No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
Yes, 18 0% 3% fee. Waiting for the 2% fee.
I got my BBR back in May and did a BT when I called in to activate the card. Like others have mentioned, the CSR I spoke with was able to beat the public offer... I was given 18 months at 0% (3% fee) rather than the advertised 12 months. (I'll also add that the CSR I dealt with was extremely pleasant; I won't hesitate to call them back if the need arises.)
I've never swiped the card even once; the CSR told me that if I made a purchase that any payments would go toward the BT first, so I would be stuck paying interest on the purchase until the entire balance was paid. I know there's been some conversation on here the last few months on if this is still the case due to the changes prompted by the CARD Act, but I've got plenty of other cards so there's no reason for me to test this theory.
I still owe around $2k on that BT so I didn't expect to have another offer, but I just checked and I do:
This actually isn't bad... it's the same as the offer on my QS Visa Signature. If at some point I find myself needing a BT with 0% I'll probably check with BoA first, since I need to make a payment to this card anyway to get the quarterly bonus (it's a BBR).
@UncleB wrote:
I've never swiped the card even once; the CSR told me that if I made a purchase that any payments would go toward the BT first, so I would be stuck paying interest on the purchase until the entire balance was paid. I know there's been some conversation on here the last few months on if this is still the case due to the changes prompted by the CARD Act, but I've got plenty of other cards so there's no reason for me to test this theory.
The rules on that are generally fairly straight-forward these days: the minimum payment amount goes to the LOWEST interest balance. Any extra payment above that goes to the HIGHEST interest balance. (Some issuers might even be "nicer" than that, but they're required to do at least that.)
So if you're only paying minimums on a BT and make purchases, you're kinda screwed. But if you happen to make a purchase on a card that has a BT, and make sure that you pay at least as much over the minimum as the purchase (and whatever daily interest would have accrued), you'll be fine.
Still easier to just avoid the whole thing and use a different card, of course. But if you have an "oops, wrong card" moment, that's how to fix things.
@UncleB wrote:I got my BBR back in May and did a BT when I called in to activate the card. Like others have mentioned, the CSR I spoke with was able to beat the public offer... I was given 18 months at 0% (3% fee) rather than the advertised 12 months. (I'll also add that the CSR I dealt with was extremely pleasant; I won't hesitate to call them back if the need arises.)
I've never swiped the card even once; the CSR told me that if I made a purchase that any payments would go toward the BT first, so I would be stuck paying interest on the purchase until the entire balance was paid. I know there's been some conversation on here the last few months on if this is still the case due to the changes prompted by the CARD Act, but I've got plenty of other cards so there's no reason for me to test this theory.
I still owe around $2k on that BT so I didn't expect to have another offer, but I just checked and I do:
This actually isn't bad... it's the same as the offer on my QS Visa Signature. If at some point I find myself needing a BT with 0% I'll probably check with BoA first, since I need to make a payment to this card anyway to get the quarterly bonus (it's a BBR).
I do wish you would go ahead and test this theory, so that we can stop seeing baseless rumors re-propagated here. The CSR is wrong. The "No Swipes on BofA BT" is wrong.
I have been telling posters all along:
With Bank of America balance transfers you CAN be carrying a Balance Transfer amount at zero percent APR rate, AND make charges to the card.
As long as you pay those charges within a few days of them posting, and you are otherwise meeting the minimum payment during the month, you WILL NOT get charged interest on those new swipes. Please do test this now on your card to gain confidence that it is indeed the case.
This is very important (to not have bad information out there) for those who only have a few cards, want to have a BT, and also want to take advantage of some of the great BankAmeriDeals that are available, or use their 3-2-1 rewards card to earn grocery and gas rewards.
@Anonymous wrote:I get them all the time. 0% Apr for 18 months but the fees are always 4%. The ridiculous transfer fee is exactly why i shred them as soon as I get them
18 months at 4% Fee, if you are scheduling out the payments to use the full 18 months, is a better deal than 3% fee for 12 months and the same transfer amount, same monthly payment for 12 months.
@NRB525 wrote:
@UncleB wrote:I got my BBR back in May and did a BT when I called in to activate the card. Like others have mentioned, the CSR I spoke with was able to beat the public offer... I was given 18 months at 0% (3% fee) rather than the advertised 12 months. (I'll also add that the CSR I dealt with was extremely pleasant; I won't hesitate to call them back if the need arises.)
