How does Balance transfer affect your Credit score?

Balance Transfer is when the credit card company gives you a service for a limited period of time, where you can transfer your debt to a new credit company which has low or zero interest. Balance Transfer is basically the bank giving you time to pay off your loan and not be held down by high interest rates too.

But the main question is- whether balance transfer affects your credit score? The answer depends on how you go about the process and how you use it. Depending on many factors, it can either hurt or help your credit score.If balance transfers are used responsibly, they can help you reduce your debts and even give a boost to your rating. And though it does help you in saving money, we should consider the overall impact of it on our credit score.

Inquiries:
When you apply for multiple balance transfer cards with low interest rates, you can negatively affect your credit score. Applying for several cards means several “hard inquiries” against your report. Hard inquiries stay for 2 years on your report and can take your score by several points. They also reduce your chances of approval and indicate that you may be a lending risk. Do proper research and then apply for one card than multiple cards. Also compare the balance transfer cost and the long term cost of keeping that high interest debt,

Average credit account age: 
The longer the lengths of your accounts, the higher your score. When you open a new balance transfer account, since it doesn't have a long credit history, the average age of your credit accounts comes down. Also most people tend to close their old accounts after balance transfer, which further decreases their average age and in turn decrease the credit score. So even if you opt for balance transfers, keep your old accounts open- they’ll help you in the long run.

Credit utilization rate:
The lower your credit utilization rate, the higher your credit score. When you open a new balance transfer account, since you will be using all of the account to pay off your debts, your credit limit is fully utilized which will lower your credit utilization ratio and then your credit score. So it is better to get an account which has a credit limit more than what you need for your debts. Don’t close your old account, it’ll keep the available credit more and won’t let your credit utilization ratio go up and thus, won’t decrease your credit score.

For any assistance regarding credit score contact us by booking an appointment at www.cibilconsultants.com

Source: Secondary