You can negotiate a balance-transfer fee |
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"I was able to get a $20 fee reduced to $10," says Bilker.
If you get nowhere with a representative, ask for a supervisor.
Be patient, and remember that everything with credit cards is negotiable,
no matter what the rep says at first. You might get other sweeteners
if they can't help on the fee, such as improved travel rewards or a
lower purchase rate. It pays to ask if there is anything else the
company can do. Quite often, there is.
New cards and old cards
Issuers love fresh meat, and sometimes new customers get great offers.
"Initially, with a new credit card, they'll waive some fees to get you in," says Bilker.
You may see no-fee balance transfers if you're a new
customer. You also might get a really enticing deal, like a fixed-rate
low-interest deal. But you don't have to open a new card to save.
"Keep your eyes on your current credit cards," says
Bilker. "When they send you an offer, keep it, date it and file
it."
Those offers are your bargaining chips, making you an informed negotiator.
"You have to comparison shop," Bilker says. "If you have credit cards with no balances, call and
say, 'You miss me?' so they can make you some offers."
Multiple balance transfers
Don't despair if you have balances on several cards and think you will get slammed for multiple fees. Quantity can
be a bargaining chip.
One way to save if you have several balances to transfer
-- say, $3,000 on a Mastercard, $4,500 on a Visa and $800 on Discover
-- would be to negotiate for a single flat fee.
Sometimes the representatives will say yes. Other times, they will suggest a direct deposit, which
generally translates into one fee.
At Bank of America, for example, it's currently possible to have a 1.9 percent balance transfer offer
deposited in your bank account, and then you can pay each creditor.
This way, instead of paying a $75 transfer each time, you pay $75 once to have the funds transferred
into your checking account, and then you do the distribution yourself.
That's an easy $150 savings on transfer fees just for chatting with the representative.
Inform yourself
With fees, those who know pay less.
"Knowledge is power," says Tahira Hira, professor
of personal finance and consumer economics at Iowa State University.
"When you have a credit card, you enter into a contract, and people
don't think of it that way.
"Of course you should negotiate, and of course you
should think about getting a lower interest rate."
Just be careful that you really are getting a better
deal, Hira warns.
"You also need to understand the spread between the two interest rates, and what the other conditions
are," Hira says. "There are so many variables."
The fine print really matters. Watch for grace periods,
late-fee policies and whether universal default is in place before
you move your debt to a new company.
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