Q & A: How Do Balance Transfers Affect Credit Scores?

In response to numerous inquiries from visitors, we recently added an article on How Balance Transfers Affect Credit Scores to the main section of our website.

In this article, I examine a few scenarios in which doing a balance transfer actually improves a person’s credit score as well as a few major pitfalls to avoid.

Ultimately, whether you are applying for a credit card to earn rewards, get a 0% intro rate or do a balance transfer, there will probably be a change in your credit score.  Unfortunately, however, it is difficult to truly present a complete answer to questions like, “Will applying for a credit card hurt my credit score?”  For some people, applying for a credit card and consolidating balances can actually improve credit scores.  However, this is not the case for everyone.

Because predicting the effect applying for a credit card can have on any person’s credit score, we recommend using a free credit monitoring service that offers a credit score analyzer.  With this tool, you can test various scenarios to determine roughly how your credit score will be effected.

Again, these tools are not perfect, but neither is the confusing credit score system.

For more detailed information on how balance transfers effect credit scores, please see the complete article.

For additional information on websites that offer access to free credit scores and credit score analysis tools, please see the free credit reports section of this website.

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