Comments on: Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards Updated November 15, 2009

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:26:35 +0000

I am with you in that I have never really been a big fan of credit card arbitrage plays although it certainly makes sense. Now paying off debt that far ahead of schedule is quite impressive though!

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:57 +0000

This article fails to mention that almost all of these cards charge a substantial fee for balance transfers. The best are capped at $50, or $75, but most are 3% or 5% of the amount transferred. BE CAREFUL!!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:31:28 +0000

I haven’t been able to find an application for this card online, did you already obtain one? What is the contact info? They seem to have a website and phone,one for existing cardholders only. I would like to take advantage of this 3% cap, I had that option before with Bank of America last year but no longer.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:22:36 +0000

You are correct that it doesn’t make sense to apply for a 0% balance transfer credit card without a cap on transfer fee. Lately, many credit card companies are reducing the introductory APR period and/or increase the transfer fee, but it doesn’t mean that it will stay that way.

I haven’t verified but reader Josh made a comment a few days ago that Barclays has a 0% balance transfer credit card that caps the transfer fee at $50. You may want to research on that if you’d like.

No one person has any control of how credit card companies will change their terms, but it doesn’t mean that the idea isn’t sound. Even if there are no cards that have a cap on transfer fees, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be one tomorrow that will spring up tomorrow.

By: Nazir Ahmad

Nazir Ahmad — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:24:30 +0000

Your blog is very interested, however misleading. There is no win for 0% balance transfer card without some sort of cap on transfer fee. Is there a credit card out there with a cap on transfer fees? or BETTER yet, is there a card with 0% balance transfer APR for 6 months or a year with a 0% balance transfer fee? answer me this money ning.

By: Shelly

Shelly — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:53:24 +0000

Anyone have any luck with these 0% balance transfer credit cards? I keep looking and am afraid that a trial and error method will just ruin my credit score. Anyone have any experience with a particular card that will be good if I want to off load all my balances onto it? My current card’s intro period is about to expire in 2 months and I desperately need to figure out a way to get everything transferred over before I get dinged for more interest. Any help is greatly appreciated!

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:32:13 +0000

This is interesting for those who are always looking for the latest 0% balance transfer credit cards:

–
With a host of new legislatively mandated protections for credit card holders under the Credit Card Act of 2009 set for February 2010, the banking industry is already curbing “zero percent interest” introductory rates, and, in some cases, hiking one-time balance transfer fees.
–

Actually, what I found is that many cards are starting the balance transfer percentage as 3, 4 and even 5% as the introductory period, and at the very least, the duration of the 0% balance transfer is coming down.

Also, as indicated earlier, there’s a big difference between balance transfers and purchases, as some cards have 0% balance transfers while others have 0% for future purchases so make sure you are well aware of it before applying.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:06:56 +0000

Barclays which offers a similar offer on several different kinds of cards appears to be doing a a 0% balance transfer now for 6 months with a 3% transfer fee, but with a $50 maximum. This means that if you transfer any more than $1,667, your transfer fee caps out at $50. So for example if you transfer $10,000, a 3% fee with no max would cost $300, but with this deal, you save yourself $250.

By: Kris

Kris — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:35:21 +0000

Matt thanks for the post, I just contacted Bank of America and applied. What I really liked is after 2 hours of research on balance transfers a live chat person came on as soon as I logged into their webpage. Instead of digging through a bunch of cards and click /points they efficiently looked up a card that suited my needs. If I get the approval timely I am going to be very happy with this. Thanks for your blog it really helped narrow down a huge decison!

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:21:46 +0000

1. Four years is not considered old, but scores are calculated based on average account open duration. Anytime you take an “old” card out of the equation means a smaller average years opened. Therefore, it’s wise to keep it open unless there is an annual fee.

Since it’s a formula that affects other cards you have as well, it is also impossible to say exactly how “not having” the card will affect your credit score. However, I would strongly suggest you keep your card opened so you don’t need to find out!

2. Opening two cards may temporary affect your score but since you already applied and got them approved, I wouldn’t worry about something that already happened.

Having 4 cards opened isn’t bad for your score. In fact, the more cards you have, the better it generally is because your utilization rate will be lower (you have more credit limit, but same use) and if all your cards show “on-time” payment, it proofs that you are able to juggle credit and make payments.

3. It is better to have your balances spread out. In fact, I would try to keep the utilization rate of each card to be under 30% if your score is the priority. However, since paying less interest is what we are after, moving just the WaMu to your BofA card and trying to pay both of them off as quickly as possible is the way to go.

Good luck with your plan. I sincerely hope that you will pay off all your credit card debt and enjoy freedom soon!