Balance Transfer?

[chelleinLV]

Hello,

I am in a situation and looking for help/suggestions.  I filed BK in 11/2019 and I recently found myself getting in a similar situation with maxed out cards but have luckily caught it "in time".  I have cards that have $0 balance but then I have cards that are maxed out.  I make enough to be good with at least the minimum payments at this time.  My problem is that I tried to be smart and balance transferred a high interest credit card to a Discover card with 0% for 18 months.  My 18 months runs out in June and the card is maxed.  I'm worried about the much higher payment once the interest kicks in.  I was thinking of a HELOC or 2nd on my house (Discover pre-approved me for a 2nd at 11% for 30 years) to consolidate all my cards but my car pays off in 3 years and I don't want to pay that for 15 or 30.  My thought was about trying to find another credit card to balance transfer the Discover to so I could have time to figure everything out but not sure who else would do a  0% on a balance transfer for $8k with the BK only 4 yrs old.  My credit score is lower at around 670 because of the BK and high balances but no late payments ever.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Michelle

[SouthJamaica]

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@chelleinLV wrote:

Hello,

I am in a situation and looking for help/suggestions.  I filed BK in 11/2019 and I recently found myself getting in a similar situation with maxed out cards but have luckily caught it "in time".  I have cards that have $0 balance but then I have cards that are maxed out.  I make enough to be good with at least the minimum payments at this time.  My problem is that I tried to be smart and balance transferred a high interest credit card to a Discover card with 0% for 18 months.  My 18 months runs out in June and the card is maxed.  I'm worried about the much higher payment once the interest kicks in.  I was thinking of a HELOC or 2nd on my house (Discover pre-approved me for a 2nd at 11% for 30 years) to consolidate all my cards but my car pays off in 3 years and I don't want to pay that for 15 or 30.  My thought was about trying to find another credit card to balance transfer the Discover to so I could have time to figure everything out but not sure who else would do a  0% on a balance transfer for $8k with the BK only 4 yrs old.  My credit score is lower at around 670 because of the BK and high balances but no late payments ever.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Michelle

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I would suggest you join a credit union which offers a non-rewards platinum card with no balance transfer fee.

Then try to get your scores up to 700.

Then apply for the platinum card.

[ptatohed]

I know I am not answering your question, and I honestly am not trying to sound mean - just trying to help for the future - when you do get out of this current pickle, I really think you need to ditch the credit cards and only use debit cards/cash/check.  Best of luck.  

[chelleinLV]

Not mean at all and I 100% agree with you.  I stopped using them a couple of months ago but you know, a day late and a dollar short lol 

[ptatohed]

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@chelleinLV wrote:

Not mean at all and I 100% agree with you.  I stopped using them a couple of months ago but you know, a day late and a dollar short lol 

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Good for you Michelle,

In my opinion, the first step should always be to request an offer with your current creditor.  Call Discover and explain to them your situation and see if they can extend your current 0% promo or at least move you to a low rate.  It may be a long shot because you just came off an 18-month 0% offer (and your card is maxed) but it's worth a shot.  They may want to work out an actual payment plan where there is a timeline for full repayment rather than just offering another 6, 12 months at 0%.  Discover has a loan repayment program and I think a hardship program but I am not sure if these programs are applicable without proof of hardship or having missed some payments.  Either way, my recommendation is to call Discover and see what options might be available to you.  Good luck.  

[NoMoreE46]

Is there a way you can increase your income via another job?

[firefox100]

Hi, I would take the offer from Discover on the second or take out second mortage for cash, just pay off the second as fast as you can ther should be any penalty for paying off early. using other creditcards are not answer to your problems they just make mess bigger.

[youngandcreditwrthy]

@chelleinLV  please do not take out additional secured debt against your home. 

PLEASE DO NOT TURN UNSECURED DEBT INTO SECURED DEBT!

1) what is your utilization and recent # of inquries in the past 12 months?

2) also what's your highest credit line? (asking cause another bank will take that into consideration when approved a new LOC)

in mid to high 600 scores, you could still possibly qualify for a Balance Transfer if your util is low enough and you dont have a ton of new accounts/inquiries. You may not need to take any action other than coast along til about a month or 45 days from when the BT expires then open a new account to make sure you have enough time.

your better off to qualify for another BT offer with a 670+ Fico than to ask for a "hardship" program which will result in the account being closed most likely. 

I spent almost ten years paying off 150k in cc debt using balance transfers. it can be done and I barely paid any interest aside from BT fees occassionally. 

I got a chase freedom card with 655 fico 150k income for 5K which was  BT card I used. was also 0% on purchases for 15 mos and had  a SUB. I also used Citi Diamond Preferred with a 5k cl approved at 688 fico 150k income got 0% for 18 mos on that one. At one point, Discover also increased my limit from 4k to 12k and I used their constant 12 mo no fee BT offers. 

Even American Express offers balance transfers and 0% purchase periods on BCE no annual fee. I got my first amex with a 696 TU Fico

[firefox100]

I will say again you don't have many good options, the best is a second mortage you pay lot less intrest then if you try using credit cards. Please note you can not go the BK away again you can't go bk more then once in 20 years. After you pay off your credit cards with second mortage you must stop using creditcards. Also don't call any creditors for help they will close your accounts and you will crash your credit. Good luck.

[markbeiser]

Turning unsecured debt into debt secured by your home is generally a bad idea if you have not changed your habits, and established a track record of responsible credit use.
I did it with a HELOC, but only after consolidating to a personal loan, and spending a couple of years of debit/cash only living, then when I got new cards, paying them in full before statements cut.
By the time I opened my HELOC a year ago, I was down to under $20k in unsecured debt, and have been paying it off aggressively.

I was not able to do the BT shuffle because I had derogatory items on my reports until late last year, so couldn't get cards with limits high enough for a BT to help.
The BT shuffle is also not sustainable.