What is the Ink Business Cash balance transfer fee?

To negotiate a balance transfer fee, call the credit card issuer’s customer service number before you apply for the card and make your case. People with a good, long-standing relationship with the issuer and a credit score that exceeds the card’s approval requirements will have the best chance of getting the fee waived.... read full answer

Negotiating for a lowered or waived balance transfer fee may save you hundreds of dollars, but it’s more likely to be a waste of time. Banks are naturally hesitant to waive balance transfer fees because many balance transfer cards have 0% APR offers, so transfer fees are one of their main ways to make money. That said, you never really know how they’ll respond until you ask.

How to Negotiate a Balance Transfer Fee in 4 Steps

1. Check your credit score. To know which balance transfer cards you could get approved for, check your credit score. The higher your credit score is, the better your bargaining position will be. When you have good or excellent credit, you can qualify for many good balance transfer offers, so you’ll be able to consider alternatives if you don’t get what you want from a particular credit card company.
2. Compare balance transfer offers and pick the best one. You can use WalletHub’s balance transfer calculator to figure out how much you’d save by transferring your debt to various balance transfer cards. It’s important to consider the amount of time you’ll likely spend paying off the debt when making these comparisons.
3. Call the card issuer’s customer service line and speak to a rep. If the first person can’t help, ask for someone higher up the ladder – they’re more likely to have the authority to negotiate.
4. Make your case. Bring up any good relationship you have with the card issuer, especially if you are a loan, checking or investing customer, too. People with high incomes are also more likely to get the fee waived because the card issuer will be eager to get more business from them in the future. In addition, you might want to mention your credit score if it’s around 750 or higher.

If negotiations are unsuccessful, consider other balance transfer cards or even other debt payment options. Your most cost-effective option may still be to pay the fee and transfer your balance to the card that you initially wanted. But it’s best to explore alternatives before making a decision.

No, balance transfers do not hurt your credit score directly, though transferring a balance can indirectly lead to credit score damage. When you apply for a balance transfer credit card, for example, it will generate a hard inquiry on your credit report, causing a slight dip in your credit score.

If you transfer a balance to an existing credit card account, however, there is no hard inquiry and no credit score damage. A balance transfer could still result in high credit utilization, though, and allow you to rack up more debt than you can afford to repay. Both of those things can hurt your credit score.

So, the act of transferring a balance itself won’t affect your credit, but it will indirectly alter several key components of your credit profile, from utilization to the age of your accounts. These changes might lower your score a bit in the short term. But over time, interest savings and the ability to pay off your debt faster should make transferring a balance a net positive for your credit score.

You can use WalletHub’s free credit score simulator tool to get a sense of how a balance transfer might affect your credit score.

How Balance Transfers Can Help or Hurt Your Credit Score

• Credit Inquiries Hurt: If you apply for a new balance transfer card, the resulting hard inquiry will likely cause a slight dip in your credit score for up to 12 months.
• Lower Account Age Hurts: Adding a new balance transfer card will reduce the overall age of your accounts, which can have a slight negative impact on your score.
• Increased Utilization Hurts: Keep an eye on how the transfer affects your account’s credit utilization. Making a transfer will usually add 3%-5% to your debt due to balance transfer fees. If your utilization is over 30% of your credit limit, that’s not good for your score.
• Missed Payments Hurt: If you don’t continue to make payments to your original creditor while the balance transfer is being processed, your credit score will suffer. Balance transfers can take up to three weeks, or be completed in just a few days, after you make a request or apply for a card.
• Reduced Utilization Helps: If you leave your old credit card(s) open, adding a new card will reduce your utilization ratio across all accounts, assuming no additional spending. The utilization on the card you transferred the balance from will drop, and it will increase on the card you transferred the debt to.
• Low Interest Helps: Balance transfer cards often have 0% introductory APRs. This gives you the chance to pay off your balance faster, since the full amount of your payments will go to the principal rather than interest. This is good for your score long-term.
• Less Debt Helps: A balance transfer can help you reduce your debt load. That’s important because how much debt you owe is a key ingredient in your credit score. The less, the better, since people with little-to-no debt are in a more stable position financially.

Bottom Line

Balance transfers won’t hurt your credit by themselves. But they affect other elements of your credit that could bring your score down a little temporarily. Still, the benefits will outweigh the negatives in the long run, as long as you plan to repay most, if not all, of your balance during your card’s low introductory APR period.

Where people get into trouble is trying to use a balance transfer to support unsustainable spending habits, thinking 0% balance transfer credit card offers are always available. They’re not, and learning that the hard way is a very expensive mistake. So make sure to use a balance transfer calculator to make a payment plan.

The simplest way to avoid balance transfer fees is to apply for a credit card that waives the fee entirely. Getting a credit card with no balance transfer fee that also offers a low balance transfer APR is actually the best overall way to reduce the cost of existing debt and pay off what you owe sooner.... read full answer

Best Ways to Avoiding Balance Transfer Fees

• Find a low APR credit card with no balance transfer fee. The best credit card with no balance transfer fee is the Union Bank® Platinum™ Credit Card because it offers a $0 balance transfer fee along with a balance transfer APR of 0% for 15 months.
• Compare personal loans with no origination fee. No-fee personal loans for debt consolidation are available to people with fair credit or better, though people with bad credit scores might also be able to get one if they have a cosigner.
• Make a budget and a debt-payoff plan. The best way to avoid transfer fees is to avoid having to do a balance transfer in the first place. With that in mind, make a budget that maximizes monthly debt payments in order to pay off what you owe now as quickly as possible, then focus on keeping your spending in check to avoid racking up a big balance again in the future.

Finally, don’t rule out cards with balance transfer fees completely. If the card has a long-lasting introductory 0% balance transfer APR, it might be the option that saves you the most money overall, even considering the transfer fee. You can use WalletHub’s balance transfer calculator to help determine which option is best for you.