As you know, I gave Chase the heave-ho earlier this month when it increased my minimum monthly payments from 2% to 5% of the balance and started charging me a $10/month service charge. [Chase reminds me of my passive-aggressive ex-boyfriend who was too wimpy to dump me, but instead made my life so miserable that I had to leave. Come to think of it, that’s MY break-up M.O. too! I guess what goes around, comes around, eh?]
Anyhow, as a result, I transferred my cc balance of $11,938.91 to BofA, who offered me a 0% APR until October. They of course charged me a hefty 3% transfer fee of $358.17, but at least they were upfront about it. And truth be told, I also actually like BofA, since that's where I keep my primary checking account and they provide a good, reliable service. Plus, they also gave me a couple of free vinyl check covers. (If you haven't noticed, it doesn't take much to make me happy.)
I finally got my BofA credit card bill and was a bit taken aback. The transferred amount and the transfer fee were correct. But unlike the standard minimum monthly payment that most credit card companies require (i.e., 2% of the balance), BofA is only requiring 1%. Hmmmm…. Why could that be?
Theory #1: Could it be that BofA isn’t interested in collecting my money?
Naaaah. That would mean hell froze over.
Theory #2: Could it be that BofA is being charitable?
Nyet. That would mean that pigs are flying.
Theory #3: Could it be that BofA is trying to "run out the clock" on the 0% offer?
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!
Et tu, BofA?
Chase couldn’t wait to chase me out (no pun intended). In contrast, BofA is eager to keep me from paying the balance off in full by October. With "friends" like this, who needs enemies?
Boy... If I wasn’t motivated enough to get rid of my credit card by October, I sure am now!
6 comments:
funny but true. what is your plan for getting rid of the debt in 10 months? of course i'll be here rooting you on the entire time;-)
You want to the give our gov't the benefit of the doubt so I'm going to give B of A the same :) One possible explanation, the minimum payment used to be 1%. But. if you only pay 1% a month you barely cover the interest charges let alone make a dent in the balance. So they changed the rules that the min payment had to cover interest and something like 1% of the principal. Since you aren't being charged interest, they only need to collect the 1% of principal.
Wow, funny you noticed that. I didn't even glance at that part of my bill. Lately, instead of the 0% offer they are now sending me 0.99% offer via online and 1.99% offer in the mail.
I think the 1% payment is very scheming of them. But to no avail, my bill will be PIF by Oct. :)
And yours too, right?
Hi there-see them reverting to 'not so nice guy' come October, when the interest rate hikes right up. Hope you either can do a paid in full by then or switch to another good offer with someone else.
I've actually been pretty happy with BoA, too. I know they're supposed to be evil, but I've never had any problems.
The CC thing is sneaky, but since you're planning on paying it off anyway, it's not a big deal. What you could do (and this would take more self-control than I have myself) is pay the minimum, and put the rest in a savings account. You won't make very much extra in interest, but every little bit helps. Only do it if you think you'll be able to stay as disciplined, though; otherwise just send them the larger payments.
Ms.MoneyChat: Thanks for the support! I'll unveil my plan on 2/13 since it seems to keep changing in my mind.
MissM: Ohhhh... Okay. That makes sense. BofA's credit card dept. is still my frenemy though!
Christine: It will be paid off by October barring any unforeseen circumstances. :-D
$haronRose: Hopefully, I'll PIF. Otherwise, the balance will be small enough by October that I can probably transfer it to another card relatively painlessly. :-D
ParanoidAsteroid: That's EXACTLY what I was planning to do! :-D
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