Using credit cards to save on interest on other loans

[MrSal]

So I have been receiving lots of those balance transfers 0% APR promos... My thought would be to use on a specific card, and once it matures, to just rollover to another card.

These have a 1-2% balance transfer which would still be cheaper than full interest on a loan... my question is... does anyone have experience if calling, the companies waive the % fee at all? It would be great if I could!

Also, anyone uses this method in order to save some $$?

[Catbert]

I think your chance of getting the balance transfer fee waived is zero.  Banks gotta make money somewhere.

Make sure you understand all the ins-and-outs of these balance transfer offers.  Some work only to transfer other credit card balances (and generally only those from other institutions).  Others give you checks that can be used anywhere.  You already noticed the balance transfer fee.

These can be used effectively to get out of debt, but only if you will pay them off in the initial free period.  Keeping your debt rolling from card to card won't get you out.  You may find at some point that the offers dry up and you're stuck paying interest.

[MrSal]

I think your chance of getting the balance transfer fee waived is zero.  Banks gotta make money somewhere.

Make sure you understand all the ins-and-outs of these balance transfer offers.  Some work only to transfer other credit card balances (and generally only those from other institutions).  Others give you checks that can be used anywhere.  You already noticed the balance transfer fee.

These can be used effectively to get out of debt, but only if you will pay them off in the initial free period.  Keeping your debt rolling from card to card won't get you out.  You may find at some point that the offers dry up and you're stuck paying interest.

I have cash... I am not the normal person. I save 70% of my salary and could buy a house in cash if I wanted to. Just bought one last week however I am doing a mortgage on it because my thinking is... with interest rates at 1% it's free money and is stupid to have my own money tied up! Let my tenants pay it for me.

My interest on using the credit card offers is to also save money/interest and free up some capital. My wife still has some student loans on her and I thought of using this to save some money to her.

The reason of waiving the balance fee is because I have heard a lot of people in the past getting it waived, Its no problem with a 1% fee for 12-18 months of interest free.

Yes a lot of CC companies offer checks, but even those that dont and only allow other CC balances... its easy to transform your CC into cash by using gift cards and/or a service like plastiq - giftcards would be better since youd accrue points and the fee is around 0.8% of face value

[Broadway2019]

I signed up for Barclay Card and it was 0% apr and $0 balance transfer fee for 15 months. I would do the same thing if I knew I would pay off the debt by then.

[Dave1442397]

I signed up for the Chase Slate card. 0% interest for 15 months and no charge to transfer a balance. I put the last of our debt on it and am making 15 0% interest payments while throwing everything else into 401k/savings.

[Ocinfo]

I've tried with Citi and BoA but never had any luck. They're pretty firm on those fees since recent law changes limited what they can make money off of. That being said, 12 to 18 months of money for 2-4% up front is a good deal that I've used multiple times, originally for debt repayment and recently for wife's school. I have the investments to pay cash but most have appreciated so local and federal tax makes selling too expensive until I FIRE and drop back into 15% bracket.


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[MrSal]

I signed up for Barclay Card and it was 0% apr and $0 balance transfer fee for 15 months. I would do the same thing if I knew I would pay off the debt by then.

wow i didnt know that. I have a few barclay cards and chase as well... they usually send me the checks. Will try to call them to see if they waive the 1% fee or something.

[HipGnosis]

I used multiple 'teaser rate' offers to work my way out of many thousands of dollars of debt after my divorce.
It can't hurt to call and ask if the fee can be waived; but since you're a new customer that they've made zero money from, they don't have any reason to do it.

You have to read the fine print, and take steps to ensure you adhere to it.

As far as I know, the balance transfer offers are only for balances on other credit cards.
And some certain credit cards can NOT be transferred to certain other cards.  They have to be in different card 'parent' companies (I'm not sure what the correct term for this is).
I always kept a 'regular interest' card open that I could transfer balances to - right before the offer expired.
And at least once, I transferred a balance (or part of) to that card (and paid a fee to do it) so I could then transfer the balance to a new teaser rate card.

Do not close any of the cards you get, unless they charge a fee and won't waive it for you.   Use them once a year or so to keep the account in good standing - paying annual association fees (etc.) are great for this.

[Ocinfo]

As far as I know, the balance transfer offers are only for balances on other credit cards.
And some certain credit cards can NOT be transferred to certain other cards.  They have to be in different card 'parent' companies (I'm not sure what the correct term for this is).

Just wanted to correct this, some banks do allow direct deposits of cash to your bank account and it's considered a balance transfer. The two I know for sure are Citi and BoA. Chase does not do this and also does not allow a balance transfer from one Chase card to another.


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[wudged]

As far as I know, the balance transfer offers are only for balances on other credit cards.
And some certain credit cards can NOT be transferred to certain other cards.  They have to be in different card 'parent' companies (I'm not sure what the correct term for this is).

Just wanted to correct this, some banks do allow direct deposits of cash to your bank account and it's considered a balance transfer. The two I know for sure are Citi and BoA. Chase does not do this and also does not allow a balance transfer from one Chase card to another.


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Another trick I use is that I have a credit card through my credit union, and they don't charge any cash advance fees - only immediate interest on whatever you withdraw.

I will do a balance transfer to that card, causing a large negative balance on the card, then do a cash advance to withdraw that balance into my checking account.

No cash advance fee, and since the balance on the card never goes above $0, there is no interest to pay on it either.

[MrSal]

I used multiple 'teaser rate' offers to work my way out of many thousands of dollars of debt after my divorce.
It can't hurt to call and ask if the fee can be waived; but since you're a new customer that they've made zero money from, they don't have any reason to do it.

You have to read the fine print, and take steps to ensure you adhere to it.

As far as I know, the balance transfer offers are only for balances on other credit cards.
And some certain credit cards can NOT be transferred to certain other cards.  They have to be in different card 'parent' companies (I'm not sure what the correct term for this is).
I always kept a 'regular interest' card open that I could transfer balances to - right before the offer expired.
And at least once, I transferred a balance (or part of) to that card (and paid a fee to do it) so I could then transfer the balance to a new teaser rate card.

Do not close any of the cards you get, unless they charge a fee and won't waive it for you.   Use them once a year or so to keep the account in good standing - paying annual association fees (etc.) are great for this.

No I am not a new costumer... The cards i am referring to I have had them for 3 years give or take... I probably have put 50-100k dollars in them ...so maybe they can waive it I dont know ...