No Fee 0% Balance Transfer For 12 Months – Discover More Card

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Update 2/24/12: Confirmed that this offer will expire at the end of February. Last year it also started in January and ran until the end of February, and didn’t come back until the next January. So get your applications in now if interested!

Update 1/9/12: Reader CC writes in with her success story, which differs from some previous reports of a one Discover card at a time limit. Please let me know if you have a different experience. I forget to add before – if you apply for the card and don’t get the credit line you want, call them up and tell them you want to do a $X,XXX balance transfer and they may work to accomodate you.

A few updates- I called Discover and they changed the policies again

1) you can have more than 1 credit card
2) You have to open a new card to get the promo they won’t apply it to the old one.
3)If you call and speak to a rep and give them a balance to transfer they will recalculate the credit line
4) They will let you transfer the old credit line to the new one ie I had a $7.3K balance on the old one so they left it open with $500 and gave me a new card with a $7K balance. I was able to keep my 5 yrs of credit history with the 1st card active. I’ll probably transfer the line back to the original place in a yr.
5) I just saved a year of interest on my Citibank student loans for $6,550 with 15 minutes of work 🙂

Back for 2012! Limited-time only. Just in time for some New Year debt-busting action, Discover has brought back the Discover More Card with No Balance Transfer Fee, offering 0% intro APR on both balance transfers and purchases for 12 months. You can literally borrow money for free and pay it back in 12 months (keeping in mind you’ll still need to satisfy the minimum payment each month until then). Use this opportunity to lower your interest rates and make every cent you pay go towards shrinking that principal. There are different versions of this card, so please use specific application link. No annual fee.

When you see the application, be sure to scroll down to the “Important Information” and verify that you are getting 0% for 12 months and no balance transfer fee. You should see the following text at the top under “Interest Rates and Interest Charges”:

APR for Balance Transfers: 0% intro APR for 12 months from date of first transfer, for transfers under this offer that post to your account by July 10, 2012.

And then the following a bit lower under “Fees”:

Transaction Fees * Balance Transfer – Intro fee of $0 for transfers that post to your account by 8/10/2012 with the 0% intro APR balance transfer offer described above. After that, 3% of the amount of each transfer.

Application Quick Tips
In order to get the highest credit limit possible, be sure to maximize your reported income as much as you can legitimately. You can no longer include the income of other people living with you, but do include things like freelance income, overtime, rental income, interest and dividend income, alimony, child support, etc.

If you wish to get cash directly from this balance transfer offer without it being classified as a “cash advance”, one tip is to request money to be transferred to other non-Discover credit cards that you have. This will create a negative balance, after which you request a refund check be sent to you. Citibank and American Express are recommended for this because they have automatic features on their websites to request a credit balance refund.

Arbitrage Opportunities?
Don’t have higher interest debt you wish to refinance? Really, the only thing I could see buying with this 0% money would be a US Savings I Bond that will earn you 3.06% for the first six months, and then a different rate based on inflation for the next 6 months. You can buy $5,000 in electronic bonds per person per year, and another $5,000 in paper bonds if you use your tax refund ($20k total for a couple).

Offer Comparison
Now, the Chase Slate® currently has a similar offer going, also 0% introductory APR for 15 months with $0 balance transfer fee. The good thing about Discover is that you can transfer balances on a Chase card to Discover, while you can’t transfer existing Chase balances to another Chase card. Other than that, why not take advantage of both? 🙂

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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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Comments

  1. On my Mac, the initial application page wouldn’t submit in Chrome (complained about the format of my yearly income), so I switched to Safari and it worked fine.

  2. And while this really is a great deal, especially after so many have done away with it, for those of us who would have otherwise played the “borrow to invest” game, I hate to say it but there’s really not much worth investing in short-term that would warrant the risk…..at least not IMO.

