Balance Transfer to ATM/Debit Card?
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:53 am
Post subject: Balance Transfer to ATM/Debit Card?
Anyone ever try doing a balance transfer to a checking account by a phone or online request giving the ATM/Debit card number associated with that checking account? If the card starts with a 4 for Visa or a 5 for MasterCard (and has the Visa or MasterCard emblem on it), I'd guess that would work, but I've never tried it myself...
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
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Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 835
Location: NJ
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 9:35 am
I do it all the time, but I use BT checks instead of phone or other methods. For one thing the results are instantaneous. Phone requests can take as much as 30 days for some unknown reason. However, a check is a check is a check and a BT check is handled just like any other in accordance with whatever the deposit policies of your local bank happen to be. In my case Citibank treats all my deposits as cash and gives me same day access.
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
Ira
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Author: Eugene
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 274
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:27 am
I heard that if a credit card company does not allow balance transfers to be made as cash advances (directly to your checking account), then they have the ability to determine that your card is a debit card and disallow the transfer. They can determine by the card number if it's debit or credit. I would recommend asking the credit card issuer directly if and how they will allow cash advances at balance transfer terms.
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Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:33 am
Ira, I'd use checks for BTs if I could, but that option isn't available to me. What credit cards do you have that give you balance transfer checks which you can deposit in your checking account (without being treated as cash advances)?
Eugene--thanks; I guess I'll just have to call and ask each time. Problem is that I want to balance transfer to a HELOC, but the HELOC isn't a credit card so can't be set up as an online transfer automatically. I was thinking that I could BT to a checking account using the debit card number and then send the funds to the HELOC account electronically...
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
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Author: Eugene
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 274
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 11:00 am
Polonius, you might ask the credit card company not just how to transfer $$ to your bank account, but to the HELOC, as this is what you primarily want.
MBNA can deposit funds directly into your bank account and treat that as balance transfer (promo rates and everything). I am sure there are more.
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Author: Nathan
Joined: 09 Apr 2004
Posts: 42
Location: Arizona
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:38 pm
Polonius-
I've personally had no problems writing checks to myself from my Citi C.C. account, and I've done it a few times now. To be safest as I see it, I simply made the checks out to my credit union and deposited. Just as a test, I wrote one to my wife, she cashed it and Citi never said or did anything. I noticed their BT checks have a large B on them. I don't think anyone even looks at who they're made out to, just whether they have a B or a C.
I tried the same thing with FUSA with the exception that I made the check out to the company I work for since we are a lender, but on my next statement in bold print it said "BALANCE TRANSFER FROM (MY COMPANY NAME HERE)", which means they may care where the money goes?
Does anyone know if I can easily wright BT checks to my credit union from Chase or BofA??
Good Luck
There are no stupid questions -- only stupid answers.
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Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 835
Location: NJ
Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:30 am
Polonius, I have written BT checks to myself from MBNA accounts, Discover, Chase, and I believe also Citi, although I'm not sure about that one. The first three I know about because the 0% BTs are still active and I was in no way penalized. I can't believe that with the volume of checks that are processed that any issuer would manually scrutinize the checks to determine who they were written to. They're doublessly scanned electronically and the proper amount comes from the imprinting that the receiving bank adds to the check. If I'm wrong, somebody let me know, but that's been my experience over at least the past five years.
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
Ira
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Author: fenster
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 13
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 3:51 am
Post subject: Don't Do it
Gents, on a similar note, and after hearing so much about cardholders transferring balances to $0 balance cards so they can have the excess transferred funds mailed back to them as a credit balance check, I gave it a try. The results were disastrous, my MBNA account was no where near a $0 balance, it carried more than $3K at the time.
So acting on a BofA 0% BT offer, I transfer $9K to mbna to take care of their $3K and have a check mailed back to me for the excess $6K, low and behold, mbna decides to return the entire $9K to BofA and takes 45 days to do it.
I learned that getting cute and creative results in downtime and high balances on one’s credit profile during long transition periods, which is again far from a positive thing. I guess these CCCs want things done the way they intended for them to be done.
beware of everything
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Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:01 am
Ouch! Thanks for the heads-up!
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:06 pm
Whoa! I never heard of that happening before!
I recently overpaid a number of accounts because Citibank insisted I pay off a number of credit cards in full as part of a HELOC closing. I received checks made out to various banks for the amounts showing on my credit report last November--but many of those debts had already been paid off or paid down.