I've never swiped the card even once; the CSR told me that if I made a purchase that any payments would go toward the BT first, so I would be stuck paying interest on the purchase until the entire balance was paid. I know there's been some conversation on here the last few months on if this is still the case due to the changes prompted by the CARD Act, but I've got plenty of other cards so there's no reason for me to test this theory.
I still owe around $2k on that BT so I didn't expect to have another offer, but I just checked and I do:
This actually isn't bad... it's the same as the offer on my QS Visa Signature. If at some point I find myself needing a BT with 0% I'll probably check with BoA first, since I need to make a payment to this card anyway to get the quarterly bonus (it's a BBR).
I do wish you would go ahead and test this theory, so that we can stop seeing baseless rumors re-propagated here. The CSR is wrong. The "No Swipes on BofA BT" is wrong.
I have been telling posters all along:
With Bank of America balance transfers you CAN be carrying a Balance Transfer amount at zero percent APR rate, AND make charges to the card.
As long as you pay those charges within a few days of them posting, and you are otherwise meeting the minimum payment during the month, you WILL NOT get charged interest on those new swipes. Please do test this now on your card to gain confidence that it is indeed the case.
This is very important (to not have bad information out there) for those who only have a few cards, want to have a BT, and also want to take advantage of some of the great BankAmeriDeals that are available, or use their 3-2-1 rewards card to earn grocery and gas rewards.
Hmm... well, while I can somewhat understand your frustration, I'm not going to be the guinea pig on this one.
As for if this is a "rumor" or not, I can say that I was told this myself by a CSR - it's not hearsay, at least for me - but I will be the first to say that CSRs can be wrong, and I alluded to this in my post. I'm simply sharing what I was told as a data point, I'm not saying the CSR was accurate, or not. I felt that much was clear, and I apologize if it wasn't... hopefully it is now.
I'll say this... anybody who wants to move forward with making a purchase on their BoA card (or any other card, for that matter) should reach out to the respective bank for clarification if the terms aren't clear or if you're in doubt about something.
As my own CSR contact proves even this isn't perfect, but using myself as an example if I planned to use my BBR for new purchases I would continue to reach out to them (repeatedly) until I received a consistent, unambiguous answer... which ideally shouldn't be an epic task.
I understand that you're trying to help people, but you should aim your frustration at the banks (and their CSRs) who continue to provide ambiguous information to their customers.
I wouldn't trust what a CSR says. What matters are the terms. The current terms seem fairly clear to me:
Payments are allocated to posted balances. If your account has balances with different APRs, we will allocate the amount of your payment equal to the Total Minimum Payment Due to the lowest APR balances first. Payment amounts in excess of your Total Minimum Payment Due will be applied to balances with higher APRs before balances with lower APRs.
Per the terms as long as you pay the min on the BT + PIF any new charges, you shouldn't be charged any interest. Maybe BoA doesn't give you a grace period for purchases when carrying a balance? In any case, I can't think of why you would want to do so if you have a reward CC. The BBR doesn't earn any rewards for purchases. It makes no sense to keep using it while paying down a BT (being sure to pay more than the min each month).
PS. I am one of those people who PIF even during a 0% intro offer. Don't take my word for how BT payments work. I haven't ever done one.
ETA: After posting, I started thinking most of the posts probably aren't talking about the BBR. Even so, it seems wrong to me to mix reward cards and BT cards.
@CreditDunce wrote:I wouldn't trust what a CSR says. What matters are the terms. The current terms seem fairly clear to me:
Payments are allocated to posted balances. If your account has balances with different APRs, we will allocate the amount of your payment equal to the Total Minimum Payment Due to the lowest APR balances first. Payment amounts in excess of your Total Minimum Payment Due will be applied to balances with higher APRs before balances with lower APRs.
Per the terms as long as you pay the min on the BT + PIF any new charges, you shouldn't be charged any interest. Maybe BoA doesn't give you a grace period for purchases when carrying a balance? In any case, I can't think of why you would want to do so if you have a reward CC. The BBR doesn't earn any rewards for purchases. It makes no sense to keep using it while paying down a BT (being sure to pay more than the min each month).
