topic Re: 0% for College in Credit Cards

0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 19:53:55 GMT

I've overloaded myself with classes. Taking them is gonna be no problem but I'm not sure how to pay for them. I'm going to take Spring of 2021 off to catch up on money. I'm looking into getting a new card with 18 months 0% but im not sure which I would get approved for. I was thinking BofA but I'm not sure if that card is under 7/12. My other option is the HSBC gold but when I check pre-approval nothing pops up so I'm not sure I'd get approved for that as not a lot of people talk about HSBC here. Am I missing any other options? What would you recommend?

Re: 0% for College

K-in-Boston — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 19:59:23 GMT

None of your existing cards have 0% introductory offers? As quickly as you've added to your profile (and assuming some may not have even been reported to the credit bureaus yet), I would start being paranoid about AA from your existing lenders with adding any additional new accounts. Perhaps Citi DC has a balance transfer offer (you can usually deposit straight to checking)?

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:01:38 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
None of your existing cards have 0% introductory offers? As quickly as you've added to your profile (and assuming some may not have even been reported to the credit bureaus yet), I would start being paranoid about AA from your existing lenders with adding any additional new accounts. Perhaps Citi DC has a balance transfer offer (you can usually deposit straight to checking)?

They have 0% offers but they are only through June 2020 and I'm already using the ones that go that far. DC does have a BT offer but that 3% sounds painful on an amount as high as 3 semesters and it would put usage at 100%. What would you do?

Re: 0% for College

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:08:33 GMT

I think the biggest hurdle is sitting around 5K limits. You've already tapped the popular options that would be giving you those long periods of 0%.

I would concentrate on CLI's to boost your options w/ Chase / Citi to open some options. Citi would probably be a HP to go beyond their SP offer but, it might get you over 10K or somewhere in that range if you push them on it. Chase the best option is usually going for a new card since approvals tend to be higher than CLI's. Either option is a HP though.

3% vs 18%+ though always makes more sense.

Another option is the Disco as they continually offer 12 month periods. Hit the CLI button frequently and if you really need a bigger limit call them and push for a HP for a CL that's high enough to bounce and shuffle the tuition around.

Re: 0% for College

Remedios — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:10:29 GMT

I'm thorn between stating the obvious and

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:13:39 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
I'm thorn between stating the obvious and

Would that be taking less classes?

Re: 0% for College

K-in-Boston — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:14:40 GMT

What I would do would likely be different; we have very different credit profiles. If I were in your shoes, I would probably try to capitalize on a BT offer, though. 3% of $5000 is only $150. I would probably charge it to whatever earns me the most in rewards, and even if that is only 2% I'd look at it as getting a cheap loan for probably less than $50 net after the BT fee. Do you have any existing SUB spend that needs to be met? That alone would more than offset the fee on pretty much any card.

I wouldn't completely max out the Double Cash, though. How much can you afford to pay within 1 statement closing? Even if you only moved say $3800 to Double Cash with a 3% fee, that's the majority of it and would keep you under 80% with the BT fee.

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:18:19 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
What I would do would likely be different; we have very different credit profiles. If I were in your shoes, I would probably try to capitalize on a BT offer, though. 3% of $5000 is only $150. I would probably charge it to whatever earns me the most in rewards, and even if that is only 2% I'd look at it as getting a cheap loan for probably less than $50 net after the BT fee. Do you have any existing SUB spend that needs to be met? That alone would more than offset the fee on pretty much any card.

I wouldn't completely max out the Double Cash, though. How much can you afford to pay within 1 statement closing? Even if you only moved say $3800 to Double Cash with a 3% fee, that's the majority of it and would keep you under 80% with the BT fee.

I still have a few days for my Platinum bonus of 60k and my Green card of 30k. Both of those would easily outweigh it. I just checked and the bill has posted; $4100.

Re: 0% for College

imaximous — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:20:53 GMT

Student loans not an option for you?

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:21:18 GMT

@imaximous wrote:
Student loans not an option for you?

I was not offered any.

Re: 0% for College

Remedios — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:30:37 GMT

@ToxikPH wrote:
@Remedios wrote:
I'm thorn between stating the obvious and

Would that be taking less classes?

Not at all, classes are good. Especially since we're talking finance/accounting major.

Maybe following the advice you were given in your thread about getting out of CC debt (not related to school)? It sure makes paying for important things in life a whole lot easier.

Maybe drop some AF that you obviously cannot afford?

Maybe drop travel plans till you have the actual job and the income to support your spending?

If "Mo cards" is the answer you're looking for, you've come to the right place.

Re: 0% for College

imaximous — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:31:24 GMT

@ToxikPH wrote:
@imaximous wrote:
Student loans not an option for you?
I was not offered any.

This may be an obvious question, but did you apply for a federal student loan? It's not a matter of being offered one, but applying for one.

