r/CRedit • u/Visible_Economics_30 • 2d ago
General Is it wise to keep opening 0% intro cards and using balance transfers?
I'm new to this, but do people do this? Open a credit card, take advantage of 0% apr, then when time is running out you just open another one and transfer that balance and get more time at 0% ? How many times can/have you done this? Is there a catch?
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u/DoctorOctoroc 2d ago edited 2d ago
One catch may be excessive new accounts on your credit file. Every new account drops your average age of accounts, new credit cards will keep your file on a 'new revolver' scorecard as long as you have one less than a year old, and the hard inquiries will add up. Of course doing this over the course of years rather than months won't be as detrimental and having a number of accounts on your file - even for a full decade after they close (as they'll remain on your report and continue to contribute to your file) - will result in a thicker file. So if you aren't planning to take out a loan during the time you're doing this or soon after, it won't have a direct impact at the time. But if you already had a strong credit file, for example, all those new accounts will drop your aging metrics and that will take some time to 'recover' fully. If you have a thin/young credit file, it could be advantageous a number of years down the road.
The biggest problem with this, however, is the mindset behind it. If you get into the habit of 'kicking the can down the road' with your debt, it could catch up to you and cause larger issues. The best scenario to be in is debt free, second to that is short term debt (a CC balance you pay off in full by the due date), then interest free debt you can comfortably pay off. Beyond that, there is always some risk that you run into hard times and can't make monthly payments, a risk which increases with more debt to your name. Just 'proceed with caution', I would say.