  3. Thanks!

  4. this is a good deal!

    thanks!

    as for where to invest it:

    bankdirect for AA miles – not taxed, and if you like to fly business/first the miles earned are about a 4-5% yield…

  5. I had the same thought as Red, back in the day one could get a 5% return in a high-yield money market account. With those accounts currently paying 1% I almost wonder if it’s worth the hassle. Progress is progress I suppose but with minimal returns and banks failing like crazy I’m not sure the prospect of making a couple hundred bucks is worth the risk.

    If anyone has suggestions of short terms investments with better yields I’d be interested to know it.

  6. I would be careful with posting a negative balance to Amex. I tried it a several times 4-5 years ago no problem. However the last time, about 3 years ago, I had to call in to get the check (for some reason that I can’t remember now the online request would not work). Ended up getting the 3rd degree form the rep, who was also extremely rude. I ended up having to leave the money in there for several weeks before they would send me the check.

    Maybe they’ve loosened up since then but I’ve only seen Amex get more strict with their credit lately.

  7. It says on the application that “Offer Valid for New Cardmembers Only” so I assume that since I already have a Discover More Card, I cannot take advantage of this new 0% balance transfer offer. I’m wondering if anyone who already has this More card has tried applying for this 0% balance transfer offer. If so, have you been accepted or denied?

  8. Does anyone have a sense for how household income factors into the credit limit calculation? Seems like if Discover More is also offering $100 cash for opening the card, that could be a better deal, depending on the credit limit and the investment vehicle.

    Is there a rough formula to determine the credit limit? Thanks everyone.

  9. “It says on the application that “Offer Valid for New Cardmembers Only” so I assume that since I already have a Discover More Card, I cannot take advantage of this new 0% balance transfer offer. I’m wondering if anyone who already has this More card has tried applying for this 0% balance transfer offer. If so, have you been accepted or denied?”

    I was denied and do already have a Discover.

  10. Chris in Boston says

    Applied and approved instantly with a massive limit. They only allow transfers up to 90% of the credit limit. This was a great deal.

  11. I don’t think Citi has the option to get a credit balance refund anymore. Didn’t see it when I logged in a couple days ago but I may have missed it. I can’t decide if the hassle is worth it to earn (maybe) a few hundred dollars given short term rates.

  12. I agree, short-term rates are so low that it’s not very lucrative anymore. The BankDirect idea seems good if you like AA miles. Some rewards checking accounts are still 3%+ as well.

    @Dan – AmEx will almost always do it, but with varying levels of grumbliness. Here are some tips. If you do it a card that you use regularly, it will raise less red flags. Also keeping the overpayment less than your credit limit helps. Finally, sometimes it just helps to speak to another rep.

    @John – Thanks for the data point. This does not look like it’s open to existing Discover More cardholders.

    @Chris in Boston – Nice 🙂

    @Alan – The credit refund option for Citi only shows up now if you actually have a credit balance. It will then appear in the drop down menu.

  13. Chris,

    Congrats. Where do you plan to put your 90%?

  14. @Jonathan & @John: The situation is even more irritating than you have concluded — I just got off the phone with an agent and then a supervisor. They are claiming that Discover’s policy is to not allow any more than one consumer and one business Discover card per social security number. In other words, if you have ANY Discover card in this consumer category, EVEN ONE, you will be instantly denied. I asked whether this is a discretionary policy, and they claimed that it is being applied to absolutely everyone on a non-discriminatory basis.

    I confess I’m still skeptical, and a little pissed that I’m going to take a credit hit for applying for a card that was set up for instant death.

    It’s not your fault for tipping us off, but now that you know this, I recommend updating your post with this critical information: That you will be denied for sure if you have even one consumer Discover card of any type.

  15. anyone got it to transfer to a savings/checking accoutn w/o being charged cash advance?

    i dont have an amex CC that i use frequently, but i do have one.. should i try my chances with that?

    i have citi CC, but i’m not sure if they will allow me to cash out the negative balance?

  16. Like, seriously.

  17. Literally, meant it.

  18. Different Paul says

    Yeah, I was denied because I already have a card as well. Bummed about the credit hit, but I have excellent credit, so shouldn’t be a big deal. Please do update the post.

