Comments on: 0% APR on Balance Transfers for 12 Months

By: John

John — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:51:50 +0000

Dwayne
Good points. I am well aware of the up front fees. To me 3% is better than a 10% early withdrawal fee for a 401(k) loan becoming a distribution. Not to mention the idea of making my 401(k) whole again. I had previously contacted Discover and they had said that this type of transaction would not be possible – they could ONLY pay off other Credit Cards… however, I cannot find a contact number for the Citi card. “DR” emailed me and is looking into the possibility of this. As a side note, I would be able to pay off the total balance after the first of the year, but the 401(k) loan must be paid off within 60 days or I get hit with the taxes and early distribution penalty – ouch…

By: Dwayne

Dwayne — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:55:51 +0000

By the way, some info on offers that do allow you to use a check would be fabulous. Those are easiest to refinance loans of all kinds . . . any info would be great.

Thanks for the info on this website

By: Dwayne

Dwayne — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:54:23 +0000

Sorry to say, but people reading this kind of website should be very clear on the “BALANCE TRANSFER FEES” which are 3-5%. Not bad, but you pay for the interest on your whole tranfer upfront!! IT goes on top of your principal.

The Discover offer up there has a 5% balance transfer FEE. Then you have the problem if you do miss a payment, then your APR could go as high as 25%.

In other words, BEWARE and READ ALL THE FINE PRINT before you take a chance on doing this. you might not get yourself that far ahead (of course , 5 % is much better than 25% like a lot of cards out there, just FYI.()

By: John

John — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:39:38 +0000

With the Citi card, will they still allow you to do the Balance Transfer as a check or direct transfer to a checking or savings account? The reason I ask is that I would only need it to pay off a 401(k) loan and a 0% BT offer would be a great way to go, but obviously, there is no direct transfer. I would need the cash and then I would pay off the loan. If Citi does not do this, then I would have not use for getting another Credit Card at all.
Thanks for any info.
P.S. – I must pay off the 401(k) loan within 60 days – this seems to be a good way to do it without taking the tax hit and 10% penalty…

By: DR

DR — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:04:20 +0000

SK, credit card and balance transfer terms do change frequently. As of today, I am not aware of any no fee balance transfer offers.

By: SK

SK — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:48:53 +0000

I followed the link you provided and noticed in the Term that there is a 3% Balance Transfer fee. Have the terms changed in the last 2 weeks?

By: DR

DR — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:20:24 +0000

A lot has happened since March 2009, and I wanted to give you a quick update on cards with 0% balance transfer for 12 months offers. In short, the credit crunch and the Credit Card Act of 2009 have caused many credit card companies to cut back their 12 month balance transfer offers. There are still good offers to be found, but the terms aren't as rich as they once were. In fact, some balance transfer cards now come with transfer fees as high as 5%! The Citi Platinum Select MasterCard is still one of the top offers, with a 0% balance transfer for 6 months. I'll keep you posted as new balance transfer offers become available.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:32:46 +0000

I found one other confirmation of the zero fee: I set up an online account at citibank.com, clicked the “View your balance transfer offer” link, and it shows “Balance Transfer Fee: NO FEE”. I feel much better seeing that in print. I still think its odd that the paperwork they mail to me doesn’t say it, but I guess since it is a special offer, they just don’t do that.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:48:24 +0000

Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner…

I received the checks within two weeks of asking for them (about a week ago), and the cover letter did not list the 0% fee. So, I called Citi again and talked to Priti the customer service rep this time. She seemed genuinely surprised that I had no transfer fee — “that is a very good deal, sir”. The important part was that she confirmed that I had no balance transfer fee, the balance transfer rate is 0% until Feb 2010, and I could write the check for any amount up to my credit limit.

Since I had two verbal confirmations (Aftib in February and Priti just a few days ago), I decided to take the plunge and wrote a check for $14,000. I just put it in the mail a couple days ago, so it hasn’t cleared yet. When it does, I’ll know for sure that the zero fee is real. I’ll try to post again when I see it.

By: Amw

Amw — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:17:37 +0000

Any update yet Dave? When you received the cards were the terms different from the offer? What kind of credit line did they offer you at the outset? Thanks!