topic Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer in Credit Cards

Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

cmm89 — Tue, 15 May 2018 23:04:21 GMT

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've perused the forums but I come to everyone with a question. I have a balance of ~$7,000 on a BofA card that has a 0% offer expiring soon, almost all of it is start-up "business" expenses (I work for a large firm and some of the purchases cannot be expensed, and help me build my practice).

I'm not concerned about paying off the debt, as I can take an IRA withdrawal to get it to $0... however, my income is increasing rapidly and I'm only 28. I'm looking for a way to kick the can for maybe 6-8 months so I can avoid the adverse tax consequences & penalty due to my age. PenFed approved me for their Gold Card, but only with a $5,000 limit. So I can only BT a little to keep myself under 30% on that card. Better than nothing.

Can anyone think of inquiry/new account insensitive lenders on the BT 0% side? Perhaps a lesser known lender? I live in the Midwest. I have a boatload of inquiries and new accounts within the last 2 years, but my score hovers around 720 and overall util is basically just that $7000 out of a total CL of ~$120,000 ($75K of that is through 2 Bank of America cards, $40k & $35k). All other accounts I PIF.

Thanks all!

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

FinStar — Wed, 16 May 2018 01:00:45 GMT

You mention a "boatload" of inquiries, like how many inquiries per CR do you have in the last 12 months? How many new accounts have you opened in the past 6-12 months?

Since PenFed approved you for $5K, it appears that you are reaching a possible "ceiling" with the amount of what lenders may be willing to extend versus your current revolving credit and the income that you may have provided.

What about BTs offers from your other existing accounts? Since you stated about ~$120K in total CLs.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 03:27:32 GMT

@cmm89 wrote:
Hi all,

It's been a while since I've perused the forums but I come to everyone with a question. I have a balance of ~$7,000 on a BofA card that has a 0% offer expiring soon, almost all of it is start-up "business" expenses (I work for a large firm and some of the purchases cannot be expensed, and help me build my practice).

I'm not concerned about paying off the debt, as I can take an IRA withdrawal to get it to $0... however, my income is increasing rapidly and I'm only 28. I'm looking for a way to kick the can for maybe 6-8 months so I can avoid the adverse tax consequences & penalty due to my age. PenFed approved me for their Gold Card, but only with a $5,000 limit. So I can only BT a little to keep myself under 30% on that card. Better than nothing.

Can anyone think of inquiry/new account insensitive lenders on the BT 0% side? Perhaps a lesser known lender? I live in the Midwest. I have a boatload of inquiries and new accounts within the last 2 years, but my score hovers around 720 and overall util is basically just that $7000 out of a total CL of ~$120,000 ($75K of that is through 2 Bank of America cards, $40k & $35k). All other accounts I PIF.

Thanks all!

I would advise againts taking an IRA withdrawal. Because if you do it now for this, it'll be easier to do it again. And again. You said your income is rapidly increasing. Use that. Also, you'll likely end up paying out more from your IRA withdrawal than you would from your 0% offer expiring.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

NRB525 — Wed, 16 May 2018 10:19:31 GMT

Congrats on the new PenFed card. Put a $4,500 BT onto that, and rapidly pay down the remainder on the BofA Card.

Since you you have a boatload of INQ, the idea that you need to micromanage your utilization is out the window. You should not be applying for anything else, therefore your FICO score is not going to be viewed by anyone. Build your relationship with PenFed.

Are there no NFCU BT offers? You can’t zero that card and get a BT to it?

Do not take an IRA withdrawal. The penalties and impossibility to catch that amount back into the IRA are really stiff penalties.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 14:21:04 GMT

I have nothing constructive to add except to respond to the original poster's Cincinnati Bearcats logo...Go 'Cats! One of my kids just graduated from UC, and another is in engineering there. Can't wait until they grow up and fly on their own!

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

CreditInspired — Thu, 17 May 2018 05:13:49 GMT

Hi OP,

Like everyone says, definitely don't do an IRA withdrawal to pay a debt -- not a good idea at all.

Now, is this an IRA or a 401K or 403B with your employer. If the answer is yes, there is a possibility of borrowing from it. That way, when you pay it back, you're paying yourself back and there are no penalties.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

happypill — Thu, 17 May 2018 19:00:21 GMT

I've been getting a lot of BT offers from Comenity lately on the Sportsman's Guide and Camping World cards. These are not only 0% APR but also no fee (I think 3% fee is pretty average these days). Not sure if these would work for you because if memory serves, they start out with low limits, but can increase rapidly once you hit around 3-6 months. I stopped asking for CLIs after reach around $15k. Of course, no guarantee that they'll continue having BT offers a few months from now.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

Anonymous — Thu, 17 May 2018 19:33:12 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
Congrats on the new PenFed card. Put a $4,500 BT onto that, and rapidly pay down the remainder on the BofA Card.

