also use that? if you put the $7500 on the CLOC, and the $9000 on the CashRewards, your util would be 50% on the CLOC, and 41% on the cashRewards - a scenario which is likely to have a lot more favorable score impact.

(edited to correct my math)

This actually raises an excellent point... if you do the BTs, will you continue to use the Cash Rewards card for new purchases, or will you put it in the SD and work on paying it down?

If you plan on sending it to the SD, you might consider calling NFCU and having the card changed to a Platinum. It would take away your rewards, but you would get a lower APR. You could always PC it back to Cash Rewards sometime in the future.

I apologize if I'm confusing matters... this is just a thought to possibly save a few more dollars.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 09:49:03 GMT

Is the PC to Platinum an SP?

I don't intend on using the card. I'm trying to get the 100k points on my AMEX Platinum - which would require a good amount of useage as my daily driver over the next couple months. I could easily do an NFCU PC to Platinum and do a $9000 BT, and then do a BT to my CLOC for $7500.

I was told by NFCU that I need to have the card for 10 days before doing a BT and it'll take about 7 days to comeplete the transaction.

Can I do a BT to the CLOC immediately or do I have to wait?

**edited to include details.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

UncleB — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 09:47:51 GMT

@MontegoMack wrote:
Is the PC to Platinum an SP?

I don't intend on using the card if I do nay kind of BT because I'm trying to get my util down. In fact, I'd love to use my AMEX as a my daily driver.

Yep, I'm 99% sure it is, but they can tell you for sure. Also, there might be a waiting period before they let you PC back to Cash rewards (six months?)... they can confirm that as well.

If you don't plan on using it for new charges you might as well enjoy the lower APR of the Platinum if possible... that's actually why I got the Platinum myself; I already have plenty of rewards cards, but I didn't have a low-APR card.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 09:51:03 GMT

I don't mind keeping the Platinum for a while. That's not a problem at all.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

takeshi74 — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:30:38 GMT

@MontegoMack wrote:
I was just approved for a $21,500 CL on NFCU's Cash Rewards card at 14.9%

I have a balance of about $7500 on my BofA account (currently closed, but paid as agreed) and about $9000 on my Chase Freedom (paid as agreed, never late).
My other cards don't have a balance and I'd like to bring my utilization down by doing a balance transfer to my new card. Having only one card with a balance may help my FICO score in the long run.

Paying down your revolving debt is what will really help your FICO score and your overall financial health in the long run. BT's are just shifting and they do not change your overall revolving utilization though they do impact individual revolving utilization. However, revolving utilization is a bigger factor than number of reported balances. $16.5K/$21.5K is 77% which is very high. If you do that then get it down ASAP. You do not want to leave cards at high revolving utilization for long periods of time -- especially if the rest of your profile isn't squeaky clean.

I'd advise limiting revolving utilization on the BT card to 50% max and strongly recommend keeping it at 30% or less.

Also -- avoid closing revolving accounts with balances as they can report as maxed. If it is reporting as maxed then consider transferring only its balance as $7.5K/$21.5K ~ 35%.

@MontegoMack wrote:
Approximately, what would my monthly payment be with $16,500 on a card with a 14.9 APR and a 2% minimum payment? I have no idea how to even begin to figure that out.

There are calculators out there.

@MontegoMack wrote:
Down side? I was told my NFCU that there's no grace period.

It's standard to not have a grace period when carrying a balance.

@MontegoMack wrote:
That was a lot of information on the benefit of PLs, which I don't have, nor do I have an interest in obtaining, though I do have a $15k CLOC, if that makes a difference.

An installment is not a revolving account and its balance does not factor into revolving utilziation. The balance to loan ratio on an installment is seen as much less of a risk and has much less of scoring impact than revolving utilization. LOC's are revolving accounts.

However, if you haven't addressed the problem(s) that got you to where you are now with high revolving debt then relying on an installment is dangerous as you'll be in much worse shape if you transfer your revolving debt to installment and then rack up even more revolving debt. You definitely have to address the other financial issues as well for long term progress.

