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Ok, this may be a stupid question so please fogive me! But I am a newbie to credit cards. I have 2 unsecured for $500 each and 2 secured for $500 & $200. What exactly is a b alance transfer, and what are the pros and cons? I didn't know anything about the limits/utilization until I started reading in here. I was just racking them up to nearly the limit and making several payments within a month. I didn't realize that when the billing cycle closes, it would report the balance from that day, so my utilization is super high(68%). Is it a good idea to transfer a balance, and how does it affect me? Thanks for your input!
Well according to CreditKarma, I have 23 recent inquiries....terrible, I know. Last one was Monday, so I am trying to "garden" for now. It's really hard! According to CK my score is 566, but last time I checked TU on their website, it was 617. and I am sure EX & EQ are in the mid-high 500s. My scores suck, I know. But I am trying to clean up my credit. I had a BK discharged in 09, and knew nothing about rebuilding credit until recently. I have cards with Cap1, Wells fargo, and NFCU. I have one auto loan, and a few collections that report as either paid, settled, or included in BK. And 2 judgements that I tried to have removed but now they just report as included in my bk ch 7.
Oh and a couple of charge offs, one from Univ of Phx and the other from global payments, but it was also incl in my BK, for some reason isnt reporting correctly.
Balance transfers are good for those who are carrying a large balance that is currently being charged interest, especially if they can only afford the minimum payment because you would be paying out A LOT just to cover the interest on the balance. You would take that balance, and move it to a 0% interest card and pay what you can (hopefully be able to pay it off within the 0% window) and not be charged interest saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Oh Ok thank you. I don't think I have any 0% cards. I think they are all between 17-26%, but I am not totally sure.
Just wanted to add that you can't balance transfer one card to another card if they are both from the same lender/bank. I was approved with the same utilization as you have on a visa from Johnson bank they offer the card through Elan Financial got a visa with a 12 month BT at 0% fee was 3 or 4% 1,000 low 600 score when approved 7-14-12
Elan is tied to US Bank some how.
I want to get another cc, even if it is a low limit. But I am getting denied left and right. I know my scores are terrible but I see people with similar scores getting approved for huge limits. I know each situation and credit report is different, but I know people with worse credit than me who are getting credit more places than I am. Can't get any store cards. I am currently banking with Wells, and have been for about a year. I tried to open an account at local CU's and everyone denied me because check systems is reporting a US bank account ($900) from years ago that I included in my BK, and a CU collection ($800) that was Settled almost a year ago. I don't know where to go for credit, or if I just need to be slapped in the face so I can stop trying.