Was I logical in thought process on this?

[Anonymous]

So when I applied for the Discover, I put three BTs in the app. Two were from cards that do not currently have a 0% promo and one was from an account where I just wanted the balance to report lower on this month's statement cut (I know I will pay a little more for it but still trying to keep util low).

Because I keep a really detailed sheet of balances, Util, available credit, etc. I knew my Amex was one that could have benefited from a BT.  Although the balance on there will be PIF and is not drowning my util for that card (5% currently), I thought for a good while on whether or not to touch this account since the APR is 19.24%.

But then I thought to myself, I tried the 3XCLI at activation and was denied.  I have since put some heavy use through this card.  This includes a cash advance that was paid back before the 24.99% rate would hit that balance (only ended up paying under $20 in fees).  I didn't want to pull a BT from this card to the Discover because I want Amex to see that I am using their credit and paying THEM back in full.

My mind is telling me that this may look favorable on my account (that I continued to use and PIF) when I hit day 91 (due to CLI request denial) as opposed to moving the balance elsewhere.

Am I crazy or does this sound like it was a sound thought process?  I know there are a ton of YMMV scenarios, but it seemed logical to me at the time...LOL.

[Anonymous]

Without thinking on the detail here, the one thing that jumped out at me is timing. When you say you want it to report lower on THIS month's statement, that may not happen depending on when that is. For some data points, DH applied for a Discover (including asking for a BT) on 3/29. It hit the Discover side on 4/13 and the other CC credited it on 4/15.   Since his SL was larger than we'd expected, we did another BT that we initiated on 4/14 and it hit both Discover and the other CC on 4/22. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Without thinking on the detail here, the one thing that jumped out at me is timing. When you say you want it to report lower on THIS month's statement, that may not happen depending on when that is. For some data points, DH applied for a Discover (including asking for a BT) on 3/29. It hit the Discover side on 4/13 and the other CC credited it on 4/15.   Since his SL was larger than we'd expected, we did another BT that we initiated on 4/14 and it hit both Discover and the other CC on 4/22. 

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Thanks for replying!  I thought about that part as well as far as how long will they take to report the successful BT.  The cards that have the BTs in process don't report until later in the month (almost towards the end)...so *fingers crossed* it will happen this month.

In the event that they don't, I still have a large chunk of credit that will be paid down so that will be good on it's own.  I'm only at 10% util across the board so either this month or next month will be awesome on individual card util.  

That was definitely an interesting point to bring up since they did say 7-10 days and that may or may not hold true!

[Anonymous]

I am just hoping my decision not to include Amex in the BT and continue to use and PIF will work in my favor for a 3XCLI next month.

[Anonymous]

where does one get the cash advance ? i dont have any discover branch in my state. ?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

where does one get the cash advance ? i dont have any discover branch in my state. ?

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I did my cash advance on my Amex through a random ATM.  You have to have a pin sent to you if you don't already have one.  I knew Amex had already given me one, I just had to get a temporary one since I was nowhere near the paper they printed it on.