BoA balance transfer check questions

[TC1223]

I recently applied for the BankAmericard to utilize the 0% for 18-month promotion and was approved. I have about 5 or 6 different accounts that have $500-$3000 balances that I wanted to transfer over and also wanted to pay off a part of my student loan.

Now, my husband gets these checks in the mail all the time and at the beginning of this year, we decided to experiment and used one of the Chase BT checks to fund his BofA account. It took approximately 7 days for the check to clear and we used it to pay off the rest of the auto loan that we had. 

So, I called the customer service line and asked if they could cancel the BT that I initally put on my application because I decided to just pay it off and to send me balance transfer checks instead. After requesting to cancel the BT, he said that I was "esentially not using the free money." He then continued to ask me if I were using the checks to deposit into a checking account and that if I were, it would be at a higher (cash advance) percentage rate. He mentioned this a few times, btw. 

I told him that I was not and he continued to ask what I would be using the checks for, several times. So, after a few minutes of listening to this guy just talk... I told him that I wanted to pay off a part of my student loan. He said that I would need to either use my online portal or by calling the customer service line and that they just need information on the account(s). He also said that they would be the ones to "...cut the check and send it to the account(s) that I wished to pay off."

I just found it odd that he would've asked me several times about my intentions with the checks that I requested. And continue to reiterate the terms and conditions repeatedly. I was really confused by his behavior and just wanted to get off the phone, so I just thanked him for his time and his help, he cut me off and asked for the information for my student loan so they could get started. I told him that I didn't have the information at hand and he cut me off again and told me to call in with the information so they could start the process becuase I was (again) "...esentially wasting free money."

Sorry for the long story, but, my question is, has anyone had any issues with requesting BT checks from BofA and if so, any success depositing it into a checking account and still have the promotional rate attached?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't use the checks.  Just  log in to your BofA online account.    Under the Balance Transfer offers you should also have Direct Deposit offers. Each of the offers    will clearly state   the terms and conditions. I have used their  Directly Deposit offers several times and the money is always  in my checking account within a couple of days.

[TC1223]

Thank you for replying Llewelyn. I checked the Direct Deposit offer, like you said, and the cash advance rate applies if I do that. I was just trying to take advantage of the 0% and paying off my student loan and other accounts without having to go through the balance transfer process, since I have a few accounts that I wanted to transfer over.

[iv]

The offers that BOA shows will change over time (and per-card, if you have more than one).

Right now, I have one card showing 0% for 12-months, 3% transfer fee for either BT or DD, but with different Go-to Rates after the 12-months, and another card showing 0% for 12-months, 4% transfer for either BT or DD, but with the same (higher) Go-to Rates...

Not all options will always be available at all times for all customers/cards.

Also important - you may have a 0% BT fee for transfers, but 3-5% for DD, depending on the offer you opened the card with.

Sounds like the phone rep may have been trying to point out that using the checks instead of the initial BT would cost you more in at least two different ways...

[TC1223]

Thank you for your reply, iv.

I was just wondering how these checks work, since I've been reading about how BT cards can be used to pay debt other than credit cards.

Like I said, my husband used one of these checks from Chase and it gave him the promotional rate and we were able to pay off the auto loan, so I thought that's how it would be with BofA. 

Maybe it's just different with them. However, I'll check periodically for these offers that you've mentioned. 

[K-in-Boston]

Yeah, the checks can be used to deposit to yourself or you can write them directly to a lender.  Using the DD option will usually show a higher Cash Advance rate for the APR after the promo ends.  I agree with @iv that it's very likely that since the BankAmericard typically comes with a short $0/$0% balance transfer fee period in addition to the extended 0% APR offer, the CSR was likely just trying to remind you that you'd pay 3-5% of the amount you want to transfer by using other means.  That's $30-50 per thousand so it can add up quickly compared to a $0 offer.