PS. I am one of those people who PIF even during a 0% intro offer. Don't take my word for how BT payments work. I haven't ever done one.
ETA: After posting, I started thinking most of the posts probably aren't talking about the BBR. Even so, it seems wrong to me to mix reward cards and BT cards.
Even with the BBR, you can get BankAmeriDeals, 10% off Five Guys burgers for example. Haircuts at 5% to 10% off. Starbucks and Panera.
The terms you have in bold above are how the banks apply payments. The only real situation to watch for is if there is a minimum interest payment. US Bank can catch you in a cycle of minimum interest, which triggers the $2 minimum interest the next month, until one calls them to stop the insanity.
@UncleB wrote:
@NRB525 wrote:
@UncleB wrote:I got my BBR back in May and did a BT when I called in to activate the card. Like others have mentioned, the CSR I spoke with was able to beat the public offer... I was given 18 months at 0% (3% fee) rather than the advertised 12 months. (I'll also add that the CSR I dealt with was extremely pleasant; I won't hesitate to call them back if the need arises.)
I've never swiped the card even once; the CSR told me that if I made a purchase that any payments would go toward the BT first, so I would be stuck paying interest on the purchase until the entire balance was paid. I know there's been some conversation on here the last few months on if this is still the case due to the changes prompted by the CARD Act, but I've got plenty of other cards so there's no reason for me to test this theory.
I still owe around $2k on that BT so I didn't expect to have another offer, but I just checked and I do:
This actually isn't bad... it's the same as the offer on my QS Visa Signature. If at some point I find myself needing a BT with 0% I'll probably check with BoA first, since I need to make a payment to this card anyway to get the quarterly bonus (it's a BBR).
I do wish you would go ahead and test this theory, so that we can stop seeing baseless rumors re-propagated here. The CSR is wrong. The "No Swipes on BofA BT" is wrong.
I have been telling posters all along:
With Bank of America balance transfers you CAN be carrying a Balance Transfer amount at zero percent APR rate, AND make charges to the card.
As long as you pay those charges within a few days of them posting, and you are otherwise meeting the minimum payment during the month, you WILL NOT get charged interest on those new swipes. Please do test this now on your card to gain confidence that it is indeed the case.
This is very important (to not have bad information out there) for those who only have a few cards, want to have a BT, and also want to take advantage of some of the great BankAmeriDeals that are available, or use their 3-2-1 rewards card to earn grocery and gas rewards.
Hmm... well, while I can somewhat understand your frustration, I'm not going to be the guinea pig on this one.
As for if this is a "rumor" or not, I can say that I was told this myself by a CSR - it's not hearsay, at least for me - but I will be the first to say that CSRs can be wrong, and I alluded to this in my post. I'm simply sharing what I was told as a data point, I'm not saying the CSR was accurate, or not. I felt that much was clear, and I apologize if it wasn't... hopefully it is now.
I'll say this... anybody who wants to move forward with making a purchase on their BoA card (or any other card, for that matter) should reach out to the respective bank for clarification if the terms aren't clear or if you're in doubt about something.
As my own CSR contact proves even this isn't perfect, but using myself as an example if I planned to use my BBR for new purchases I would continue to reach out to them (repeatedly) until I received a consistent, unambiguous answer... which ideally shouldn't be an epic task.
I understand that you're trying to help people, but you should aim your frustration at the banks (and their CSRs) who continue to provide ambiguous information to their customers.
Even to learn for yourself
I dare ya! Expose yourself to the possibility of paying $1 in interest cost to see whether I'm right or wrong, Use your BBR on a BankAmeriDeal for Starbucks 5% off on a coffee, then pay off the coffee a week later to see whether you get any interest cost. Hardly a painful experiment.
And I'm aiming my comments at people who repeat what I know for a fact to be untruth or obfuscation from the CSR. It's not personal, my crusade is for Truth
You are correct you can get BoA deals on the BBR. I have other BoA cards (TR 2.625% and CR 5.25% gas/3.5% grocery/1.75% other). If you didn't have a BoA rewards card and there was a good BoA deals, I can see the temptation. Still it is hard for me to imagine me actually using a BT offer. I feel better not having any debt.