Balance Transfer Credit Cards | Compare Balance Transfer Cards | Offers | Capital One (2024)

FAQs

What is the balance transfer offer Capital One? ›

A balance transfer lets you move debt from one or more accounts to another. Transferring high-interest debt to a credit card with a low or 0% introductory APR may help you consolidate payments, save on interest and pay off debt faster.

A balance transfer may not save you money on interest if you're not able to pay the balance off before the end of your promotional period. Running up new card balances after completing a balance transfer could also hurt your credit score and leave you with more debt to repay.

It may not be possible to get approved for a balance transfer card with bad credit. Card issuers typically require a good or excellent credit score to qualify, which is a FICO^® Score^☉ of 670 or higher on an 850-point scale. But there are other ways to strategically pay down credit card debt.

Penalty APR: Missing a payment could mean forfeiting your introductory APR and triggering a penalty APR. Bad for some debt: It's unwise to transfer low-interest debt to the card if you can't pay the balances off before the introductory offer expires since you may end up paying higher interest rates than before.

Keep in mind, you cannot transfer balances between two Capital One accounts and the total amount of your transfer, including any applicable fees, cannot exceed the amount for which you are eligible. This can be found within your Balance Transfer offer.

You may see a positive impact on your credit score if you transfer your balance to a single new card and take action to reduce your debt balances. But if you constantly open new credit cards and transfer balances, your credit score can actually drop.

Not taking into account the balance transfer fee

A balance transfer credit card can save money on interest, but it's not without cost. In most cases, the amount you move over will be subject to a balance transfer fee — typically 3% to 5% of the total amount transferred.

Is a balance transfer fee worth it? If you have a significant amount of credit card debt, the 3% balance transfer fee (or sometimes even a 5% fee) is absolutely worth paying when transferring your balance to a card that has a 0% intro APR offer, but only if you still need time to pay off a balance.

Card issuers typically have rules surrounding the amount of debt you can transfer in relation to your credit limit. Many issuers are generous, giving cardholders the ability to transfer their full credit limit, but in some cases, your transfer limit may be capped at 75 percent of your overall credit limit.

A balance transfer credit card moves your outstanding debt from one or more credit cards onto a new card, typically with a lower interest rate. Many balance transfer credit cards feature a low or 0% introductory APR, allowing you to save money on interest payments.

Why would someone take advantage of a balance transfer offer? ›

Balance transfer credit cards offer advantages including consolidating multiple payments, lowering your total interest paid and paying off your debt faster. It's important to carefully assess your financial situation and make a plan before pursuing a balance transfer credit card.

After a balance transfer takes place, your old account remains open. The original card issuer will typically only close your account if you make a request for it to do so. Unless you have a good reason to cancel your old credit card, however, you may want to think twice before you close the account.

Balance transfers can help consolidate your debt

Along with personal loans and home equity loans, balance transfers are considered a quintessential debt consolidation tool since they can absorb debt from multiple high-interest cards, giving you fewer accounts to track and less interest to pay.