Comments on: Cash Advance vs. Balance Transfer

By: mary

mary — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:41:34 +0000

so if i dont pay the transfer in the promo period it changes to cash? i have exellent credit . never late since 2005,they lowered my limit , which i dont understand but it messed my credit report up , its good again . thanx if some one knows what action i should take please help.

By: mary

mary — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:30:41 +0000

my visa just changed my balance transfer to a cash advance from 2008 ive called and no corection is being done ,.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:53:21 +0000

Credit rules now require payments to go toward the higher interest rate. If you pay it before your rate goes up you MAY have it go toward the older balance, but if you wait until the rate goes up it will go toward the higher rate as I understand it.

By: bek harper

bek harper — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:52:32 +0000

To follow up on my last comment, I did indeed receive a balance transfer with the 2.99% rate, so no problem there. Now it just occurred to me that when the time comes next September to pay off the promo balance and avoid a higher rate, will Citi apply my payment to this promo, or can they choose to apply my payment to the balance of an earlier promo (also 2.99%) that had no expiration date, and which I would like to keep out and continue paying monthly. Any ideas? The earlier balance transfer promo will have about an $8,000 balance, while the newer one will be about $9,000.

By: bek harper

bek harper — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:35:12 +0000

Thank you so much for this article! I just took advantage of a citi balance transfer offer for 2.99% till Sept 2011 and when I got the confirmation letter it seemed to blur the lines between the terms balance transfer and cash advance and I went through some anxious moments fearing that the check I requested over the phone would end up being a cash advance, not a promotional balance transfer. I will call citi to make sure, but now I approach them well armed with information. I did this over the phone and am sure I requested the 2.99% versus the 0% for a shorter time, so I’m sure it’s OK and is a balance trsnsfer. Sadly, who trusts banks not to try to trick you these days?

By: Charles (The Broker)

Charles (The Broker) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:57:35 +0000

This is a great way to make a little extra. You must remember that its like playing with a loaded gun. It is getting harder to find these 0% no fee and almost impossiable to find a cash advance 0%. Be careful. Good luck.

By: jim

jim — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:16:59 +0000

Fear shouldn’t prevent you from doing something, it just means you need to learn more about it.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:17:38 +0000

I still think this is pretty risky since it involves something that can serious mess up your credit score.

By: 91030Mom

91030Mom — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:17:44 +0000

It is getting harder, but right now I have about 40k in the bank earning interest I got for 0% with NO xfer fees whatsoever. They are still out there, B_of_A has some as does C.i.t.i.

By: jim

jim — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:48:19 +0000

Hardik: Look carefully because several of them will say “Balance transfer fee waived with this offer.”

By: Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:24:23 +0000

Hi,
I searched for 0% balance transfer credit card with no balance transfer fee and not annual fee
most of the card I came across are charging 3% balance transfer fee
would you please let me know where can I look for a card with no balance transfer APR and no fee
-Thanks

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:26:55 +0000

As you are probably aware, it is become more difficult to make money with the method – so many of the credit cards that used to do bal transfers w/o the fees are now charging 3% for balance transfers. It has really caused me to cut back playing the 0% game.

By: Vic

Vic — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:04:02 +0000

Thank you so much for responding to my e-mail! You have just earned another loyal reader! Please continue to share your valuable knowledge as it is much appreciated.

On a side note, where did you learn all this stuff? Any books to recommend.
vic