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HotCarl

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So after finally cleaning up my credit and paying off old medical bills I accrued when I didnt have insurance I've gotten to the point where I can pay off my CC once and for all. Ive been paying the minimum payment for months now just so it doesn't go past due but now I've saved enough to make a hefty payment that will bring the balance down drastically.

 

I know the smartest route to go would be to apply for a no interest card, transfer the balance then pay it off but the only problem is how do I find a card with no interest? I've had my Chase CC for almost 6 years and I have no plans on terminating the account itself, Id rather transfer it to a new card acct, then terminate that account after paying it off. I dont need a great deal, just a card with no interest for a few months or so. Does anyone know where I can look? I'd prefer a reputible establishment like a bank or credit union (if they issue CC's). Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

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i close about 20 cards a day due to people like you and i cant tell them they are fucking up thier credit by opening and closing cards so fast you do not want to do that the few bucks in intrest is it worth a inquiry on your credit report or the missing payment history cuz after your 12 months of 0% that payment history is irreplacable
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I know when i finally decided to open a CC, i went to 5/3 (where ive banked since i was like 8), they gave me a CC that had no intrest for a year, plus cash rewards. i think every dollar i spend i get 1% back, and once it reaches 50$, they will send you a check, or you can keep building it up. what he told me is they only send out 50$ checks, so if you have 80$, youll get a 50$ check and once you get another 20$ onto it, you can get another check
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Guest Scooter

Got this off of USAA's website.

 

Opening Too Many New Accounts

If you have been managing credit for only a short time, new accounts lower your average account age (how old the account is). That will have a greater effect on your score than if you don't have a lot of credit information.

 

Closing Old, Unused Credit Card Accounts to Up Your Score

A card that you've held for a few years is better for your score than one you've just obtained. Just don't use them. You can slowly close them over time.

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The way I understand it (may not be correct, who knows) is that the two best things for your credit are 1) cyclical or long-term accounts with no past-dues on record and 2) high credit/debt ratio (meaning your allowed max credit is much larger than your actual borrowed amount). So if you can get a no-interest card that would be fine, move the balance, save the interest, and keep it after you pay it off.

 

One thing I don't get is why (not to rag on you, just an observation) people 'save' money when they have high-interest debt. The savings basically comes at the opportunity cost of the interest rate on that debt. For example, if you borrowed $2000 at 20% apr, and you chose to save and keep 1000 in your checking acct and make minimums on that $2000, you are paying $33 in interest per month when you could be paying only $16.50 if you paid the card down right away. To be honest, I have never had to live off anything but a predictable income so maybe those with a more variable income need a different tactic. But, I digress.

 

Oh, I forgot to answer the actual question. Wtf is my problem? Of all the offers I get, the lowest interest rates are typically with Bank of America. I have a card through them and their current balance transfer rate is 1.9% for a year. Not as many places are offering 0% intros any more since interest rates are up across the board.

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The 'saved money' came very recently after I sold the Contour and had a bit of money saved on top of that. So I wasn't exactly saving for a long time. Rather than letting it just sit in a saving's acct I would prefer to pay off my card.

 

Maybe I wasn't completely clear in my original post. The objective is to pay off cc#1. Since there is a history on this acct I have no plans of closing it, however I like to find a way around pay off the rediculous apr% I have on this card. In doing this Im considering finding a 'No Interest' card for temporary use. I understand I MIGHT not have it long term, but wasn't completely sold on terminating the acct as soon as the balance is transfered and paid off. I have no desire to terminate cc#1, but might consider keeping cc#2 after said balance is paid. I know that having more credit history is good, especially history in which on time payments and 'payoff's', for lack of a better term, are on the account.

 

Objective A is to increase credit rating, Objective B is to pay off card. Which ever can help me do both is what I'll choose.

 

EDIT: it's been about a year since I've asked my cc company to either lower my interest rate or raise my limit. Im going to go back to them and ask again before going with someone else. Joe brought up a good point that no matter who or what card I get they will check my credit report which would hurt Objective A.

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I have found out the easiest way to pay off debt is pay close to minimum payments on all your loans except for the one that has the least amount due. The loan with the least amount due you should be taking as much money possible and dumping it on the loan. Repeat this every month until this smallest loan is paid off. Then the next step is to do the same thing with the next smallest loan.

 

Example

 

1) Mortgage $50,000

2) Credit Card 1 $5000

3) Credit card 2 $4000

4) Car Loan $2000

 

Pay minimum payments on 1-3 and past as much as possible a month on 4. Once 4 is paid off use all the money you would be paying on 4 to now pay towards 3. Repeat until everything is paid off.

 

This is what I have been doing for years. Only bad thing about this is your going to not have much money at the end of the month. But that happens when you are in debt. I usually only have 100$ a month left over in my checking after all bills are paid for. Some goes into saving account and the rest goes into my stomach.

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ryan you are correct and there is no need to pay chases HIGH apr if you can transfer belive me when you call chase and ask if your apr can be lowerd im the guy you talk to (of course there are more than kjust me) first off dotn expect more than 2 or 3 % thats the trend ive been seeing if your at 19.99 your prolly gonna get offered 17.99f or 15.24v now keep in mind chase lets you look at your rate every 6 months to lower it, also dont call up saying im getting offer from capital one offering 0% cuz we dont care your comparing an intro offer to the card you already have....holy crap i feel like im at work lol fuck it transfer just dont close right away

 

 

use this as leverage it takes chase 180 bucks to get a new cardmember they have that invested in you they dont want to lose your bussiness so after its paid off dont use it for 1 yr and call back ive seen them drop from 29.99 to 9.99 in a heart beat

any questions you have about chase creditcards let me know i know too much about them and it would scare most people on here what the 2nd largest bank in the country does to there card members

 

 

holy run on

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