Repeating Balance transfers

ecxpa · ‎08-11-2016

Doing major remodeling and thinking about doing a 0% BT from Lowes card for 12K......the 0% offer is only for a year and I may carry the balance for 18 mos. Would it be bad to carry the balance for a year on one 0% card and then transfer the remaining balance to a new 0% card..........just wondering how lenders view this. In essence it amounts to financing 12K @ 0% interest. I know there may be BT fees but 0% interest makes it worth it.

UncleB · ‎08-11-2016

@ecxpa wrote:
@Doing major remodeling and thinking about doing a 0% BT from Lowes card for 12K......the 0% offer is only for a year and I may carry the balance for 18 mos. Would it be bad to carry the balance for a year on one 0% card and then transfer the remaining balance to a new 0% card..........just wondering how lenders view this. In essence it amounts to financing 12K @ 0% interest. I know there may be BT fees but 0% interest makes it worth it.

I personally don't see why what you're describing would cause a problem.

If your 0% interest period is coming to an end, IMO the prudent thing to do would be to roll the balance to another card to avoid (or minimize) interest if possible. As long as the 'numbers work' (i.e. the BT fee is lower than the interest would be if you left things alone) I would personally do it without hesitation.

I've always been of the school of thought that credit cards are financial tools for me to use... if any lender is watching me so closely that they would have an issue with me moving a balance then we're probably not a good match, anyway.

ecxpa · ‎08-13-2016

Wondering if anybody has had any experience doing this

pipeguy · ‎08-13-2016

Lowes offers 84 month project financing at 5.99% - terms list out as "until paid" on the statement - so if you are doing major projects you should look into this option from Lowes (12-18 month 0% come to an end the low interest project loan gives you a low cost option).

As far as balance transferrs, I typically use Discover which offers both 12 month 0% with 3% up front or 18 month longer term, no 3% and a set 4.99% rate which of course you can pay quicker - the 4.99% is APR vs the 3% flat up front.

Personally I PIF all of my accounts every month with the exception of two as listed above (1 project with Lowes and 1 BT through Discover at 4.99%) - very little interest over the course of the year and cheaper than a PLOC or Signature loan as a rule. .

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2016

Go for it. As long as you make a plan to tackle the debt, and do not add other charges on the card, you should be fine.

Do you have any cards currently that might already have a BT offer on it? Sometimes even capital one will offer an APR reduction and paired with no BT fee it can be a easy way to pay it down faster.

12000 at 25 % for 6 months is about 888 in interest roughly and that would be less since you would be paying it down each month.

if you paid 2k a month for 6 months on lowes at 25%, you'd have a balance of 10280, 8452, 6586, 4681, 2736, then 0.

Ideally you would have a lineup of cards to use responsibly, and have 1 card that has 0 balance transfer fees, and ideally with a low APR (below 13). I am not saying go out of your way to apply for a barclay ring, because they are known for being wonky, credit limit decreasing people, and also few people get a 20k starting limit....but if you could find a credit union they tend to have higher starting limits and are less reactive to credit changes.

Your utilization is going to hurt for a while but it will rebound. Ideally you would have two 20k limit cards to BT this to. You'd pay 360 in BT fees. Just make sure you go through all your cards now to make sure theres not already an offer on it. Bank of america especially, citibank too. If you had BOA i'd say take a HP for an increase on it and just do a BT to it.

This all depends on your scores, inquiries, and aaoa though, on which card to go for and what would have the higher starting limit. What other cards do you have?

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2016

Nothing wrong with it at all. Save the money! Do the 0% pay it down then transfer before going back to the regular rate.
Do you have Capital One? They always have great BT offers. I recently did a 10k project, charged it to my NFCU for 1.5% cashback, then transferred it to Capital One with a 2% upfront fee and 18 months 0%. So basically I financed a new roof and windows for 18 months for about $50 after cash back!

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2016

@UncleB wrote:
@ecxpa wrote:
@Doing major remodeling and thinking about doing a 0% BT from Lowes card for 12K......the 0% offer is only for a year and I may carry the balance for 18 mos. Would it be bad to carry the balance for a year on one 0% card and then transfer the remaining balance to a new 0% card..........just wondering how lenders view this. In essence it amounts to financing 12K @ 0% interest. I know there may be BT fees but 0% interest makes it worth it.
I personally don't see why what you're describing would cause a problem.

If your 0% interest period is coming to an end, IMO the prudent thing to do would be to roll the balance to another card to avoid (or minimize) interest if possible. As long as the 'numbers work' (i.e. the BT fee is lower than the interest would be if you left things alone) I would personally do it without hesitation.

I've always been of the school of thought that credit cards are financial tools for me to use... if any lender is watching me so closely that they would have an issue with me moving a balance then we're probably not a good match, anyway.

+100

As usual, solid advice UncleB.

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2016

@ecxpa wrote:
Wondering if anybody has had any experience doing this

I have and without any issues. You have a solid plan. You know it will take you longer than 12 months to PIF the $12K so you've put a plan in place. Enjoy your new space!

NRB525 · ‎08-14-2016

@ecxpa wrote:
Wondering if anybody has had any experience doing this

Yes, I've done many like this.

Moving amounts among banks on BT offers is two parties you have to deal with:

1) The bank offering you the BT at a certain fee (or no fee). They want you to move the funds to their bank. They are happy to loan you the money (except Barclays)

2) The bank you are moving amounts off of. You are paying your balance. They don't have any indication where those funds are coming from. They are happy to get their money paid back that you borrowed. (except Barclays)

Everybody is happy. Don't overthink it.

ecxpa · ‎08-14-2016

@NRB525 wrote:
@ecxpa wrote:
Wondering if anybody has had any experience doing this
Yes, I've done many like this.
Moving amounts among banks on BT offers is two parties you have to deal with:

1) The bank offering you the BT at a certain fee (or no fee). They want you to move the funds to their bank. They are happy to loan you the money (except Barclays)

2) The bank you are moving amounts off of. You are paying your balance. They don't have any indication where those funds are coming from. They are happy to get their money paid back that you borrowed. (except Barclays)

Everybody is happy. Don't overthink it.

Sounds good to me!.......thankx all