While it isn’t time to start jumping up and down, one major credit card company rolled out a credit card that offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for 1 year.  This could be viewed as a positive sign that longer 0% periods are returning, although it is entirely possible that this is just a test that could be pulled from the market quickly.

This particular deal (you can view offer details here) comes with the new standard balance transfer fee-5%.  A year ago, paying a 5% balance transfer fee was unheard of.  However, at that time you could get a 0% APR for 15 months or a fixed APR for life at a 2.99% rate.  Clearly, things have changed. Continue Reading »

If Representatives Barney Frank and Carolyn Maloney can push forward the date of new credit card laws passed last spring, consumers seeking credit cards are likely to run into more issues during the holiday season.  While a number of new laws went into effect last August, such as rules requiring advance notice of significant changes in card terms and the ability to opt out of rate increases, the majority of changes in the CARD Act were not scheduled to go into effect until February.

Unfortunately, the House Financial Services Committee, like many consumers, are unhappy with credit card issuers and wish to push the deadline for the remaining new rules to December instead of February of 2010.  I say this is unfortunate because, in anticipation of the new laws, the banks punished consumers with higher rates and credit limit cuts.  This backlash has slowed dramatically, and the number of credit card complaints we receive from customers has diminished significantly since the first set of rules went into effect in August. Continue Reading »

A few months ago, a visitor wrote to Smart Balance Transfers to tell us that a balance transfer check she received in the mail bounced when she tried to use it.  I had hoped this was an isolated issue, but a second visitor wrote in yesterday with a new balance transfercheck horror story.   Here’s what Rob had to say:

“I received some balance transfer checks from one of my Chase credit card accounts. I used the check to make a payment of $25,000k to my Bank of America credit card, to get a lower interest rate with Chase. When BOA went to cash the check to cover my payment, Chase DENIED the check. So I got hit with a $40 check returned fee. But to top that off, BOA bumped my entire balance to 19.9% instead of 10.9%. BOA said when I made the payment that my balance was cleared, but when the check was returned, they had to put the balance back on my card under “cash advance” now at 19.9%. They said this is “standard practice with all banks”. So I got screwed by Chase AND BOA. I have used those balance transfer offers many times in the past. Didn’t realize that they could decline payment on them. Guess I learned a valuable lesson.” http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/2009/08/credit-card-companies-cut-credit-limits-to-zero/#comment-6059 Continue Reading »

Credit card companies have become more and more selective about who they approve for balance transfers during the past year and many consumers that would have been approved instantly are now getting denied.  Many of these consumers very recently had scores in the low to mid 700′s, but suffered damage to their credit score by credit limit decreases or account closures forced by their credit card companies.  Because of this, it is more important than ever to check your credit report (you can view free credit report offers here) before applying online. Continue Reading »

It should come as no surprise that in the latest J.D. Power Annual Customer Satisfaction survey, overall customer satisfaction has dropped.  The total ranking score of 703 out of a thousand is akin to a C- grade.  However, what is surprising is that the total satisfaction score only fell 7 points from last year, despite the fact that 20% of survey respondents reported interest rate increases, a doubling from last year.  Throw in credit limit cuts, and the damage these have caused to credit scores, and one has to wonder if a majority of the 9,000 participants in the study worked for bailed out credit card issuing banks. Continue Reading »