How do you do a U.S. Bank balance transfer?

Balance transfers usually take 15 to 25 days from when you submit a balance transfer credit card application. But depending on the issuer, it could take as few as 3 days or as many as 42. To make a balance transfer take as little time as possible, apply online so the issuer can review your application sooner.… read full answer

How Long a Balance Transfer Takes by Credit Card Company:

While you wait for your balance transfer approval, it is important to keep making payments toward the balance being transferred. You should send these to your original creditor. If you don’t, your balance could be reported as past-due. This might damage your credit standing and put the transfer at risk.

Once the credit card transfer is finalized, you will see a credit listed on your original account. It will look like a payment was made. And your old balance will be listed on your new balance transfer credit card account. Remember, unless you have a 0% transfer card, interest will start to accrue as soon as your balance gets transferred.

For more information, check out WalletHub’s guide on how balance transfers work.

A balance transfer is a good idea if it will save you money, and that is most likely if you have good or excellent credit and you make an affordable payment plan prior to applying. You generally need good credit or better to get a 0% balance transfer credit card. Most balance transfer cards have very high regular APRs, making it important to repay what you owe before the 0% period ends.… read full answer

You’ll also want to make sure the new card’s balance transfer fee is as low as possible. The average fee is just under 3%. But, from time to time, there are credit cards that have both 0% APR on balance transfers and no balance transfer fee.

You can use WalletHub’s balance transfer calculator to compare the cost of repaying what you owe with your current card versus taking advantage of the best balance transfer offers. You can also check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site with free daily updates.

Balance transfers are likely to affect your credit score, though not directly. While balance transfers themselves aren’t reflected on credit reports, and thus aren’t directly used to calculate credit scores, balance transfers can change your financial picture in ways that could alter your credit score temporarily.

You can use WalletHub’s … read full answerfree credit score simulator to forecast how a balance transfer might affect your credit score in particular. You can also learn more about how balance transfers affect credit scores in general below.

Here’s how balance transfers affect your credit score:

• High credit utilization rate:

  It’s best to use less than 30% of a credit card’s credit limit. However, a balance transfer can wind up consuming much more than that, which isn’t great for your credit score.

• Hard inquiry:

  When you apply for a balance transfer card, the issuer will pull a copy of your credit report. Known as a hard inquiry, this will lower your credit score slightly, but only temporarily.

• Average age of accounts:

  A new balance transfer card will reduce the average age of your credit card accounts, which could knock a few points off your credit score.

• Future credit score increase:

  Your credit score should recover with time. Making payments on time is crucial to maximizing your credit score after a balance transfer, however, as is avoiding serious debt in the future.

To stay on top of your credit throughout every stage of a balance transfer, sign up for a free WalletHub account. You’ll get daily credit score updates, 24/7 credit monitoring, and personalized credit improvement advice.