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:39:33 GMT

@imaximous wrote:
@ToxikPH wrote:
@imaximous wrote:
Student loans not an option for you?
I was not offered any.
This may be an obvious question, but did you apply for a federal student loan? It's not a matter of being offered one, but applying for one.

Yeah I applied.

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:40:48 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@ToxikPH wrote:
@Remedios wrote:
I'm thorn between stating the obvious and

Would that be taking less classes?

Not at all, classes are good. Especially since we're talking finance/accounting major.

Maybe following the advice you were given in your thread about getting out of CC debt (not related to school)? It sure makes paying for important things in life a whole lot easier.
Maybe drop some AF that you obviously cannot afford?
Maybe drop travel plans till you have the actual job and the income to support your spending?

If "Mo cards" is the answer you're looking for, you've come to the right place.

I would drop some annual fees but since I've already paid them I can't really drop any until the next round and that doesn't start until April.

I've been debt snowballing but it seems that every semester the cost of school is too much for me.

Re: 0% for College

CreditInspired — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:43:00 GMT

@ToxikPH wrote:
I've overloaded myself with classes. Taking them is gonna be no problem but I'm not sure how to pay for them. I'm going to take Spring of 2021 off to catch up on money. I'm looking into getting a new card with 18 months 0% but im not sure which I would get approved for. I was thinking BofA but I'm not sure if that card is under 7/12. My other option is the HSBC gold but when I check pre-approval nothing pops up so I'm not sure I'd get approved for that as not a lot of people talk about HSBC here. Am I missing any other options? What would you recommend?

You are scaring me and I hope I'm just being paranoid. Is your plan to run up all your CCs to pay for school by acquiring as many 0% interest cards as you can? Right at this moment, you may be thinking it's a good idea, but what is your plan to pay these cards off before the 0% interest rate expires. You have to have a plan in place now because the interest rates after the 0% expires could easily be between 18-27%. Ouch!

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:54:40 GMT

@CreditInspired wrote:
@ToxikPH wrote:
I've overloaded myself with classes. Taking them is gonna be no problem but I'm not sure how to pay for them. I'm going to take Spring of 2021 off to catch up on money. I'm looking into getting a new card with 18 months 0% but im not sure which I would get approved for. I was thinking BofA but I'm not sure if that card is under 7/12. My other option is the HSBC gold but when I check pre-approval nothing pops up so I'm not sure I'd get approved for that as not a lot of people talk about HSBC here. Am I missing any other options? What would you recommend?
You are scaring me and I hope I'm just being paranoid. Is your plan to run up all your CCs to pay for school by acquiring as many 0% interest cards as you can? Right at this moment, you may be thinking it's a good idea, but what is your plan to pay these cards off before the 0% interest rate expires. You have to have a plan in place now because the interest rates after the 0% expires could easily be between 18-27%. Ouch!

I've never had a problem with paying off 0% before the end of the period. The school offers payment plans but they are only for the 5 months of the semester. At $4100 that's $820 a month which is half my income and I still have a car payment to pay for and gas and textbooks etc. If I can stretch that out to be just a little longer then I can breathe and pay for those other things. If I wanted to lower school to 40% of my income (still high but better) then that's $680 a month which brings it to six months. I just need an idea to pay for all the other things I have in my life along with getting through this semester with more than $0.

Re: 0% for College

FinStar — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 21:02:43 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@ToxikPH wrote:
@Remedios wrote:
I'm thorn between stating the obvious and

Would that be taking less classes?

Not at all, classes are good. Especially since we're talking finance/accounting major.

Maybe following the advice you were given in your thread about getting out of CC debt (not related to school)? It sure makes paying for important things in life a whole lot easier.
Maybe drop some AF that you obviously cannot afford?
Maybe drop travel plans till you have the actual job and the income to support your spending?

If "Mo cards" is the answer you're looking for, you've come to the right place.

Well OP, I suppose you're getting close to the number of AmEx CCs you've aspired to amass + the others, but then there's your college education and costs associated with that. I echo what's already been mentioned above and by others so this is just my natural reaction

Re: 0% for College

kdm31091 — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 21:36:45 GMT

You have added a lot of cards in a short period. What’s done is done, but running up a large balance, no matter what the reason, is not the best idea with all the new credit. I’d be worried about adverse action. If there’s anything else you can do to avoid financing this on a credit card I’d advise you to do that. Too many cards too soon plus increasing debt is a recipe for disaster.

Re: 0% for College

Stralem — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 21:47:06 GMT

OP, there's usually a window of time where you can safely drop a course without having to pay the tuition. Check with your school's registration department.

Re: 0% for College

ToxikPH — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 22:20:34 GMT

@Stralem wrote:
OP, there's usually a window of time where you can safely drop a course without having to pay the tuition. Check with your school's registration department.

Dropping classes is truly my last option. I chose to take K's thought and use my Citi DC. I'm also going to try and pay this off by the beginning of May. Hopefully paying off a balance like this that fast may result in Citi giving me more of a positive relationship. We shall see.