Author Topic: Balance transfer...wtf?!  (Read 3825 times)

trailrated

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Balance transfer...wtf?!
« on: October 27, 2015, 01:34:56 PM »
So a while back I signed up for the Chase Slate card which had some promotion for 0%APR on balance transfers for the first X number of months but I mainly signed up to get the free credit report thinking I would never need the transfer cause I always pay my card(s) off.

Fast forward to today... I purchased an engagement ring and can pay off the card in full in about a month and a half, or sell some stock and pay it off right away. I figured I would use the balance transfer to avoid interest and cash flow it and it would be a win-win. I was unable to do the transfer online and had to call Chase who then informed me I would be charged a fee of $150 to do the balance transfer.

I ran the numbers real quick and that was more expensive than the interest I would be "saving" with the transfer. I never knew you had to pay money for a transfer, is that normal in the industry? Either way this is the last time I expect to pay interest on anything other than a house.

albijaji

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2015, 01:36:59 PM »
as far as I know that is normal.. its in the small print at the bottom of the offer
I have never seen a 0% where there was no transfer fee

shotgunwilly

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2015, 01:38:44 PM »
Normal. Usually a 3%-5% fee to use one of the 0% APR balance transfers.

zephyr911

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2015, 02:21:49 PM »
I got a 0% for $0 from USAA recently, but that was very much a rarity. I parked the cost of my solar panels on it while I debate how to pay for them in a year when the rate expires.

3% is the de facto standard, sometimes with a flat minimum or maximum. I've been offered 1% on rare occasions.

regulator

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2015, 02:40:03 PM »
Ah, back in the golden era there were 0% BT offers with no fees aplenty.  There were also savings accounts that paid 4% interest.  Combine one with the other and it was thousands of dollars of free money.

Jack

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2015, 03:59:56 PM »
Unless you can swing a no-fee transfer (which I hear do still exist, but are rare), it only really makes sense to keep the balance on the card for the whole 12-month/18-month/whatever term.

tonysemail

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2015, 04:57:05 PM »
It just so happens that I'm looking at applying for a chase slate card :)

They clearly state in their terms that:
- $0 intro fee for balance transfer in the first 60 days of opening the account
- after the first 60 days, 3% fee with a minimum of $5 for balance transfers

Yeah, unfortunately it's pretty normal to have fees associated with balance transfers.

trailrated

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2015, 07:34:51 PM »
It just so happens that I'm looking at applying for a chase slate card :)

They clearly state in their terms that:
- $0 intro fee for balance transfer in the first 60 days of opening the account
- after the first 60 days, 3% fee with a minimum of $5 for balance transfers

Yeah, unfortunately it's pretty normal to have fees associated with balance transfers.

Ahhhhhh  fuck the fine print got me again. I should have held out and waited a month to get the card and I would have been in the clear.

kendallf

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Re: Balance transfer...wtf?!
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2015, 08:14:44 PM »
Yes, in fact the Chase Slate is pretty much the *only* card offering a 0% APR and $0 fee transfer right now.  The rest of the Chase cards are currently offering 0% for ~1 year with a 2% fee (better than anyone else, at least in my credit card arsenal).

The way to get around this as long as your credit is excellent is to just get another 0% intro rate card about 3-4 months before the current one expires; use the new card for normal expenses until you have effectively "transferred" the balance, then pay the old one off.  I have home renovation costs parked on 2-3 cards currently until the house sells; I have a HELOC at 4% I can tap but I prefer 0%.