mondog1

I'm in the process of needing to close out an estate. The problem I have is that I need to close it out in a month or so. The balance is 40k. I"m planning on having it paid off within 10-12 months. What would be a good credit card combo to do this with? Points would be great, but not mandatory. My credit score is ~780, I have a nice blend of different cards with balances paid in full every month. I've never done a balance transfer before. Advice or recommendations is appreciated.

redtop43

Keep in mind that most balance transfers carry a fee, typically 3%.

I think there are some cards that give points for balance transfers, or at least a bonus if you do one of a minimum size. Look at the USAir card, I think they might do it. Not sure about others. Many balance transfers have introductory 0% offers (but you still have to pay the 3% fee).

StartinSanDiego

We have a Chase BA Visa that is offering my husband 0% interest and 2% transfer fee. I have the same offer (blank checks) that is 0% interest and a 3% fee. I also have a 3% offer on my Citi AAdvantage card. The money is interest free for a set time, I think 8 months or more, depending on the offer.

Accidental_Flyer

I think the Slate card from Chase runs an offer with 0% interest for 12-15 months and no transfer fee. I'm not sure whether there is a limit to the size of the transfer but that's the best offer I know of. Paying 3% to get points/miles doesn't seem worth it.

contactcr

This would be better served on a finance forum. Having said that I will give you a direction to start with.

You can search for all the "free" ($0 fee/0%) BT offers. (Chase Slate, Discover, Cap One, etc)

If you run out of the no fee offers and cant cover the whole thing I would consider leveraging any equity in your car. You can refi your car for more years up to it's current value and cash out the rest (Penfed 1.99% or less comes to mind).

All of this is considered extremely risky especially since you are "planning" 10-12 which could easily turn into more given another unexpected expense. I wouldn't do it and will not go into more detail but this doesn't seem like you have a travel angle (no points worth having for BT's anyways) so I would stick with financial forums and consider all your options.

Accidental_Flyer

Here is a link to the Slate offer
https://creditcards.chase.com/slate-...card/blueprint

mondog1

Follow up. I've been paying 4-5k/month for the last 5 or so years. This line of credit was used to start my business. I'm currently paying ~5% interest on this loan. So even if I pay a 3% fee I'm still coming out ahead. I've talked to the bank where I have the loan through. Damn they are being tight with their cash even though I'm a very good client for them.
How high of a ratio is best to use on my credit cards? Most of my cards have a limit of 15-20k. Use no more than 50% of available credit?

StartinSanDiego

There are no airline points to be had in Balance Transfer offers on my cards. I think that loophole closed a long time ago. Additionally, my monthly payments seem not to knock down the interest portion of my balance (a whopping $28 bucks, but still....).

We've been using these offers judicially as low interest, short term loans for short term projects-- flipping investment property. Getting a down payment or working capital to remodel a house at 3% (the 2% offer came too late) when hard money loans are 10-15%... that's a sweet deal. The limitation is that you have to read the fine print to know just how much of your credit line is available for balance transfer or cash advances. It is likely to be less than the whole credit line.

The Citi web site has a link when you are logged in "balance transfer offer waiting for you".

dontippet

If you are currently paying 5% interest and expect to pay off in 10-12 months, paying a 3% fee with 0% interest will not be ahead. If you stayed with the current loan, you are paying 5% on the average amount. If you transfer, you are paying 3% on the total amount. While the amount may be trivial, I want to make sure you understand all of the find details before making such a large transaction.

JaysonW

I would think the easiest way to do this would be to find yourself a good credit union and apply for one of their credit cards with a 0% balance transfer offer.