Haha wow this thread has really taken an interesting turn. I've been gone for a little over 2 hours and have a million questions to answer
I'll do my best to answer them all in one post, and I thank you guys for sticking with me!
Originally Posted by particlemn
Before you do this transfer, i would contact the ring store and find out if they have a prepayment penelty on the current plan you are under. i would not put it past them especially if they are currently charging you 24%. I would also verify if they will accept a credti card to payoff the balance. I know the store would have accepted a credit card for the purchase but this is no longer a purchase it is now paying off of a loan. they may charge the credit card as a cash advance, then you will earn no AA miles and get no credit towards the 3000 spend and will be charged a high interest rate from citi.
sometimes digging out of a hole can casue you to be in a bigger hole
First of all, sorry for getting a little defensive previously, it's just that I work in the finance industry and tend to take offense if someone assumes I am irresponsible with my money. Thanks for continuing to comment and I appreciate the concern. That is a good thought about the prepayment penalty. I don't think there is one, but I will definitely look into it. As far as accepting a credit card for payment, I do know that this is allowed. This was one of the benefits that they mentioned to me when I bought the ring. I could get the 0% interest through them (so I thought) and pay each month with my American Express and get points. I have made several payments this way so I know that is ok, and doesn't come through as a cash advance.
Originally Posted by RewardTraveler
Why are there only two options? Earlier you indicated that you were considering paying off the balance in the next month or two, that would be option #3.
The amount of money you "save" is really of no importance. What you need to determine is the opportunity cost of the cash today vs 15 months from now. If it's just going to sit in the bank, there is no way you'll earn enough interest to cover the 3% BT fee. Since you're paying it off in a year investing the cash would be quite risky (same reason why retirees reduce exposure to stock market).
Other things to consider, check to make sure that payments to the store will count as purchases and not cash advances (since you're technically paying off a debt). Is it possible to return the ring? If you're not planning on proposing for a few months you could buy it at a later date and save the interest in the interim period. I also wouldn't be surprised if they become a little more flexible with the prospect of losing a sale.
Last thing, if your credit is good enough to churn CCs, why would store financing reject you for 0%? It is my impression they are much more liberal with their credit as it is tied to making a sale. Seems kind of odd.
There aren't only 2 options, I was just playing devil's advocate for the sake of my original question about doing the balance transfer. I am now considering putting the balance on the 2 Citi cards and then paying them off within the billing cycle, thanks to Skibum pointing out that option.
The money won't just be sitting in the bank. I'm sure I am going to get called out for saying this, but I'm involved in an investment venture that averages a 35% return/year. I have not been involved long term, but it has been solid for the past few years. To answer the questions I know are coming, no it is not a Ponzi scheme, and the reason I am not rich and thus care about CC churning is b/c I don't have enough excess capital at the moment to make this a large stream of revenue.
See above re: counting as purchases and not cash advances. As far as returning the ring, I don't think my fiancee would be too keen on that
.
For the question that you all seem most interested in, why I was rejected for 0%... I wasn't exactly rejected for it. When I bought the ring, the store clerks made it seem like it was just something they were offering, no qualifying criteria. I assumed that I had the 0% for the first few months, as that's what I was told off the bat, and I was making the payments early in the store each month, so never got a statement (don't ask me why). Then one month I was busier than usual so I didn't get to make the payment early and received a statement. This was when I realized I was being charged the ridiculous interest rate. When I called the number on the statement, I was told that the store clerk must have been mistaken and that in order to have qualified for the 0%, I would have had to put down X amount, when I actually only put down Y amount. So it isn't that I didn't qualify credit-wise, it's that I wasn't told how much I needed to put down in order to qualify.
Originally Posted by YoYoYoo
Good point. Actually, I have a feeling that you can't use a credit card to pay off a jewelry store credit balance.
Any pics of the ring?
See above re: using the credit card.
I could post a pic if you are really wanna see
Can't read sarcasm on here lol