Currently I have alot of debt. Most of it is at zero percent interest. However, I have a credit card currently at 0 but will go to 25% in about 4 months. I thought I could have it paid off by then but a few things came up and now i’m not sure. My question is will it hurt my credit score if I do a balance transfer to another card that will offer me 0 % for the first year. I know I can have it paid off in a year, probably 6 months. I have broke the habit of using the credit cards or accuring any debt for that matter. My goal is to be debt free in 9 months. Is this idea overal good(for me and my credit score?). Any feedback would be great. Thanks in advance
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Credit card balance transfer is one of the preferred ways to get rid of credit card debt and is used by many people to get immediate relief. Credit card balance transfer essentially means that we transfer our outstanding balances from a high APR credit card to a credit card which offers low APR’s. A 0% Intro APR credit card is the preferred credit card to transfer balances, but because of the widespread misuse of such credit card offers, credit card companies have withdrawn all such offers.
Indeed balance transfer saves a lot of money and can save things from going worse, but many people simply don’t know the right way to do balance transfer. This article takes a look at the correct process to initiate and complete the balance transfer.
The first thing to look out, when a person wants to transfer his balances is a credit card which offers the lowest apr rates and lowest balance transfer fees. Many online credit card companies offer credit card comparisons. It is indeed a good practice to search for the credit cards using their services and decide on a credit card which offers the maximum savings. It is important to note here that balance transfer APRs depend on a person’s credit history. If the credit card in question offers the lowest rates, it is definitely for those with the best credit ratings. There are different balance transfer apr’s for people with lower credit ratings. So, it becomes imperative that one chooses the credit card which offers the lowest apr and balance transfer fees for his credit ratings.
When you decide for a balance transfer it doesn’t mean that your obligation for payments towards your outstanding balances with the existing credit card company cease to exist. You will have to pay the credit card company all the monthly payments. One way you can save money is to just send the monthly minimum payments to the existing credit card company. This way you won’t default and invite penalty.
The next step is to sign up with the credit card which you sought for transferring your balances, and fill up the balance transfer application. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/artic…
Don’t do it
Opening another account will affect your credit score. Having a large number of accounts will affect your score also. Having additional credit available, thereby lowering the amount you owe as a percentage of credit available will improve your score. Bottom line, if you are paying off your debt and will pay 25% interest on your current card soon, you would be a fool not to get out of that deal and refinance at a lower rate. The key is to not continue to use the cards. Opening 1 new credit account will not negatively affect your credit score to a level that makes it worth paying 25% interest.
That sounds like a wonderful plan. I don’t really think it would hurt your credit rating, but even if it did, once you have it paid off and you are debt free, it should raise back up again
no it wont hurt your credit score as long as you close the account you paid off right away. if you have too many open accounts, it does bring your credit score down
I was in the same boat as you about three years ago. I to had to sit down and decide what to do. I called around and was advised by my bank as well as my CPA that I would be fine to do that it only hurts you when you keep changing them ALL the time and if you are late on your payments etc. but obviously than your credit score would be showing that. Anyways with my experience and from others that I have seen do this they have been fine. So I would say go for it just remember to pay the bills on time and not to pull your credit score a lot and don’t change around a lot. WHATEVER YOU DO NOT CANCEL CREDIT CARDS THAT YOU HAVE THAT ARE A ZERO BALANCE THIS HAS A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON YOUR CREDIT!!!!!
Hello,
Yes do It, If you have had the account open for a long time still tranfere to the new 0% card but dont close the account, your credit score deals with leanth of time you have had the account and how you are about making your payments ontime, if you only have had the accound a year or so cancel it, and check later to make sure it was canceled, doing it this way will save you alot of cash in the long run.
no it will not hurt your credit it’s the smart thing to do the next smart thing is to cut up all credit cards and never use them again
It’s pretty safe to say you’re ALWAYS better off with 0% interest, even if your credit may get a ding from another transfer (but even I don’t think that’s true.)
However, check the 0% card you have now. It may very well be against their rules for you to transfer the balance off. You may be stuck with their terms.
Just read the fine print. Find out how much the interest is going to be after the promo period. Also find out what they mean by “default”. For some companies, if you are one day late sending a monthly payment, you are in default and you no longer receive the promo rate. You would just be obtaining one additional credit card- that will have little or no effect on your credit rating. It’s wonderful that you’re getting out of debt. What the credit score does measure is your ability to be in debt. So, keep two credit cards. Ask them for a credit limit of about 500 on one and for the other do a reasonable limit that you may need for an emergency, 5k may be a good suggestion. What makes your credit score lower is if you have a 100 balance on one card, but have 6 cards available with a credit limit of 15k on each. Then, you have the potential of being 90k in debt.
You can transfer the balance to another card. Balance transfers don’t affect your credit, however having more than one card does. If you are going to transfer the money then close the other account. :)
Make sure that the balance transfer fees are not more than the interest that you are saving. If you are saving more than the balance transfer fees, it is probably a good idea. If not, it is definitely a bad idea.
This will not hurt your credit as long as you DO NOT CLOSE THE OLD CARDS!!! Cut them up so you don’t use them. The only reason to cancel old cards is if they have an annual fee.
35% of you credit score is determined by the ratio between your total credit used and total credit available. So if you currently have $20k of available credit and used $15k this is 75% of you available credit. If you were to open another card with a $16K limit transfer the 15 and close your old card you are now at 93% of your credit. This will crush your score. The other way is if you leave the 20k open now you have only used 41%. If you can get that under 33% it will actually help your credit score.
transferring debt will not help nor hinder your credit score. I would suggest that any credit cards you do have that have zero balances that you close them completely. Having a lot of open ended credit lines can hurt your ability to get other loans approved because of the potential that you could run up the other debt too.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
omg lol, omg i was jusrt thinki8ng the sane thing what your fico score
Similar situ to what I was in & did the same …..its always easy to spend plastic money & I ended up owing a tidy sum which I just cleared, so my answer is go for it most cards hit you with a balance transfer fee of around 3% but try & make a plan to pay them of as soon as you can.
You should do it, but in four months, see if another offer comes along. Close the account that you transfer from because you don’t want too many open cards.