  19. Has anyone tried to having the balance transfered to Chase Freedom? Can they actually refuse to send you your balance?

  20. So clearly this blogger is selective about dealing with the comments here (and I am not the same person as “Different Paul”). The blog is not doing a service by first encouraging people to sign up when they might not have otherwise, but then taking a credit hit when they could super-easily have been warned.

  21. @Paul – Although I really appreciate the unfounded accusations, I suppose I’ll reply. First, I don’t check the comments on older posts as often as newer one. And descriptive comments such as “Like, Seriously” are just spam in my mind and I ignore them. Second, I get nothing out of an rejected credit card application, so there is no reason for me to encourage you to sign up for anything that I know you’ll be denied for.

    Third, when I saw your initial comment I shot off a message to Discover about what exactly “New cardmember” meant. Did it mean Discover More cards only? Any Discover card? Certain cards? What if you had a Discover before, but it is now closed? Does it have to be closed more than X months? Lots of variables, so why not get the official answer.

    I got some sort of canned response, so I just went on Live Chat and tried to clear things up. I’m on the road again starting tonight, so I’ll post up a new post about it when I have time.

    In short, you can only have one open Discover card at any time, that is their new policy. If you want this 0% for 12 months with no balance transfer fee and you already have a Discover card, you must close it out first, and then come back and apply for a new card. You can’t switch cards and still get this promotion. That will avoid any problems.

  22. So i finally decided to take the plunge and applied. I was actually pretty insulted by my limit. Lowest I’ve gotten in years, including during the down turn. Not sure now what to do with it but there must be some way to put free money to good use.

  23. Took the plunge as well…had no problem having the money wired from American Express to my Danversbank ($12 fee). I was disappointd with our credit limit though. It was half what we are used to getting. Now it’s earning 3% in Danversbank but…I just found out that Danvers is being purchased…so we’ll see what happens to my interest rate.

  24. I was never fond of Discover cards and never have one. This may be worth a try but i would like to see whether they will allow to move the funds/transfer to saving/checking account instead of cc. If not, I can still move to Amex or Chase but just want to avoid the hassle.

    Also one other important thing, is this offers needs minimum payment every month or no payments until the offer period? It differs depending on the offer. Getting 3% for 10k would $300/year which is still not bad but question as other raised whether its worth going thru the hassle of opening cc and calling to get the cheque and putting in bond and tracking it. I am still thinking about it.

    Vijai

  25. I’m sorry but why is it a surprise that if you already have a Discover card then you won’t be eligible for their new customer promotions?

  26. @jim: For the same reason it would be a surprise if a Visa application were denied because I have another Visa card. Discover is branding its credit card for the big leagues, to rank at the same level as Visa/MasterCard/American Express. They can’t behave like a small bank.

  27. Ive been doing some research into using your tax returns to buy PAPER I bonds. If you are married filing jointly the max you can buy per couple is 5,000 not 10,000. It doesnt make much sense why this is but I guess it is the rule. I will try to find the link again that validates my claim but until then I wanted t give people food for thought.

  28. Do you recommend buying I Bond now or should we wait till May/Oct??

  29. Treasury announced that we can now buy Ibonds for 10K in a year (all electrnoic) so for a couple it will 20K plus 5K if we convert tax return into bonds

    Would be great if you can do an article whether to buy in Jan or wait till the rates come out in May/Oct

    Thanks

  30. @JR – Sweet, thanks for the heads up about the new 10k limit.

    As for buy now/later – The short version is that if you want the chance for the highest rate possible, you can wait until Mid-April where you will have the change to buy in April and know the rates for the next 12 months (3.06% + ???%), or wait until May and buy knowing the new rates for the next 6 months. However, you’ll give up the opportunity to earn interest from January until then.

  31. jack foley says

    These credit card offers are great and i dont understand why more people dont use them…

    Interest free for 12 months in any currency at the moment is a great deal..

  32. Paul — You would rightly be surprised by an “you-already-have-a-Visa-card” denial because Visa and Mastercard are card payment networks, rather than card issuers.

