Credit Card Arbitrage

I have had debt in 0% credit cards for years now and when the term is done, I transfer it to another 0% card. The problem is limits on these cards they give me are $5000 when I really would love to do $15,000 or so. We have cards we don't use at all from Chase and Bank of America. When we get a new credit card offer from Chase for example, can they move the credit limits from our unused cards to the new balance transfer card so that I can transfer more?

Our FICO scores are middle 700's

What are some other arbitrage plays I can do

I AM VERY RESPONSIBLE

under the present situation every thing is up in the air -- contact chase and they might surprise you and allow the limit to be increased!!!

2008-10-09 15:02:02 by Dom

European & American state aid is interlocked into the International Bank of Settlements, which is tied to World Bank, which is tied into the ...

OK i am new to this credit card arbitrage i have read lots of stories about this, this might not be a great idea or it could be a good idea since i am young, i am 21 and i currently have 2 credit cards, 1 i got when i got out of high school with about an 8% interest, i hardly ever use that one i keep the balance to about 200-250, and then since ive been in college and making rent and utilities and paid off a loan. i got a credit card offer for 0% apr for 1 year, so i thought what the heck i could use that incase of emergencies since there would be no finance charges. i am very good with payments i have never missed a payment on rent, cc payments or anything. I was wondering if anyone that has experience in this could give me some pointers. maybe getting a card with 0% for a year and trying a CD or savings, I work at a bank so the rates arent very good right now. I beleive a savings is about 1% and a 6 month to 1 year CD is 2.65. I have read many peoples stories that have done this, and they say they use the checks the CC companies send them and put them in the account or get a cash advance. I know on my 0% card there is a finance charges on cash advances.

I am just trying to get some first hand advice on this.


thanks in advance

It isn't worth it to make a lot of confusion over a small amount. Get rid of the percentages and work it through to a dollar amount. Say you save $20. Is it worth the effort? What if you miss a payment and get nailed for a $39 late fee? You are no longer ahead.

2009-07-15 00:11:04 by HEtty

If I transfer 3 credit card maximum amounts at 0% for 15 months to my hsbc credit card then move this money into a bank and use it as a deposit for an investment which will mature in a year and then pay all the credit cards back will this badly affect my credit rating. any website phone no i can call to discuss this?

I know someone who tried to do this and the bank would not wait for the investment to pay out - eventually he had to declare himself bankrupt. Nice thought though, if you can get away with it

2007-11-19 05:45:37 by fionazzz

I actively do balance transfer arbitrage. I have almost $100,000 in credit card debt, all at 0-1% APR. I have almost 40 revolving credit card accounts. No late payments ever. I believe my current credit score is about 620-630. How will doing more arbitrage affect FICO? How will paying off balances improve my FICO?

I carried a $25k balance for several years in a similar ploy.

While you hold the balance, your score is greatly depressed. Owing so much is a negative, applying for new accounts is a negative, having a high debt to limit ratio is a negative, having 40 accounts is a negative... It all looks pretty bad while you owe this money.

My score jumped from 700 to 820 in 1 year as I payed off the $25k I owed. I imagine if you were to pay off the $100k during 2008, your score would rise from 625 to 775. If you ever plan on obtaining a mortgage, you'd probably be better off if you paid off the 100k arbitrage accounts 2 months prior to applying for the mortgage in order to get the best rate available.

And a note on the arbitrage scheme: Make sure you're weighing true costs/benefits. Some costs that many don't count properly:
-Balance transfer fees: Tend to be 5% up to $150 (sometimes unlimited) these days. 3% up to $75 was the old norm, but those days are gone.
-Possible missed payment: You've been perfect on payments so far, but what is the risk of a missed payment... maybe it wouldn't even be your fault (mail issue or the company lost your payment) but how could you prove it? This could harm your score and raise your interest rates for years to come (including the rates on all your other current cards).
-Time: How much time are you spending to make this money? Consider the time you read through credit offers, paying bills, applying, checking each statement in detail, talking to creditors when they make mistakes (and they do make mistakes)...
-Worry: Do you worry about your $100k balance at all? That is very unhealthy and unpleasant.

Since you're calling this arbitrage, you must be in a riskless asset... which means you're making 4%-5%. 4%-5% minus the 1% interest rate minus balance transfer fees, minus taxes on interest, minus value of all the costs I listed above... what is your real return? Is it really worth it? **Not trying to sway you away, just making sure you honestly assess the situation.

Best of luck in your credit/arbitrage decisions!

Edit: I thought of a couple other costs: a lower credit score means higher car insurance rates, you could be paying less (likely 15% less) if your score was higher. Sometimes credit score influences hiring decisions as well... you never know who is judging you by your credit score.

2008-02-24 07:37:28 by harvey7415