Adding a Balance Transfer Card

[Anonymous]

I'm looking to add a balance transfer card. No annual fee and low transfer fee. Any recommendations which card I should app and why?

[Taurus22]

That depends on what you want out of your BT card. I'm going through the same thing right now figuring out the best cards for me. Personally, the Chase Freedom has won out for me.

If you want a long promotion time with no rewards (0% APR -21 mths), Citi Simplicity would do the trick. I think this is the longest BT promotion out there.

If you want a rewards card with a moderately long BT promotion, (0% APR 15 mths) there are a few options:

    Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Capital One Savor One, AmEx Blue Everyday Card, BoA Cash Rewards Card, Wells Fargo Rewards  (Most of these also have spend bonuses you can apply to the BT after 90 days)

If you don't mind a (0% APR -12 mths) there are several options: USBank cash+ rewards, Huntington Voice, Wells Fargo Propel, among others

If you want air miles/travel points etc. someone else would have to point you in that direction. I'm not much of a traveller. But I'm sure there are some good miles cards with BT promotions.

[Anonymous]

If you have military affiliation, NFCU’s Platinum is one of the best BT cards around. 12 months 0%, no fee. They’re DTI-focused so with the right numbers you can get pretty decent limits from them. 

[FinStar]

Do any of your current CCs ($250k TL's (8 cards)) not have or offer any current 0% BT promotions?  Are you offloading some existing debt onto a new CC or is this for a separate, larger expense?

[HeavenOhio]

The big three with no balance transfer fee are the AMEX Everyday, Chase Slate, and BoA Bankamericard.

The AMEX Everyday doesn't offer PC options other than to an annual fee card, so it's best if you can make use of the rewards program. If the rewards aren't helpful, most of the limit can be transferred to another AMEX card when the Everyday is no longer useful.

Chase offers easy PC options. And I don't think it's a big deal to PC the Bankamericard into the Cash Rewards card mentioned above.

[Anonymous]

@FinStar, other than buying my wife a new car (financed at 1% in April 2018), I have been gardening for a couple years to focus on sp CLI's. I have 8 cc's, but daily drivers are Amex Gold (NPSL w/6 figs purchase power) and Chase Southwest Visa ($34k limit - when amex isnt accepted). My personal philosophy on cards, the more credit the merrier from a UTIL perspective. It's really part of playing FICO's game on credit utilization, and not borrowing more than 30% of any one card limit/10% total lines. So I figure I need several high limit cards (30% on a $10k line wont get me very far).

I am doing some pruning this year that will likely include consolidating two chase cards (southwest and united - $194 in annual fees) into a sapphire reserve ($150 AF net of travel credis), and adding a new no fee BT card to pad my UTIL (prefer no annual fee, 0% BT w/low transfer fees). I use these cards at 0% because it's much cheaper than using a HELOC or even my stock secured line of credit, with monthly payments going straight to pay down principal.

I have four such cards now ($22k BofA, $25k Barclays, $27k Discover More, $32k Citi Dividends). My income is lumpy and use the BT as a way to make investments or large capital needs (investment property upgrades, etc), which I payoff when the annual bonus comes in. I know this sounds "risky", but have multiple repayment sources: 1) six figure annual bonus, 2) six figure stocks, 3) refi/sell to tap equity in investment properties, 4) HELOC. Any one of these sources can easily repay any 0% BT balances carried (typically not more than $50k at any time). It bridges the timing of my cash flow and avoids liquidating any assets and taking tax hits.