Suicidal Mussel asked:
I have 3 credit cards. Altogether I owe about $1,500. I’ve been thinking, would it make more sense to combine all three debts into one card. This one card would be an additional fourth card with a higher credit limit and 0% APR till April 09. I’m paying extra finance charges for late fees on my other cards so I’m thinking it would be good to put them all into one card and have a clean start. What do you guys think?
I have 3 credit cards. Altogether I owe about $1,500. I’ve been thinking, would it make more sense to combine all three debts into one card. This one card would be an additional fourth card with a higher credit limit and 0% APR till April 09. I’m paying extra finance charges for late fees on my other cards so I’m thinking it would be good to put them all into one card and have a clean start. What do you guys think?
#1 by contemplating - January 12th, 2010 at 21:39
It’s risky. If you are late one time, those tend to go into a default rate at about 35%.
So if you do it, don’t be late. Also read the fine print. Often there is a balance transfer fee equal to 3% of the balance.
I would do it if I KNEW I could meet the following:
1) Pay on time/early EVERY month
2) Pay it off before the 0% APR expired (the rate usually goes up pretty high after that)
#2 by Brian K - January 15th, 2010 at 02:35
I would put them all on a 0% card. There are many offers. I would check out They have allot of good cards. I would with the chase card.
#3 by nathanjacobs - January 15th, 2010 at 10:06
It would be wise as long as you can make your payments. It’s not that easy to get a 0% card though unless you have good credit though.
#4 by Sandrew - January 18th, 2010 at 22:00
going with the lowest interest rate is always best
#5 by Jeremy Kitching - January 19th, 2010 at 06:31
That will save you money on finance charges, but what you really need to look at is changing the behaviors that led to the debt. Transferring money around to different cards won’t do any good if they never get paid off.
I encourage you to examine the habits that caused you to get in to debt and make changes there after you have decided on what to do with the current debt. If you can get a card with a higher limit where the balances can be transferred, and with a 0% APR until April of ‘09, I would definitely do it. I would then encourage you work on paying off that balance before starting to use the card.
Also, you might want to pick up a copy of The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. He has excellent advice for budgeting and getting (and staying) out of debt.