topic Re: Balance transfer - what to do in Credit Cards

Balance transfer - what to do

DANISSE — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 18:58:13 GMT

Hello,

My first post since opening account, just been reading people forum for my related questions.

I have 4 credit card open with balances.
GAP VISA CARD 5171/8000
OLDNAVY VISA CARD 3800/5100
DILLARDS AMX: 2900/5000
AMERI EAGLE VISA CARD: 2700/5200
Util according to credit karma is 41%

Since kay jewelers was bought by comenity it now show as closed but i have no balance on this. I think this made my UTIL up because CL on this was $4000

All of their apr is 16.3%, will i be able to get approved for balance transfer for a high credit limit to transfer these balances?

I have PENFED membership but no credit cards or loan under them. Will i get approved for anout $20k ? I just didnt want to apply yet since i want to be approved for their car loan in 3 months.( i have auto loan with honda financial services)

Any feedback is greatly appreciated

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:13:35 GMT

Hello and welcome.

Would you please provide us your FICO scores? That will help with better recommendations.

I see that your cumulative balances are $14,571. The best balance transfer out there currently are Citibank's Simplicity and Diamond Preferred at 21 months. They do charge a 3% balance transfer fee. Citibank is not known for giving very high starting limits to most; and you would need at least $15,000.

Chase Slate and BankAmericard both offer 0% for 15 months, but unlike Citibank they will not charge a balance transfer fee as long as the balance transfers are done within the first month or so of establishing the account.

Also, will you be able to pay off this amount over 15-21 months? If not, I would actually suggest a personal loan. If you do not already belong to a credit union, please join a good one. Amerian Express also offers personal loans (although you have to be pre approved for one) and a company called Marcus (owned by Goldman Sachs) that offer loans. You will mostly likely have a better chance at obtaining a personal loan and will have between 24-60 months to pay it off. The caveat is that you will pay interest but it sure beats playing the balance transfer game every year or so when the 0% runs out on one card etc.

If you do chose to go the credit card balance transfer route, I believe you will have to open at least two cards to accomlish consolidating all of your credit card debt at 0%. You will probably be able to request the banks to review your starting limits and may be able to get another $2K out of them, but I do not see you getting approved for one, $15K credit card.

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:19:43 GMT

I just re-read your original post...you DO have a credit union (I am terrible about listening and reading....). If I were in your shoes I would be getting a personal loan for sure. PenFed is pretty good about working with their members so a call to them is what I'd do.

I would also add that I do not know you or your situation (and I am not judging) but you may also want to take a look at your finances to see how you got into this much debt. If it is overspending, make sure you take the proper steps so that it does not happen again. Loans and debt are really expensive and takes away from your personal wealth for both present and future.

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

DANISSE — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:22:09 GMT

Hello thank you!

700 experian
685 for tu
689 eq

The lowest balance at the moment, i am planning on paying it off in 2-3 months then go onto the next low balance.

If i were to apply for personal loan, will this hold me back on getting a car loan? I also have student loans which payments start on feb 2018

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

K-in-Boston — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:22:29 GMT

Good points all around. If you are at 700+ on TransUnion, BoA would be most likely to give you a larger starting line than the others but it still may not be as much as you would like. Would certainly suggest going Diamond Preferred vs Simplicity if you go the Citi route, so you're not stuck with the card forever. An important thing to note with Amex is that of the lenders listed, they are the only ones that typically only offer an introductory balance transfer offer, and they rarely offer them after an account has been opened for a period of time.

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

HeavenOhio — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:24:18 GMT

I'm calculating your utilization to be 54% with the Kay card and 63% without it. Either one of those is really high when one is in the market for new credit. You could try applying, but I wouldn't have my hopes high. To transfer all of those balances, you'd need $16,500 to avoid being maxed.

I wonder if you can pay some of this down in the short term and hope the $4,000 limit reappears on your report. You'd be in much better shape to apply if your utilization is 28.9% or below. Short of that, I think the idea of exploring a personal loan is a worthwhile one.

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

DANISSE — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:30:55 GMT

I have 9 credit card open and 5 of them i was able to pay off to lower my debt by $4000 in about 5 months. So now i just have these 4 left.

Which then im targeting the low one. Im gettinf married in 3 months, which is the reason i cant pay a lot at the moment as i am saving and paying all the vendors in cash / help with families. So after all the wedding, im targeting to put the extra money that was going in for the weddding to the debt while still putting money for savings. I just dont wanna pay the high interest as they do add up lol

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:52:10 GMT

Hello, please correct me if im wrong but 3 if the four cards seemed to be backed by Synchrony. How is it possible those cards have 16% APR? Sync is known for high apr on their store cards even with good credit. Thank you.

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

DANISSE — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:58:03 GMT

You ade right i apologize it is ar 25.9 i looked through creditkarma and thats whats giving me and j checked statement and its at 25.9 which i need to let go lol thanks!

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 20:01:45 GMT

@DANISSE wrote:
Hello thank you!

700 experian
685 for tu
689 eq

The lowest balance at the moment, i am planning on paying it off in 2-3 months then go onto the next low balance.

If i were to apply for personal loan, will this hold me back on getting a car loan? I also have student loans which payments start on feb 2018

Those are solid scores and paying lower balance off and moving on from there is a good idea.

Being approved for a personal loan and then getting a car loan in a few months...that is a good question, I may have to deflect to someone with more knowledge in that. I would say that it really shouldn't per se since its the same amount of debt...but if you have a lot of installment debt at a fixed payment that could work against you vs. a credit card with a minimum payment (not that I recommend paying the minimum). It would really come down to your income. Working with PenFed for both the personal and car loan might net you approvals for both as CUs like to work with and for their members.

Re: Balance transfer - what to do

simplynoir — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 20:33:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@DANISSE wrote:
Hello thank you!

700 experian
685 for tu
689 eq

The lowest balance at the moment, i am planning on paying it off in 2-3 months then go onto the next low balance.

If i were to apply for personal loan, will this hold me back on getting a car loan? I also have student loans which payments start on feb 2018
Those are solid scores and paying lower balance off and moving on from there is a good idea.

Being approved for a personal loan and then getting a car loan in a few months...that is a good question, I may have to deflect to someone with more knowledge in that. I would say that it really shouldn't per se since its the same amount of debt...but if you have a lot of installment debt at a fixed payment that could work against you vs. a credit card with a minimum payment (not that I recommend paying the minimum). It would really come down to your income. Working with PenFed for both the personal and car loan might net you approvals for both as CUs like to work with and for their members.

That there is the key. With loans DTI gets taken into consideration and depending on your income it might be best to go this route so at least you can control your debt. Because you have 4 accounts at >50% utilization and if it stays at that % with minimum monthly payments it won't be long til a simple SP on your report will have creditors taking a closer look at what's going on. Also the Synchrony factor to take into consideration which while consistent can be twichy at times.