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Creditaddict — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:34:10 GMT

You can certainly call and check with Navy but PC to Platinum is not a guarantee to lower your APR and it might only be 1% but it isn't a pull at all and you can always PC it back later once you pay it off to be able to have a more useful card.... if you call in to PC Navy can tell you the APR before you finalize it and you can choose to cancel the request at that point if you want.

I also would not BT half to credit card and half to LOC, that would take away the fico bumps of having just 1 account with a balance and just 1 payment that you can hopefully make larger payments on to get it paid down AND the CLOC is a much higher minimum than the credit card.

My goal would be to do this BT to the credit card, wait for credit to update and then check around for new cards with Citi, Discover, BofA for a nice 0% BT offer to move all of the navy back over to something 0%

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

MontegoMack — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 23:53:51 GMT

Thank you all for the great advice. I decided to PC to the platinum and plan to BT my two cards to this one at my new APR of 13%. It's not a prefect plan, but it'll give me the opportunity to have a much lower APR, combine both cards for one payment and allows my top have only one card reporting a balance. It's a high percentage for utilization on one card, but it's better than having two cards maxed with a high APR. I'll SD the card, I don't need the rewards anyway with the other CCs I have.

Now it's just a waiting game for my card to arrive. NFCU is helping my credit profile out a lot and I appreciate you all for chiming in and giving me direction on how to navigate the credit "waters."

Re: Balance Transfer to new NFCU CC?

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Aug 2016 06:43:45 GMT

@MontegoMack wrote:
Um. Okay. Thank you. That was a lot of information on the benefit of PLs, which I don't have, nor do I have an interest in obtaining, though I do have a $15k CLOC, if that makes a difference.
In there though, I think I read that you'd advise in favor of the BTs.

Looks like you put a lot of thought in to your response. I appreciate that.

Just so we are clear ...it's not about DESIRE nor 'interest'...

I take into account the CHEAPEST, safest way to retire the debt (again things are different if large sums are common, which I assume isn't the case b/c generally the debt wouldn't ballon to such a degree)

The reason IMO the PL (like it or not) has a place is b/c the % is FIXED compared to a constantly revolving (think, continually adding to) % amount...it comes down to how QUICKLY a person can REASONABLY expect to pay off a debt

If one has a 0% 12-15 month term ....cool I'm shutting the freak up but if it's 14.9% and 16.5k.....my question as an advisor would be to ask my client the PLAN the entire plan or I'm doing him/her a dis-service ...especially if he/she utters something about 2% MINIMUM payments, why send a person out in traffic if you it appears they might not be looking both ways.

It's wishful thinking to BT this and that but we must also be HONEST about the ability to retire the debt w/o creating an endless debt trap...which sadly I've seen THOUSANDS of times over the past quarter decade

The reason I used the PL as an option to slooow the debt growth is ppl understand what it is to pay 16.5 over time via PL/Car note but

how long and how successfully would that debt be paid if that same 16.5k were BT'd to a revolving CC account at 14.9%?

Hopefully you see my point.

BT's are all nice and dandy and all but what's the GOAL and how do we get there.....

yeah I'm long winded b/c most things in life require more than one step but too often we want simple solutions to non simple issues, which is why thses companies get so many of us twisted...

My last post was just a layering option to try to eat that debt in portions, changing to cheaper options, as circumstances would allow....

Again, this is all for not if you KNOW ...hey by X-mas, New Years I'll have the dough but what scared the ish outta me with your post was even the mention of a 2% payment b/c you'll drown yourself in debt and I'm sorry I'm a PaPa Bear when it 'feels' like a family might be walking into a buzzsaw of debt w/o a real solid plan for the cheapest, safe and reasonably affordable to them way out....

I wish you well and wasn't trying to push a loan down your throat but sometimes ppl fall in LOVE with a method that makes me scratch my head if it appears to increase their financial jeopardy....again Best of Luck!