Citibank, Fleet, and Bank of America let me request the refunds online; the refund checks arrived in a few days. I phoned in the request to BankOne--it was prompt too. Household Bank (The GM Card) said the refund would take 10-14 days--and it did. The oddest response was from Sears MasterCard. When I called, it said I would have to wait 30 days for a refund. So I requested a no-fee balance transfer of the amount of the overpayment to another card, and that was done immediately. Net result was that I pulled the credit amount out of the card at once instead of having to wait a month.
Now, I can't understand why MBNA would act in this way. You did owe money on the card. You paid off the card. Why--and how, legally--could it refuse to let you pay off what you owed? It shouldn't matter to MBNA where the money came from. What reason did it give for this behavior when you asked?
If I'm asked about such overpayments, I'm ready with a story--I got the envelopes mixed up, I was anticipating new charges to the account, I was paying an old statement when I did owe that much, etc. I've never been asked for an explanation, though. But I'm ready!
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: fenster
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 13
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:40 pm
You know Polonius, I really didn’t wanna give them the satisfaction of asking why. Their answers are never satisfactory any how, nor could I be sure I wouldn’t yell out a few hard core expletives in response to some rep’s lame answers while they’re taping, so I let it go. The funny thing is I don’t know if these folks are plain deceptive, or plain untrustworthy of their clients. At first they told me your refund check will reach you in a week. When 10 days passed and no check, they said anything over $5,000 will have to be mailed back after statement closing date. After statement closing date passed and 20 days into the transaction, they said “it looks like the entire amount is going back to BofA, anything else we can help you with?” What do you say to something like that? I took the high ground and the 45 days.
Admin, you're welcome.
beware of everything
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Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:07 pm
What I'd say is: "You can't send that money back to B of A. That's MY money. Let me talk to a supervisor."
What I'd say is: "You're telling me you don't accept balance transfers from other banks? Show me where that restriction is in your credit agreement with me. Let me talk to your legal department."
What I'd say is: "I've called three times about this matter and I get a different story each time. I've been a good customer of yours for many years. What do I have to do to get accurate information when I call with questions? Let me talk to your customer relations department."
What I'd say is: "What's your ID? I'd like an official statement of your policy regarding balance transfers. I will be recording your statement to prevent any misunderstanding and to improve the quality of my interaction with you. If you can't provide me with an official statement, can you transfer me to someone who can?"
I'm just getting started.
Banks will do anything and say anything as long as we let them get away with it.
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:53 am
Post subject: Balance Transfer to ATM/Debit Card?
Anyone ever try doing a balance transfer to a checking account by a phone or online request giving the ATM/Debit card number associated with that checking account? If the card starts with a 4 for Visa or a 5 for MasterCard (and has the Visa or MasterCard emblem on it), I'd guess that would work, but I've never tried it myself...
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 835
Location: NJ
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 9:35 am
I do it all the time, but I use BT checks instead of phone or other methods. For one thing the results are instantaneous. Phone requests can take as much as 30 days for some unknown reason. However, a check is a check is a check and a BT check is handled just like any other in accordance with whatever the deposit policies of your local bank happen to be. In my case Citibank treats all my deposits as cash and gives me same day access.
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
Ira
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Eugene
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 274
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:27 am
I heard that if a credit card company does not allow balance transfers to be made as cash advances (directly to your checking account), then they have the ability to determine that your card is a debit card and disallow the transfer. They can determine by the card number if it's debit or credit. I would recommend asking the credit card issuer directly if and how they will allow cash advances at balance transfer terms.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:33 am
Ira, I'd use checks for BTs if I could, but that option isn't available to me. What credit cards do you have that give you balance transfer checks which you can deposit in your checking account (without being treated as cash advances)?
Eugene--thanks; I guess I'll just have to call and ask each time. Problem is that I want to balance transfer to a HELOC, but the HELOC isn't a credit card so can't be set up as an online transfer automatically. I was thinking that I could BT to a checking account using the debit card number and then send the funds to the HELOC account electronically...
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Eugene
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 274
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 11:00 am
Polonius, you might ask the credit card company not just how to transfer $$ to your bank account, but to the HELOC, as this is what you primarily want.
MBNA can deposit funds directly into your bank account and treat that as balance transfer (promo rates and everything). I am sure there are more.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Nathan
Joined: 09 Apr 2004
Posts: 42
Location: Arizona
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:38 pm
Polonius-
I've personally had no problems writing checks to myself from my Citi C.C. account, and I've done it a few times now. To be safest as I see it, I simply made the checks out to my credit union and deposited. Just as a test, I wrote one to my wife, she cashed it and Citi never said or did anything. I noticed their BT checks have a large B on them. I don't think anyone even looks at who they're made out to, just whether they have a B or a C.
