topic Re: Balance Transfer in Credit Cards

Balance Transfer

Dp23 — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 21:09:48 GMT

Re: Balance Transfer

Dp23 — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 21:11:35 GMT

New to this & I'm kinda confused about this offer. Is this something good?

Re: Balance Transfer

SoCalGardener — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 21:26:09 GMT

@Dp23 wrote:
New to this & I'm kinda confused about this offer. Is this something good?

In my opinion, this is a TERRIBLE offer.

But based solely on the amount available and the APRs shown, I'm guessing that this is a card for bad or no credit. Is that correct? For comparison, my cards routinely offer me 5-figure balance transfers at ZERO percent interest, for 12, 15, 18 months or even more--and with no or a lower fee than the 4% one you're seeing.

If you give us an idea of why you'd want to use this, it might help figure out if it's a good move. At face value, I don't see any compelling reason to use it, but you know your situation better than I do! You have to consider any potential savings versus the fee you'll pay for this balance transfer. In other words, if you want to use $400 of this to pay off a card whose APR is 30%, and you're paying it down at the rate of minimum payments each month, then paying this BT offer's 4% fee might make sense. Details, please!

Re: Balance Transfer

CH-7-Mission-Accomplished — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 22:29:27 GMT

@SoCalGardener wrote:
@Dp23 wrote:
New to this & I'm kinda confused about this offer. Is this something good?
In my opinion, this is a TERRIBLE offer.

But based solely on the amount available and the APRs shown, I'm guessing that this is a card for bad or no credit. Is that correct? For comparison, my cards routinely offer me 5-figure balance transfers at ZERO percent interest, for 12, 15, 18 months or even more--and with no or a lower fee than the 4% one you're seeing.

If you give us an idea of why you'd want to use this, it might help figure out if it's a good move. At face value, I don't see any compelling reason to use it, but you know your situation better than I do! You have to consider any potential savings versus the fee you'll pay for this balance transfer. In other words, if you want to use $400 of this to pay off a card whose APR is 30%, and you're paying it down at the rate of minimum payments each month, then paying this BT offer's 4% fee might make sense. Details, please!

I agree 100%. Mercury is sub-prime but better than Credit One, but I would never use a sub-prime card for a balance transfer. And if you need to balance transfer $480, you need to sock drawer your cards until you just pay it off. Also, based on the $480 amount available, it's possible that this is a $500 limit card, which would score the card as over 90% and thus maxed out, although this may be treated as a cash advance with a limit more like $1500. Carrying $480 at 9.99% interest is not good, and if you don't pay it off within the nine months, it's as bad as a payday loan.

Re: Balance Transfer

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 21:35:30 GMT

You would have to do the math.

Take the amount you want to transfer and find out how much interest you would pay in 9 months on the original card.

Then, take the amount you want to transfer, add the transfer fee of 4%, and find out how much interest you would pay in 9 months at the promo rate of 9.99%.

Assuming you're going to pay off the balance in 9 months, if the total amount of interest is less than from the original card, it's a good deal. If you're not able to pay off in 9 months, you need to alter your calculations for how long it will take you. That means factoring the new 28.99% rate after 9 months.

Re: Balance Transfer

Dp23 — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 22:13:00 GMT

It was offered to me this morning when I logged in & I wasn't sure if it was good or not. I don't need it as I only keep 1-3% utilization for AZEO on one of my cards. It is $500 limit despite being my 2nd oldest card. I have sock drawered this card as I have almost 20k on my other 5 cards. I do use it once every few months to keep it active. Thanks for the replies.

Re: Balance Transfer

SoCalGardener — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 23:26:53 GMT

@Dp23 wrote:
It was offered to me this morning when I logged in & I wasn't sure if it was good or not. I don't need it as I only keep 1-3% utilization for AZEO on one of my cards. It is $500 limit despite being my 2nd oldest card. I have sock drawered this card as I have almost 20k on my other 5 cards. I do use it once every few months to keep it active. Thanks for the replies.

You're welcome.

Just curious, is there an annual fee on this card? If so, I strongly recommend closing it. Honestly....I strongly recommend closing it regardless of an AF. Its 29% APR made my head spin!

Since you have a few other cards, closing this one shouldn't be a big deal. It sounds like you're well on your way to getting cards with higher limits--and, hopefully, lower APRs--so why hang on to a card like this? Even though you pay it in full, just knowing there's a 29% APR hanging over your head might want to make you reconsider. You never know what the future holds, and it's possible you could end up with a balance that you have no choice but to carry over...and at that rate, ouch!

Re: Balance Transfer

NRB525 — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 05:46:35 GMT

The minimum BT fee is $5, which means if you transfer $100 to try this out, it will cost you $5 in the fee, plus the APR of 9.99%. Since this is not a lot of money, I say go for it, read your statements, watch the flow, and complete the payoff of the $100 in two months or so.

Once you BT to this card, do not use it for any other purchases. Just do the BT for now.

The reason for this is to learn, in a low-cost real world example. You'll be a Balance Transfer Expert in no time.

Re: Balance Transfer

SouthJamaica — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 13:34:18 GMT

@Dp23 wrote:
New to this & I'm kinda confused about this offer. Is this something good?

No it's pointless.

Re: Balance Transfer

NRB525 — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 16:17:02 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Dp23 wrote:
New to this & I'm kinda confused about this offer. Is this something good?
No it's pointless.

It may not be the best BT offer ever, but it would be a good offer if someone was already paying 30% on a $450 balance on another card, and wanted to save some interest cost while paying it down over several months.
So it is not pointless