I just received a BT offer and I'm trying to figure out whether I should take advantage of it. Your feedback would be appreciated.
Here are the details:
OFFER:
4.9% fixed for the life of the BT balance, no BT fee
TRANSFER TO THIS ACCOUNT:
USAA MasterCard -- $2100 current balance at 6% fixed, $18,400 available credit. Because I already have a balance on there, my payments would be allocated to pay off the 4.9% balances first, then the 6% balance. However, the overall rate would still be low that I'm not too worried about that.
POSSIBLE TRANSFERS (one or more of the following):
Bank of America -- $1450 current balance at 10.99% fixed
Consumer Loan #1 -- $1800 current balance at 11.15% ($68/mo pymt)
Consumer Loan #2 -- $2800 current balance at 11.25% ($99/mo pymt)
I'm definitely going to transfer my BofA balance using this offer, because paying 10.99% when I could be paying 4.9% is just ridiculous. What I'm not so sure about is whether I should also transfer my consumer loans to my credit card.
The upside of doing it is that I'll be reducing the interest rates on those balances from over 11% down to only 4.9%. I would continue to pay the same monthly payments as before, only have them directed towards my USAA credit card instead of the loan accounts. That would shave several months off my payoff timeline (even with the additional balances added to the total on the credit card) and save me hundreds of dollars on car insurance... no, wait, in interest.
The downside is that I feel having all of that money due on a credit card instead of in the form of loans makes me a bit more vulnerable if something were to go wrong. I don't necessarily have anything specific in mind that makes me feel that way, I just do.
So, your thoughts?
~ Jenney

OFFER:
4.9% fixed for the life of the BT balance, no BT fee
TRANSFER TO THIS ACCOUNT:
USAA MasterCard -- $2100 current balance at 6% fixed, $18,400 available credit. Because I already have a balance on there, my payments would be allocated to pay off the 4.9% balances first, then the 6% balance. However, the overall rate would still be low that I'm not too worried about that.
POSSIBLE TRANSFERS (one or more of the following):
Bank of America -- $1450 current balance at 10.99% fixed
Consumer Loan #1 -- $1800 current balance at 11.15% ($68/mo pymt)
Consumer Loan #2 -- $2800 current balance at 11.25% ($99/mo pymt)
I'm definitely going to transfer my BofA balance using this offer, because paying 10.99% when I could be paying 4.9% is just ridiculous. What I'm not so sure about is whether I should also transfer my consumer loans to my credit card.
The upside of doing it is that I'll be reducing the interest rates on those balances from over 11% down to only 4.9%. I would continue to pay the same monthly payments as before, only have them directed towards my USAA credit card instead of the loan accounts. That would shave several months off my payoff timeline (even with the additional balances added to the total on the credit card) and save me hundreds of dollars on car insurance... no, wait, in interest.

The downside is that I feel having all of that money due on a credit card instead of in the form of loans makes me a bit more vulnerable if something were to go wrong. I don't necessarily have anything specific in mind that makes me feel that way, I just do.
So, your thoughts?
~ Jenney
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