    For example, if Chase had a program designed to attract new customers to one of its Visa card products, they’re not going to care if you already have a BoA Visa card — what matters is that you’d be a new customer for Chase. In other words, an issuer doesn’t like spending its marketing/promotion dollars only to attract customers it already has, or to cannibalize its other products.

    Amex and Discover are somewhat unique in that they are both issuing banks and card networks. I believe Amex now limits the number of their card products an individual can have to two at a time (others may be able to correct me if I’m wrong on this). But that limit would apply only to those card products issued by Amex itself — the handful of “Amex network” cards now issued by others (such as Fidelity Amex) would not count toward that limit.

    Whether it’s actually a good business decision for them to set a limit at any particular level is perhaps another matter, of course — but there is a clear business rationale for Discover and Amex (and for Chase, BoA, Citi, et al) to set hard limits on the number of card products they will issue to an individual person, which simply doesn’t apply to non-issuers such as the Visa and MC networks.

  33. Does anyone know that this offers needs minimum payment every month or no payments until the offer period ends? It differs depending on the offer. I don’t like minimium payment every month.

  34. FYI: Another no fee 0% balance transfer offer is currently available from Navy Federal Credit Union through February 29, 2012. See this link:

    https://www.navyfederal.org/membership-benefits/offers-discounts/balanceTransferOffer.php

  35. Under the new consumer credit card regulations all credit cards require monthly minimum payments. This is part of the consumer protection regs that prevent people from paying 10 grand for a pizza they bought in college at 29% APR. Unfortunately it penalizes the savviest consumers who like to exploit interest-free financing deals such as this one, the ones provided by Home Depot, Mattress Discounters, etc. by reducing the amount of carry they can receive by not allowing them to keep the full balance outstanding for the full term of the offer.

  36. I have made a transfer to my American Express, and it’s now showing a negative balance… but I can’t find the place to request a check on its website. Do I have to call?

  37. Funny. Called their Discover Application Specialist at 1-800-347-4736 right after not getting the immediate approval (FICO is at 800). The CSR told me that they only can get me overall credit line of 6k (my existing account, had it since 2006) and either split or close the existing account. They could give me no more than 6k in either case. Asked why? She replied that I have too much available credit with other banks and some bs that they are “concerned” about an emergency situation. Never thought that would be a negative thing, but again – this is Discover and they have to be different. I still intend to try and give them a call later but, somehow, I have a feeling that I’ll get the same department on the line again.

  38. Thanks for updating your post about the multiple cards. Let me echo what that other person told you.

    I called Discover over the weekend, and here’s what a credit analyst told me:

    1. There used to be a one credit card per cardholder limit.
    2. That limit is now gone.

    That said, Discover seems sensitive about total # of open accounts and total available revolving lines on your credit report. Don’t be surprised if your second card is not a terribly high limit, or even just a re-allocation of an existing line. :p

  39. @Bill, I had a Discover card that I never used with a $10k credit line.
    I still applied and they didn’t approve instantly, but an agent called me the next day and worked with me to:
    1) close the older card as they allow only 1 card per customer
    2) approved a new card with this offer, but a lower credit line – $5.5k
    3) suggested that if I already had a balance transfer I wanted to do, they could probably bump up the line of credit a little bit.

    I don’t know what I plan to do yet, so I said I will call back to ask for a increased credit limit when I am ready to make the balance transfer.

    Thanks Jonathan for this and other tips on your blog!

  40. I am still debating whether to open the account or not. I also remembered that if you max out your credit limit, it will affect the credit score as well. So my credit score will be dinged for new account, maxing out credit and zero effect on debt to available credit ratio. So I am just weighing whether its worth the effort. What do you guys say?

  41. can the balance transfer be to pay off my student loan and car? (both less than $10k). or do balance transfers only apply for credit card balances?

    thanks, jonathan. another fantastic heads-up. (reaped the rewards of the chase sapphire $500 bonus last summer per your blog).

  42. Jonathan, have you explored the possibility of buying bonds of cash rich firms trading on NYSE? Some of them pay over 7% annually and could be a good deal.

