Although I opened several credit accounts recently, I continued to receive at least three pre-approved credit card offers every week. Not many of them interest me in the last few weeks, but today comes a really exciting offer from Fleet: 0% APR on initial balance transfer until 11/05, with zero balance transfer transaction fee. As you may know, after testing water on Discover last month, I am very happy to take any such 0% APR balance transfer offers right now to earn some interest out of someone else's money.
Unlike the Discover card offer, which I can directly transfer money to my checking account, Fleet only allows me to transfer money to other credit cards. I don't have any revolving balance in other credit cards (except for the $5,000 free money at Discover), but I asked to transfer money to two credit cards I used most frequently: $8,000 to the 1.5%-cashback Fidelity Investment Rewards, and $4,000 to 5%-limited-cashback Citi Dividend Platinum Select. I didn't expect Fleet will approve the entire $12,000 balance transfer, because my highest-credit-limit is $13,000 with my credit union, and I applied maybe too many cards recently. However, to my surprise, Fleet approved my application immediately online, and the credit limit is $12,800. If everything is ok, I should receive the new card in two weeks.
Then, the next question will be how I can effectively use the $12,000 float to get the most interest.
Based on my spending profile, I can consume the balance in approximately 4-5 months. Alternatively, I read I can probably call MBNA and Citi to ask for a check for any negative balance. Either case, I expect the $12,000 float can earn interest for around 12 months, and by parking the money at the 2.15% APY VirtualBank eMoney Market Account, I should sport $250 interest during the period. I might also consider to move some of the money to US Saving Bonds, which will entertain me with somewhat higher return even after some early withdrawal penalty I may need to pay.
Let's see how many sweet 0% APR offers I can gather by the end of the day :-)