Key takeaways
- The best balance transfer cards allow you to make unlimited balance transfers within 60 to 120 days of account opening.
- If you have multiple credit card balances, transferring them to a 0 percent intro APR card that allows balance transfers could help you pay them off more quickly.
- Your balance transfers cannot exceed your 0 percent intro APR card's credit limit, so you might not be able to transfer all of your balances at once.
- However, you can transfer a new balance as soon as you pay the old one down — as long as you're still within the required date range for the 0 percent intro APR offer.
You can transfer as many balances as you want onto a 0 percent intro APR card, as long as you don’t exceed the balance transfer card’s credit limit — and as long as your transfers still qualify for the introductory APR offer. The best balance transfer credit cards give you between 60 and 120 days to transfer balances to a card in order to receive a 0 percent intro APR offer. If you don’t transfer balances within that required timeframe, you may get stuck paying the regular interest rate on any transferred balances.
Doing multiple transfers on a balance transfer card is easy once you know how. Since balance transfer credit cards are one of the best ways to consolidate your debt and pay it off, here’s how to get the job done.
Can you transfer multiple balances to a 0% intro APR card?
If your card with a 0 percent introductory annual percentage rate (APR) allows you to transfer debts and pay them off during the zero-interest introductory period, then you can transfer multiple balances onto your card.
As for how many balances you can transfer, it all depends on your credit limit. If the balances you’d like to transfer to your 0 percent intro APR card exceed the credit limit on the card, you might have to pick and choose which balances to transfer.
If you can’t transfer all of your balances at once, consider transferring one or two balances, paying them off, and then transferring more balances. The best balance transfer credit cards give you between 60 and 120 days to transfer balances and still take advantage of the 0 percent intro APR offer, which could give you enough time to pay down a balance and transfer another one. After that, you’ll probably want to focus on paying off your balance transfer card before the 0 percent intro APR expires.
How to transfer multiple balances step by step
Want to know how to do multiple transfers on a balance transfer card? Here’s a step-by-step guide:
1. Consider Your Total Outstanding Debt
Before you make any decisions about a balance transfer, it’s important to get a bird’s eye view of your total outstanding debt. How much debt do you have spread out across multiple cards? Does one of your cards have a significantly higher interest rate than the others?
Once you have totaled up your current balances, you can start looking at balance transfer cards that work for you and offer the credit limit you need. If your total debt exceeds the credit limit of the balance transfer card you want, prioritize transferring balances from cards with the highest APRs.
2. Learn how your credit card issuer handles balance transfers
If you want to transfer multiple balances to a 0 percent intro APR card, the first step is to learn how each card issuer handles balance transfers. Most card issuers allow you to transfer an initial balance when you first apply for a balance transfer credit card, and you can transfer subsequent balances through your online credit card account. Here’s a breakdown of how to do a balance transfer with some of the most popular credit card issuers:
- How to do a balance transfer with American Express
- How to do a balance transfer with Bank of America
- How to do a balance transfer with Capital One
- How to do a balance transfer with Chase
- How to do a balance transfer with Citi
- How to do a balance transfer with Wells Fargo
Most credit cards charge balance transfer fees on every transfer you make, and keep in mind that you can only transfer balances from one credit issuer to another. For example, you can’t transfer an existing Capital One balance to a new Capital One credit card — but you might be able to transfer your Capital One balance to a Wells Fargo balance transfer card.
3. Know your balance transfer credit limit
Since the number of balances you can transfer to an 0 percent intro APR balance transfer card will be determined by the card’s credit limit, you’ll want to know what that credit limit is — and how close you are to going over.
In most cases, you can view your credit limit for your credit card account online or through an app. The account will also tell you how close you are to hitting your credit limit, which may help you decide whether it’s time to transfer another balance.
Keep in mind: If you are having trouble finding your credit limit and need to reach customer service, you can always call the number on the back of your credit card.
4. Know how long you have to make balance transfers
Most balance transfer credit cards require you to transfer balances within a certain timeframe to qualify for a 0 percent intro APR offer. Your card issuer might give you 60, 90 or 120 days to transfer balances, for example. Once you know how long you have to make balance transfers, you can start planning ahead to ensure you transfer as many balances as possible.
5. Transfer as many balances as you can, then pay them off
Transferring multiple balances onto an 0 percent intro APR credit card is all about planning ahead. You may want to choose a balance transfer credit card that is more likely to offer a high credit limit — or look for a balance transfer card that gives you a full 120 days to transfer balances and still take advantage of the 0 percent intro APR offer.
Once you’ve transferred as many balances as you can during the required timeframe without maxing out your balance transfer card, begin to pay your transferred balances off. Remember, you want to pay off as much of your transferred balances as you can before the 0 percent intro APR offer expires (the best balance transfer credit cards typically offer 15 to 21 months to pay down debt, interest-free, as long as you transfer balances during the first 60 to 120 days). Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on an opportunity to pay off your debt with zero interest.
If you pay down enough of your balance transfer card to transfer a new balance to the card and still take advantage of the introductory APR offer, go ahead — but always keep an eye on your credit limit and the amount of time you have to transfer balances before they no longer qualify for the introductory APR offer.
The bottom line
How many balances can you transfer onto a 0 percent introductory APR card? As many as you want, as long as you stay below your credit limit. The best balance transfer credit cards give you between 60 and 120 days to transfer balances in order to qualify for the 0 percent intro APR offer, so try to transfer and pay down your balances as quickly as possible. That way, you can maximize the number of balances you transfer to your new balance transfer credit card.
