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Oh, I have no doubts that he knew what he was talking about. I just don't want to fix my problem by getting another card with them. I've got a QS card on the way, so hopefully I can shuffle some stuff around and take advantage of the 0%. I have no need for a wallet full of cards. Too much temptation!
Onward to adulthood I go!
@zerofire wrote:Sounds like the representitive that you were talking to was a smart buisness class banker. The only issue is that his solution was better than your original request.
Original request:
Lower the APR on my existing card.
Solution:
New account to lower APR to 0% for 15 billing cycles (Bankamericard).
Balance transfer existing BoA balance out of BoA to another bank.
Balance transfer all other banks balances in the 60 days of $0 fee including the balance that just left onto the new card.
I think you got the balance transfer order mixed up. You have to remember that BT's can only happen from another bank. It does not make sense for BoA to allow a 15-30% APR to become 0% just by moving credits around internally when they would rather you pay the higher APR.
He was offering you the BankAmericard, which comes with a $0 balance transfer fee if you transfer when you first open the account. If you're carrying high interest balances, you'd gain much more financially from opening that new card and transferring as much of your non-BoA balances to that card as possible than you would lose with a temporary credit score dip. Then you could move the other BoA balance to your new CapOne. Your score is going to likely take a dip soon due to the new CapOne card reporting and when your auto loans reports as closed. Especially if you have no other open loans, you might see as much as a 20+ point loss when the auto loan is reported as closed. So if you're going to do it, do it soon would be my advice. If you don't see yourself paying off the other balances within a few months, the BT would be a good financial decision. As for getting a personal loan through your credit union, that'll likely cause the same credit score sting for a new account as a new credit card (possibly worse since it'll be "maxed out" for quite a long time) and will be a much higher interest rate than 0% with BoA or 3-5% with CapOne when you include the balance transfer fee.
As expected, you guys made some very valid points. I did apply for the BoA card last night. No instant approval, but I'm hoping that isn't a bad sign. I did receive the C1 card yesterday with a CL of 5k, so that will give me some wiggle room to BT and not max it out.
Thanks for all the advice! Looking forward to a 0 balance on these cards!