Originally Posted by
ch3ss
All:
I had a bad history back in 2003, when I was in college and had to charge a full year of tuition and other stuff on my credit card... I was able to get a 2% transfer for the life... I want to try and cut that in half and go with like a 0% for 18 months to pay it off... ~13k
A few questions I have... If I do say 12 months 0% apr with a BT and pay it off and then cancel the card does that effect my credit score ?
Whats the best way to handle this ?
My credit score is about 760 and I dont want to effect it.
Thanks guys
2% for life is small enough (~ $260 a year if debt is 13k). Getting 0% is great but then it is restricted and usually involves transfer fees that may not make this that attractive.
Personally I would keep the 2% and pay it off as fast as possible knowing that if anything would happen, and life happens, I would not be restricted by an expiring APR. In addition, the interest amount, not the percentage, diminishes as you pay it off fast. If you know for sure that you can make it, then go for the 0% and save those $260ish
Lately I have seen offers of 2.99% but they involve a 3% transfer fee or as low as 1.99% w/o. But those rest in 12 months to a whopping 11.9%.
If you decide to keep the 2% card and pay fast then get a couple of the credit cards (Chase CSP and say AA platinum select). Your available credit will be bigger and debt to income much smaller. And then as you pay off the 13k you will see that your debt ratio gets even lower. This can send your Fico to 790+.