  43. John, what are examples of such firms?

  44. I got a call this morning to confirm identity and was asked if I would like to close my old account and open this one. I asked if I could have multiple cards, and he said absolutely, so I kept my old open and opened a new one. He also said he was unable to move some of the credit limit from the old card to the new when I asked.

  45. market timer says

    I have a negative balance with Citi. Where do they offer the credit refund option? I’m not seeing it.

  46. market timer says

    Nevermind.

  47. I was successful today just like reader CC. I am on my path to make extra principal payments on my mortgage and pay it off in the next year. This helps me pay it off earlier and save some money on interest.

  48. I don’t think you can purchase US bonds with a credit card

  49. I entered transfer information when i applied the card and was approved right way. However it took them more than 3 weeks to make the balance transfer happen. I did another balance transfer with a Penfed card on the same day and it only took 3 days for the balance transfer to happen.

    Th deal is good, but you need to be patient with them…

  50. Julie @ Freedom 48 says

    Awesome way to save some interest. You just know have to work things to your advantage. Good stuff!

  51. Wife got a discover 0% transfer card last year. It’s a good deal as we just dumped the transfer onto our Amex and then bought new dual pane windows on the amex and had them installed. That 0% “loan” will be up in April, I believe.

    Considering doing it again this year…

  52. This used to be such a great was to partake in the arbitrage game when banks were paying 5% interest. Still a good idea for people trying reduce the amount of interest on their credit cards. Just remember….the credit cards have an motive of their own when they have these offers.

    -Richie Rich

  53. The minimum payment due calculation increases by $40 when you have a balance transfer balance.

    Also, I applied for this card and got approved for a significantly lower balance than I got from other credit card companies.

  54. Is there a way to transfer money from these low APR credit cards into money in a bank account? I’m trying to pay off my student loans using the money from these cards, but I can only pay off my loans with a bank account.

  55. Too Tired of Losing says

    I called Discover after receiving a balance transfer offer of 0% APR for 15 months, with a $195 balance transfer fee. I did this at the start of March 2012. I checked balances for the 2 cards and made sure the transactions were correct, which they were.

    But, today, the last Saturday PM of March 2012, I got a notice from Discover that changes all the beneficial terms on the transactions I just made that month. It changed the terms to “…the promotional balance transfer fee will be 4% with a $10 minimum.” It refers me to a table on the next page for account term changes.

    This box says terms take effect on 4/11/12, & if you don’t like the bait and switch terms since you’ve already made the transfer under the better terms, you have the right to reject the changes before 4/11/12, and Discover will close your account. It provides a # to call to reject the bait and switch terms, that upon doing so will close your account making the entire balance immediately due. When it seems too good to be true, it almost always is. How do I get out of this bait n switch contact? Suggestions? Will greatly appreciate help as I live on a fixed income because out of the blue, I got that diagnosis of a year or two left to live. Who wants to live when these banks are making daily life a battle that I don’t want to fight, but I will ‘go’ sooner without a strategy that worked well, same card, the year before the diagnosis? My comments may have been changed as this site states before you hit submit comment.

  56. i recently got approved for this card – 0% apr for 1 year, 0 balance transfer fee. can i transfer to a Chase card, get a negative balance and request a check from Chase? I don’t have a Citi card. or , can i transfer to my checking account (using my debit card no.)? i haven’t asked but i read that you can also ask for a BT check. i really want to take advantage of this deal.

  57. ^follow-up re Discover 0% BT. they will send me a check where i can deposit directly to my bank or pay a creditor and that will count as 0% BT, no fee. nice.

  58. I got a call this morning, discover card called me about my application, everything went smoothly until they checked my credit, they found out I have 6k balance on another card (12m 0% APR chase card with $130 promo.), so they decide to decline my application and give me a lower balance (1k) and 3% to 4% transfer fee discovery card.
    I told them it’s false advertisement and rejected their credit card. kinda makes me mad.. if you advertise 0 fee tansfer then don’t be afraid of people’s balance!

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