BT while using active card?

[Dw4250]

Hi all-  I'm relatively inexperienced on the whole balance transfer procedure and how it works while using an active card.  My only previous experience is BTing using a "dormant" card (i.e. Slate)

So I have an offer with Sallie Mae to do a 12 month 0% BT.  I'm thinking about parking $2000 on there to pay off in 6 months.   Can I keep using the card for everyday purchases?  Does the standard 25 day 0% grace period still apply, or does it go away?  

[takeshi74]

As always, read the terms.  Generally you lose your grace period when carrying a balance.  However, I do recall discussions indicating that some cards will provide info on how much you need to pay while carrying a balance on an offer to avoid interest.  I just can't recall which card(s) off the top of my head.

[NRB525]

I just created a new thread this morning. Hopefully it is helpful.

Yes, you can use a card for a BT and also use it for daily charges, without losing the low APR on the BT.

[Anonymous]

when i did a BT on my nfcu card the BT offer was 0% but purchases were the regular interest. i did a BT and also did purchases and got charged interest on only the purchases, not the balance of the BT.

[kdm31091]

The balance that was the BT will not be charged interest (until of course the time expires). New purchases will accrue interest as normal. They're two seperate things.

[steel_string]

Barclay's has very favorable BT terms. You just have to pay the amount of your new charges by the due date to maintain your grace period and avoid any interest. Your statement will tell you how much to pay.

[vanillabean]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

The balance that was the BT will not be charged interest (until of course the time expires). New purchases will accrue interest as normal. They're two seperate things.

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But you do have pay both in a timely fashion, and the two separate ones are different.

[Dw4250]

 Sounds like it "depends" but if I PIF every month, the BT balance will remain as-is, and I will pay either no interest or a very small amount of interest on purchases.  Thx to everyone for their feedback!

[Aahz]

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@Dw4250 wrote:

 Sounds like it "depends" but if I PIF every month, the BT balance will remain as-is, and I will pay either no interest or a very small amount of interest on purchases.  Thx to everyone for their feedback!

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Yes, "it depends".  It depends on the card/bank, but will be consistant within a single card.

On Barclay's Sallie Mae you will maintain your 0% BT rate while charging interest on your new purchases (after grace period).  Payments will be applied to your (possibly) interest generating purchases before it's applied to your 0% BT.

On other cards payments will be applied to your 0% BT first, leaving new purchases to add interest charges until the BT is paid off.

[NRB525]

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@Aahz wrote:

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@Dw4250 wrote:

 Sounds like it "depends" but if I PIF every month, the BT balance will remain as-is, and I will pay either no interest or a very small amount of interest on purchases.  Thx to everyone for their feedback!

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Yes, "it depends".  It depends on the card/bank, but will be consistant within a single card.

On Barclay's Sallie Mae you will maintain your 0% BT rate while charging interest on your new purchases (after grace period).  Payments will be applied to your (possibly) interest generating purchases before it's applied to your 0% BT.

On other cards payments will be applied to your 0% BT first, leaving new purchases to add interest charges until the BT is paid off.

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I am doubting this is the case. Do you have detailed T&C text you can share that says Barclay is different than all the other banks who apply the minimum payment first to the lowest APR items (which is typically the BT offer) and then amounts over the minimum to the higher APR items?