Considering a Balance Transfer Credit Card?
| August 4, 2009 |
With times getting tough and minimum payments rising on existing credit card balances many people are looking for balance transfer credit cards to help ease the pain. In many cases this can help in the short term and may be able to put money back in your pocket for everyday purchases. However, in a few cases cardholders have found themselves in more debt because they neglected to read and understand the credit card’s terms and agreements. According to an article called "5 Balance Transfer Trip-Ups" there are a couple of things that consumers should know before getting a balance transfer credit card in order to help save money.
In the article the 5 things potential credit cardholders must be aware of include:
- Time limit of any introductory offer of transferred balances
- What the zero or low interest rate actually covers
- Any fees that are involved including any annual fees
- Getting the actual card that was applied for
- What happens if you are late on any payments
In my opinion, this is a great article to read if you are thinking about transferring a balance or even just getting a credit card in general. As stated before, knowing and understanding the terms and conditions before accepting any credit card is ideal, and in many cases it can help you determine if the card you applied for was right for you.
When I divorced, I asked Capital One to take my X off of the credit card I had with them. They said I would need to open a new account with my name only to get his name off and use only mine. I completed a new application for a new account using only my name and also did a balance transfer of $7500 at the same time. Capital One did not open my new account, they added this balance transfer to my old acct. with my Xs name on it. Also when I make a payment, they credit my payment to the zero percent APR balance transfer only while my purchases with the high APR remain the same with over a $53. interest charge per month. I have called them many times, written them explaining they goofed but they tell me they have no evidence of a new application completed by me. They seem to have received my balance transfer information but not my new application for a new account. It was all done on the same application. These people are false advertising crooks and misleading their customers into poverty. They will not open my new account and put my balance transfer on it, instead my transfer was added to my old account so they could charge me high interest for another 12 months instead of letting me pay down the interest bearing part of my credit card charges and the balance transfer too. Be careful out there and make sure your credit card people know what you want and don’t let them do this to you. IT IS NOT SAVING MONEY, INSTEAD I AM PAYING CAPITAL ONE MUCH MORE MONEY THAN IF I HAD NOT DONE A BALANCE TRANSFER. ONLY BECAUSE THEY DENIED MY NEW APPLICATION AND ADDED IT TO MY OLD ACCOUNT. I GOT SCREWED BIG TIME BY CAPITAL ONE.
Comment by Sandra in Atlanta, GA — October 5, 2009 @ 1:29 am