Comments on: I Had No Clue You Could Shift Credit Limits Around!

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:22:56 +0000

I think you did the right thing to take a step back and think about the choices you have before making an emotional decision.

By: jim

jim — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:26:10 +0000

Hahaha I’ve been outed! I actually just wanted to poke fun at you, that’s all

By: Tricia

Tricia — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:15:21 +0000

I did it with Citibank. That stinks that they have to close the other card if you try to do it with Chase. That can hurt if the card you’d have to close is your oldest card.

By: Kellie

Kellie — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:28:45 +0000

Tricia can you tell us what company you were able to do this with? I tried to do this today with Chase and they will only do what is called a Line Consolidation. You must close the account after transferring the credit limit and the card you are transferring off of must be zero for at least 3 months.

By: The 104th Carnival of Debt Reduction - Digging Out Edition

The 104th Carnival of Debt Reduction - Digging Out Edition — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:04:23 +0000

[...] Blog Whatâ€™s your tipping point? by paidtwice @ I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… I Had No Clue You Could Shift Credit Limits Around! by Tricia @ Blogging Away Debt Necessities You Can Live Without by Meredith H. Kaiser @ Saving [...]

By: Tricia

Tricia — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:55:20 +0000

Jim – well, since you came forward, I guess I can reveal in the post

By: Kellie

Kellie — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:07:04 +0000

Thanks for the tip!

By: Roundup for week of 2 September 2007: Black loupe edition at Mighty Bargain Hunter

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 05:47:59 +0000

[...] Blogging Away Debt didn’t know that you could shift credit limits around. [...]

By: jim

jim — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 04:12:02 +0000

Who gave you that idea?

By: The Offer That's Better than 3.9% » Blogging Away Debt

The Offer That's Better than 3.9% » Blogging Away Debt — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:53:39 +0000

[...] Tricia: Jim – In my case, both of the cards in question have zero balances…. [...]

By: Tricia

Tricia — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:36:32 +0000

Jim – In my case, both of the cards in question have zero balances. There is one catch, and that’s why I always think things over for a while before doing it. The catch isn’t a big deal if I discontinue it before I transfer the balance. But, it could have gotten me the first month if I didn’t think about it.

However, I’ll be explaining the better deal shortly. I’m working on that right now.

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:14:39 +0000

Wow, that could be a nice find.

I have always been amazed what can happen when you get people on the phone and just start asking questions. My results with Comcast and such have been nothing less then amazing to me.

I would look into the deal closely, as you never can tell if they are trying to do something sneaky. Especially with credit card companies.

By: Jim ~ mydebtblog.com

Jim ~ mydebtblog.com — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:24:12 +0000

Here’s my problem with doing this transfer from one higher rate card to another card. They are still going to treat it as a balance transfer and giving you this wonderful 3.9% life of the balance on whatever amount you bring over. Your current balance is on your card will still be subject to your regular APR. Chances are this is higher than the 3.9% balance transfer APR you could get. So when you make a payment, they’re going to apply it to the lower of the two rates. As your balance transfer starts paying off, you’re racking up a bunch of finance charges on your original balance.

I think you made the better move to hang up and think about it. These guys are quick to try and get you to jump on things that sound good like this. I’m always looking for a catch or loophole in every deal I encounter. Wait and see what happens with your 0% before doing this.

By: Ms. M&P

Ms. M&P — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:53:28 +0000

Nice! I didn’t know that either. thanks!

By: chitowngirl

chitowngirl — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:52:40 +0000

I was able to do the same thing with my Chase card. I transferred my HELOC which was at prime + 2.5% to the 3.99% for the life of the balance. Awesome!!! =)

By: chitowngirl

chitowngirl — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:51:39 +0000

I was able to do the same thing with my Chase card. I transferred my HELOC which was at prime + 2.5% to the 3.99% for the life of the balance. Awesome!!! =)

By: Starving Artist

Starving Artist — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:35:47 +0000

Congrats on working on shifting your loans! Sounds like your suffering from a plethora of good choices, which isn’t a bad place to be. Does the 0% have a transfer fee, and is it for 6 or 12 months? Maybe you can split the difference: put as much on the 0% as you think you can pay off by the time the rate ends, and shift the rest to the 3.9%, and hold that steady.

Go you and your rock star self.

By: Lynnae @ Being Frugal

Lynnae @ Being Frugal — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:00:25 +0000

I never knew you could do this! Thanks for the tip!

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:00:05 +0000

This sounds like a good deal. Hopefully this works out for you. 3.9% will make it much easier to pay those cards off more quickly, as I know you will apply the same amount to the principal! Less interest paid is always good.

By: SingleGuyMoney

SingleGuyMoney — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:31:21 +0000

I didn’t know you could do this either until about a yr ago. I learned you could do this from reading personal finance blogs!
Side note: If you have multiple AMEX cards, they allow you to reallocate your credit cards online.

By: CGroup

CGroup — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:05:08 +0000

Beware of any ‘universal default’ clause if there is one. This clause allows the credit card bank to raise your interest rate automatically if you’re late on payments elsewhere — such as on another credit card or on a phone, car, or house payment — or simply because the bank feels you have taken on too much debt.

Also, never use that card for purchases. If you do, your payment will go toward the lower interest rate first while your purchase grows at the higher rate.

By: FlatGreg

FlatGreg — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:37:02 +0000

Seems to make sense. I had two credit cards through the same company at one point, and when I canceled one they combined the credit limits onto the remaining card.

By: Pinyo

Pinyo — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:35:30 +0000

I shifted line of credit before to take advantage of different card features. Overall, I think you are getting a pretty good deal.

By: Maria

Maria — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:08:00 +0000

It never hurts to ask right? The worst they can say is no.

This is definitely a teaching moment though, I think I’ll call my one and only card with a $17,000 balance and see if they will reduce the interest. Wish me luck!