Credit card convenience checks

[Anonymous]

Is it a reflection of your credit standing with the credit card company to receive a convenience check? Further, is it a negative if you ask and they say no? Or are they just generated at certain times of the year and that is that?

[Anonymous]

It is a cash advance with higher interest rates that start from day one. Never ever use them. It’s no real status. It’s just dumb to use.

[pipeguy]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Is it a reflection of your credit standing with the credit card company to receive a convenience check? Further, Is it a negative if you ask and they say no? Or are they just generated at certain times of the year and that is that?

---

A "convenience check" is just another way for an issuer to get you to take a cash advance or balance transfer (check the fine print). Some lenders send these all the time, others never - many will send them once in a while such as Holiday spending or Summer vacation spending time(s) of the year.

If it's a balance transfer offer and its a good deal like 12-15 months at 0% in exchange for 2-3% upfront, do the math its a good deal. On the other hand, if its a cash advance at a higher APR with no deferred interest its just a way to get you to think of it as "spendable money" rather than a high-interest loan.

[Anonymous]

And if only my question was what are they and is it wise to use them Benmarkley3, than your answer would have been appropriate. But seeing as how that was not my question... even if it was they are not ALL a ripoff

[Anonymous]

Thank you Pipeguy that was closer to an answer. But everyone assumes that they are a rip off and that is absolutely incorrect, so I agree with you. Do the math before you say it's a rip off. I have many that will give me 0% interest for 18 months with 3% transfer fee

[Anonymous]

They are a trap.

Let's say you use a $500 convenience check. It starts generating interest at some low rate you have decided is a good deal. OK!

But then you spend $100 on that credit card in a store. And of course when you get your bill you go and pay the $100 off. So your $500 that you borrowed at a low rate is still there, right? And when it comes due you will pay it, probably saving interest from some other card via a balance transfer, or some such?

WRONG.

What you now have is $400 running at the low interest rate and $100 running at the full high interest rate. They always apply your payment ot the lowest interest debt you owe, keeping the high interest debt running. Or at least a lot of them do--you need to read the fine print. So it tricks you into running up a bunch of high interest credit card debt when you think you're running low interest debt.

I rip these things up whenever I get them. I should look into how to actually go about telling the issuers to never, ever send them -- the only thing they do is provide an opportunity for a mail thief to steal money since I'm never going to use it.

[Anonymous]

Well, once again, my posted question had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not people think they are wise to use. However, since it seems that's what everyone wants to talk about anyway, once again I say do the math.

They are only a trap if you let them be a trap. Some are good and some are a rip off. But you can't make a bold, broad, across the board statement that they are ALL traps. They simply are not.

Best to just simply say "use with caution" and read the fine print because some are good and some are bad.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that you feel like your initial question has been answered.  If not, then my take is:

     Not a reflection

     Not a negative

     Often just sent at various times of the year (e.g. Nov/Dec to induce spending)

As far as the other issues raised, my feeling is that in one sense they are never good.  The example we have heard of a good one is a 0% balance transfer with an up front 2% fee.  That's only good if you have a lot of high interest debt.  But that situation is a bad situation to be in; it's a symptom of probable bad spending and saving habits.  So even when they are good they are a symptom of something bad going on.

The other commenters are hitting on a good point, which is that everyone should be trying to get to a place ASAP when they are confident they will always rip them up.  That's the goal everyone should have.  If a person thinks they might be appealing in the future, that's because he expects to be in high interest debt in the future.

[pipeguy]

I think they CAN be useful, but like many things you need to pay attention and not assume anything. Let's say its Winter and you need a new heating system for your house price $9000 (trust me that's a possible cost). You can put it on a low-interest rate card or perhaps with deferred interest for 6 months (like BlisPay or Lowes).  At the 6 month point where either interest is charged, you use convenience check at 2% up front and 0% for 18 months (such as op said he had), Given this example, you'd have 24 months to pay in full the $9000 with you only interest being 2% upfront - that's a pretty good deal.

I should note that I had to replace a heat pump and furnace at the same time and it wiped out savings (not investments) and I had a new roof put on the House through Lowes 84 months at I think it was 3.99% at the time (paid it off in 28 months). Sometimes its good to have options other than 19.99% APR on a high limit basic card. 

[Anonymous]

Not a reflection
Not a negative
Often just sent at various times of the year (e.g. Nov/Dec to induce spending)

PERFECT ANSWER Creditguyindixie! So you are now batting 1000 LMAO! ( not to sound condescending)

No I'm just very careful not to let the thread get off course, which is very easy to do nowadays because a lot of posters want to post their personal opinions on the subject matter that has nothing to do with the actual question.

In almost every forum, OP's will ask a question that NEVER get answered because of the way my question was answered today. Off-topic and opinions being made, with the assumption that I'm asking something other then I actually asked!

Example: So hypothetically, like best
9 mm bullet for killing a bear. Five days and 50 posts later, 99% of the answers are sell your gun and buy a 44, or you shouldn't be using a 9 mm to begin with, or this and that or that and this, and next thing you know, the poor guys question NEVER got answered!

I've never had an issue with them, because I only choose the ones that work out well. Current example is the 18 months 0% interest with the 3% fee. Nobody but nobody can possibly say that's a bad deal or a rip off. If used properly they can save you TONS of money.

But again, even I am getting off topic! LOL. My question was simple. And obviously revolves around the fact that I called my credit card company and they said no such offer is available for my account. Seeing as I had utilized one last year with them and paid it off early, I was just curious if that was a reflection upon me personally or if that's just the way it works and they give them when they give them and there's no kind of a black mark next to my name that says "this guy needs to much money all the time".

And some of the answers didn't address that so I'm just trying to keep everybody focused as to what the question was