I tried the same thing with FUSA with the exception that I made the check out to the company I work for since we are a lender, but on my next statement in bold print it said "BALANCE TRANSFER FROM (MY COMPANY NAME HERE)", which means they may care where the money goes?
Does anyone know if I can easily wright BT checks to my credit union from Chase or BofA??
Good Luck
There are no stupid questions -- only stupid answers.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 835
Location: NJ
Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:30 am
Polonius, I have written BT checks to myself from MBNA accounts, Discover, Chase, and I believe also Citi, although I'm not sure about that one. The first three I know about because the 0% BTs are still active and I was in no way penalized. I can't believe that with the volume of checks that are processed that any issuer would manually scrutinize the checks to determine who they were written to. They're doublessly scanned electronically and the proper amount comes from the imprinting that the receiving bank adds to the check. If I'm wrong, somebody let me know, but that's been my experience over at least the past five years.
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
Ira
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: fenster
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 13
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 3:51 am
Post subject: Don't Do it
Gents, on a similar note, and after hearing so much about cardholders transferring balances to $0 balance cards so they can have the excess transferred funds mailed back to them as a credit balance check, I gave it a try. The results were disastrous, my MBNA account was no where near a $0 balance, it carried more than $3K at the time.
So acting on a BofA 0% BT offer, I transfer $9K to mbna to take care of their $3K and have a check mailed back to me for the excess $6K, low and behold, mbna decides to return the entire $9K to BofA and takes 45 days to do it.
I learned that getting cute and creative results in downtime and high balances on one’s credit profile during long transition periods, which is again far from a positive thing. I guess these CCCs want things done the way they intended for them to be done.
beware of everything
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:01 am
Ouch! Thanks for the heads-up!
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:06 pm
Whoa! I never heard of that happening before!
I recently overpaid a number of accounts because Citibank insisted I pay off a number of credit cards in full as part of a HELOC closing. I received checks made out to various banks for the amounts showing on my credit report last November--but many of those debts had already been paid off or paid down.
Citibank, Fleet, and Bank of America let me request the refunds online; the refund checks arrived in a few days. I phoned in the request to BankOne--it was prompt too. Household Bank (The GM Card) said the refund would take 10-14 days--and it did. The oddest response was from Sears MasterCard. When I called, it said I would have to wait 30 days for a refund. So I requested a no-fee balance transfer of the amount of the overpayment to another card, and that was done immediately. Net result was that I pulled the credit amount out of the card at once instead of having to wait a month.
Now, I can't understand why MBNA would act in this way. You did owe money on the card. You paid off the card. Why--and how, legally--could it refuse to let you pay off what you owed? It shouldn't matter to MBNA where the money came from. What reason did it give for this behavior when you asked?
If I'm asked about such overpayments, I'm ready with a story--I got the envelopes mixed up, I was anticipating new charges to the account, I was paying an old statement when I did owe that much, etc. I've never been asked for an explanation, though. But I'm ready!
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: fenster
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 13
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:40 pm
You know Polonius, I really didn’t wanna give them the satisfaction of asking why. Their answers are never satisfactory any how, nor could I be sure I wouldn’t yell out a few hard core expletives in response to some rep’s lame answers while they’re taping, so I let it go. The funny thing is I don’t know if these folks are plain deceptive, or plain untrustworthy of their clients. At first they told me your refund check will reach you in a week. When 10 days passed and no check, they said anything over $5,000 will have to be mailed back after statement closing date. After statement closing date passed and 20 days into the transaction, they said “it looks like the entire amount is going back to BofA, anything else we can help you with?” What do you say to something like that? I took the high ground and the 45 days.
Admin, you're welcome.
beware of everything
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:07 pm
What I'd say is: "You can't send that money back to B of A. That's MY money. Let me talk to a supervisor."
What I'd say is: "You're telling me you don't accept balance transfers from other banks? Show me where that restriction is in your credit agreement with me. Let me talk to your legal department."
What I'd say is: "I've called three times about this matter and I get a different story each time. I've been a good customer of yours for many years. What do I have to do to get accurate information when I call with questions? Let me talk to your customer relations department."
What I'd say is: "What's your ID? I'd like an official statement of your policy regarding balance transfers. I will be recording your statement to prevent any misunderstanding and to improve the quality of my interaction with you. If you can't provide me with an official statement, can you transfer me to someone who can?"
I'm just getting started.
Banks will do anything and say anything as long as we let them get away with it.
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
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