What types of balances can you transfer to a credit card?

Each credit card company has its own policies about the types of debt that you can transfer to its credit cards. All major credit card companies allow you to transfer a balance from another issuer’s credit card but not one of their own. Some issuers also allow you transfer other types of debt, such as a balance from an auto loan, student loan, payday loan, mortgage, etc.

For example, you can only transfer credit card debt to a Chase credit card. But nine major issuers – including Bank of America, Barclaycard and Citi – allow you to transfer any type of consumer debt, according to WalletHub research.

Types of Balances You Can Transfer to a Credit Card:

• Credit card from a different bank or credit union – All major balance transfer credit cards.
• Auto loan, personal loan, mortgage, student loan, etc. – Some balance transfer credit cards.
• Credit card from the same bank or credit union – No credit card companies.

The one restriction that all major credit card companies have in common is that you can’t transfer a balance between two cards from the same issuer. Allowing the practice wouldn’t make much sense for the credit card companies. They wouldn’t get any new business out of the transaction. Rather, they’d just be allowing existing customers to refinance their credit card debt.

Finally, it’s worth noting that just because you can transfer a certain type of debt doesn’t mean you should. It’s best to transfer only what you can afford to repay during a card’s 0% intro period. Balance transfer credit cards tend to have high regular APRs, and another 0% transfer card won’t always be there to bail you out.

So, no matter what type of balance you transfer, make sure to use a balance transfer calculator to plan your payments and confirm you’re getting a good deal.

You can usually transfer any type of debt. Obviously, it pays to ask your issuer first, but the most important thing to look out for is the balance transfer APR and fee.

That really depends on the issuer. All of them have some ruleset (yes to credit cards, but no to personal loans, etc.), so it's smart to just call them and find out.