Since you you have a boatload of INQ, the idea that you need to micromanage your utilization is out the window. You should not be applying for anything else, therefore your FICO score is not going to be viewed by anyone. Build your relationship with PenFed.

Are there no NFCU BT offers? You can’t zero that card and get a BT to it?

Do not take an IRA withdrawal. The penalties and impossibility to catch that amount back into the IRA are really stiff penalties.

This.

The high utilization isn't going to spook anybody so long as you're not racking up debt on your other cards. Also, make sure to request a CLI on that PenFed card just before you've had it 90 days. (Let's say day 85.) Very good chance you'd get enough of a bump to cover anything left on the BOA card at that point. (Though honestly, you should be able to knock out $2500 in 3 months or I'd look into revising your budget.)

Plus, with $120k in revolving credit, you likely have a lender that will give you a low or 0% balance transfer offer. If you have Discover, check "offers" on your online account. Mine has 0% with a 3% fee or 4.9% with no fee right now . . .

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

cmm89 — Fri, 18 May 2018 05:03:44 GMT

Thanks for the feedback --- I appreciate it.

To be straightforward, it's a beneficiary IRA from an immediate family member. I cannot contribute to it, I can only change asset allocation & take distributions (RMD's & distributions were already made). I understand that it is a less than desirable decision (I carry my Series 7 & 66). However, outside of my RMD's, I don't plan on doing it again. It's not enough to retire on, but I'm in my late 20's and it's been a huge relief to have financially even though the circumstances that gave me the account absolutely suck.

Without having to sound defensive, I do contribute 7% to my 401(k) with a considerable match, and I am funding my own Roth.

I understand folks' opinions, however ..... paying 14% interest monthly is just not worth it. These one time expenses should be taken care of ASAP.... but I'm not willing to sacrifice a 50%+ utilization ding on my CR, even if it's temporary. I've worked to hard to get to where I am. I went from $500 in available credit (late 2015) to where I am now ($120K) in only 15 months.

Again, thank you for the feedback. This forum is full of intelligent people.

P.S. I looked on Navy's site for 0% BT's.... nothing. Should I call for that request? Or is there a specific site I visit?

To SteelerNYC -- THANK YOU! Yes, Discover has a BT option. I'm utilizing that. That & PenFed have saved me $3,000. NFCU and others don't have glaring options for me (NFCU is my second largest lender, $15k and $14.3k)

I appreciate this forum and the advice... however, I'm not looking for a lecture on IRA withdrawals and their consequences -- I'm well aware. I understand what I'm doing, and have been considering it for months as my income increases... my willingness to pay interest on credit cards has not, though.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

NRB525 — Mon, 21 May 2018 01:59:18 GMT

Sorry if we came across as lecturing, but for nearly all of the 20-something population, any mention of an IRA in the same sentence with Withdrawal implies the person was struggling to set aside that money and is giving up. Your original post had no clarification to indicate you are in a small minority of inheritors of IRA.

By the same token, a listing of all your existing cards and limits would have gotten to the idea of checking Discover.

As a general note to all reading this, when posting an original question, it is best to include a wide range of relevant facts describing the current situation, leaving out personally identifying information.

To those answering original questions ( this writer included ) asking clarifying questions to try to suss out more details is recommended. FinStar was on the right track.

And as to the use of 4,500 of the 5k on the Pen Fed card, in the absence of other on-hand options, this would work quite well. Score is only relevant if applying for new credit, and during the time you get it paid down, it is unlikely to be an issue.

Glad you went with the Discover transfer. I have used them a lot over the last few years.

Re: Inquiry/new account insensitive lenders for 0% BT transfer

cmm89 — Thu, 31 May 2018 19:04:59 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
Sorry if we came across as lecturing, but for nearly all of the 20-something population, any mention of an IRA in the same sentence with Withdrawal implies the person was struggling to set aside that money and is giving up. Your original post had no clarification to indicate you are in a small minority of inheritors of IRA.

By the same token, a listing of all your existing cards and limits would have gotten to the idea of checking Discover.

As a general note to all reading this, when posting an original question, it is best to include a wide range of relevant facts describing the current situation, leaving out personally identifying information.
To those answering original questions ( this writer included ) asking clarifying questions to try to suss out more details is recommended. FinStar was on the right track.

And as to the use of 4,500 of the 5k on the Pen Fed card, in the absence of other on-hand options, this would work quite well. Score is only relevant if applying for new credit, and during the time you get it paid down, it is unlikely to be an issue.

Glad you went with the Discover transfer. I have used them a lot over the last few years.

I get it. I didn't mean to come off as rude. I've been absent from the forums for a while, but if you look back at previous posts you'll notice I include a lot more information. That was totally my fault. Yes, it's an inherited IRA with around $175,000 in it that was my dad's.

Lots of great information here, I BT'd $2,500 to my Discover and $2,500 to my PenFed card -- the rest I'll pay with an IRA withdrawal.

**EDIT: Do note that all my cards except the new PenFed are listed in my signature.**