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Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers
A balance transfer credit card is one that allows you to move debt from another account to a new card. It makes no sense to perform such a transaction unless it results in savings. Most balance transfer credit cards do provide savings because there are usually 0% introductory terms or low intro rates that apply to transferred balances. However, in almost all cases, especially with the impact the economy has had on the lending market over the past few years, there are balance transfer fees associated with moving your current debt. A typical fee ranges from 3-5% of the balance. Some fees are capped, others are not. At CardBeacon.com all of our balance transfer credit cards come strapped with calculators to determine whether or not there would be savings for your particular situation. We encourage you to use these calculators as even though something may look like a deal, in some cases it isn't.
| Discover® More Card - 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer |
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- 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% - 20.99%*
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% - 20.99%*
- 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty--16 years in a row! (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
- $0 Fraud Liability plus automatic mobile and email fraud alert options
- Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
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Intro APR
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Intro APR Period
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APR
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Annual Fee
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Balance Transfer
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Minimum Credit Required
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0%
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18 months on Balance Transfers; 6 on Purchases*
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10.99% - 20.99% (Variable)*
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No*
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Yes*
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Excellent
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Multiple Balance Transfers
If you are in a situation where you need to transfer several balances from various cards, it may not be a bad idea to apply for multiple balance transfer credit cards. This will help make sure that you are able to perform all of the transactions that you want to make. In almost all cases, credit limits are not disclosed upon completion of your application. Therefore, you have no idea if your balance transfers when moving debt from multiple loans. For example, let's say that you had three credit cards each with $1000. You apply for a new 0% balance transfer credit card, enter in all three amounts and the approriate information on the online application form. You then find out later that the credit limit assigned to you was $2500, thus only two of the three transactions were successfully processed.
The best solution in our opinion to prevent this type of scenarion from happening is to apply for two different balance transfer credit cards. If you elect to go this route, you should do so from different banks. Most financial institutions have limited the number of similar products you can use from them at any given time; that is until you have built up a relationship with them. If you do not want to apply for multiple deals, the best way to approach your application is to list the items with either the highest interest rates or largest amounts first, whichever will yield the most savings if everything goes as planned.
Another approach is to wait until you find out whether or not you are approved and receive your card in the mail. This is beneficial for a few reasons. For starters, you will know exactly how much you may move to the new offer as your credit limit will be disclosed upon receipt of your card. This eliminates the guesswork. It will allow you to pick and choose the balances to be moved without going over the cap. Additionally, you will be notified of what the regular rate will be after your 0% APR balance transfer period ends (note that we always suggest that if applying for a balance transfer credit card that you always apply for one with a 0% intro term for balance transfers because these offers typically result in the highest savings). This is especially important if you don't think that you will not be able to pay off your debt in the time allotted to do so. Keep in mind that most credit cards have tiered pricing and that you will not be notified of your structure until the issuer performs a hard pull on your credit report and analyzes the data from it. Also, most consumers are completely unaware of what their credit scores actually are and thus are surprised when they do not qualify for high limits and elite pricing off the bat.
If you decide that you would like to wait to transfer the balance but still get the card with the intention of doing so, you should also look at the exact wording of the credit card contract pertaining to balance transfers and that it guarantees that this is an option. Most issuers do allow this and the wording usually reads like this "0% for transfers performed within 3 months of account opening." If that is the way the contract for the offer reads, you should be OK if you wait. Also, when you receive the card and make the call to do the deal, you may also request a credit limit increase or a lower regular rate for after the intro term. You'd be surprised how receptive several companies are to this, and like anything else, it never hurts to ask.
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