gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
I just transferred the ~$6k I owe on both vehicles (2014 and 2015 Subies) to my new CC! Let the groaning begin!
I've been playing the credit card rewards game for years now. I tend to carry a zero balance on each of my cards every month, and receive hundreds of dollar-bucks in statement credits each year as a reward.
I've also taken advantage of low financing rates for each of our two vehicles, which now only have a few grand each left on their respective loans. The interest rates, while low (~2.X% average), are non-zero and allow banks to hold my titles...
SO, after some research, I found a new CC that offers 1.5% cash-back on ALL purchases, which I'll use for the purchases in which my Amex and Amazon cards only offer 1.0% cash-back (i.e., "all other" purchases). Regarding cash-back, the Amex is great for gas, grocery and certain department stores purchases, while the Amazon card benefit is self-explanatory. It may not seem like much, but the extra 0.5% interest on "other" charges, as well as the transfer of ~$6k in auto-loans is pretty much a no-brainer - I should have done it sooner, with an amount much higher on each loan, up to my credit card limit.
Notes:
1. I have 12 months at 0% interest to pay off this amount; no transfer fee.
2. I don't plan to use this card for anything until the above "auto-loan" balance is paid-off, except for the purchase of a couch for our living room, to replace the janky pleather pull-out that came from our old condo. We have cash to pay for the new couch, but the seller does not offer financing, nor any benefits for paying cash. 1.5% back sounds good in this instance.
3. The janky pleather pull-out will stay in the basement, since it still works as a couch and the pull-out is a decent bootleg memory-foam that is perfect for younger visitors who aren't super particular.
4. We just purchased our "forever" home and both have >825 credit scores. The new debt won't matter in the next 12 months.
5. I'm posting this for perspective. Some of us do not have the wherewithal to make this work. Others here refuse to owe anyone anything, particularly when it involves revolving debt! YMMV!
6. When I was younger (before the economy took a dump in 2008/09) I shifted family debt from 0%-interest credit-card to 0%-interest credit-card, because I had a decent credit score and the offers were coming in every single day - literally dozens of 0% offers every month back before the "Great Recession"! I was the only one in the family who made OK money and the only alternative to family members turning to loan-sharks. I learned out of "necessity (I know how that sounds)" how to bounce around debt and have learned how to do it well now that I can pay off balance monthly, not just yearly...
6.a. The debt I moved around was to help other family members. I was just out of college and single at the time. Now that I have a family, I would not currently consider making ANY of those "loans" again!
I've been playing the credit card rewards game for years now. I tend to carry a zero balance on each of my cards every month, and receive hundreds of dollar-bucks in statement credits each year as a reward.
I've also taken advantage of low financing rates for each of our two vehicles, which now only have a few grand each left on their respective loans. The interest rates, while low (~2.X% average), are non-zero and allow banks to hold my titles...
SO, after some research, I found a new CC that offers 1.5% cash-back on ALL purchases, which I'll use for the purchases in which my Amex and Amazon cards only offer 1.0% cash-back (i.e., "all other" purchases). Regarding cash-back, the Amex is great for gas, grocery and certain department stores purchases, while the Amazon card benefit is self-explanatory. It may not seem like much, but the extra 0.5% interest on "other" charges, as well as the transfer of ~$6k in auto-loans is pretty much a no-brainer - I should have done it sooner, with an amount much higher on each loan, up to my credit card limit.
Notes:
1. I have 12 months at 0% interest to pay off this amount; no transfer fee.
2. I don't plan to use this card for anything until the above "auto-loan" balance is paid-off, except for the purchase of a couch for our living room, to replace the janky pleather pull-out that came from our old condo. We have cash to pay for the new couch, but the seller does not offer financing, nor any benefits for paying cash. 1.5% back sounds good in this instance.
3. The janky pleather pull-out will stay in the basement, since it still works as a couch and the pull-out is a decent bootleg memory-foam that is perfect for younger visitors who aren't super particular.
4. We just purchased our "forever" home and both have >825 credit scores. The new debt won't matter in the next 12 months.
5. I'm posting this for perspective. Some of us do not have the wherewithal to make this work. Others here refuse to owe anyone anything, particularly when it involves revolving debt! YMMV!
6. When I was younger (before the economy took a dump in 2008/09) I shifted family debt from 0%-interest credit-card to 0%-interest credit-card, because I had a decent credit score and the offers were coming in every single day - literally dozens of 0% offers every month back before the "Great Recession"! I was the only one in the family who made OK money and the only alternative to family members turning to loan-sharks. I learned out of "necessity (I know how that sounds)" how to bounce around debt and have learned how to do it well now that I can pay off balance monthly, not just yearly...
6.a. The debt I moved around was to help other family members. I was just out of college and single at the time. Now that I have a family, I would not currently consider making ANY of those "loans" again!
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