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So, I'm about to hit the end a promotional period on a credit card that I used to buy an engagement ring. I'm looking at about $3000 in interest added back onto the card, which I don't really want, so I'm looking to transfer the balance to a new card.

I'm reading the terms and conditions of the new card application, and one sentence caught my eye, and has me a bit confused. See below.
Does the highlighted sentence mean that interest will be charged against the pre-existing balance?
I know there will be a balance transfer fee, but it will be pennies compared to the end-of-promotion-interest that will get tacked on if I let it.
I would gain nothing by transferring a balance from the about-to-expire-card to this new one?

If the total amount you request exceeds your Total Credit Line, we may send full or partial payment to your creditors in the order you provide them to us. Allow at least 2 weeks from account opening for processing. Continue paying each creditor until the transfer appears as a credit. Balance Transfers incur interest charges from the transaction date. If you revolve your balance to take advantage of a promotional or introductory offer, all transactions and balances, including purchases, will be charged interest. The Balance Transfer fee is 3% of the amount of the transaction (min. $10). If you have a dispute with a creditor and pay that balance by transferring it to your new account, you may lose certain dispute rights. Balance Transfers may not be used to pay off or pay down any account issued by Bank of America, N.A., FIA Card Services, or its affiliates.

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The phrase you highlighted:

If you revolve your balance to take advantage of a promotional or introductory offer, all transactions and balances, including purchases, will be charged interest.

tells you that if you don't payoff the balance by the end of the monthly credit cycle, you will face interest charges on all new purchases and all balances. You will no longer have the normal grace period on new purchases.

So imagine that you make the transfer onto the card on the 5th of February 2016 and the cycle closes on the 13th of Feb 2016, and the payment is due by the 8th of March 2016. If you haven't paid the balance that shows up on the bill generated on the 13th of Feb by the due date of March 8th, you will have to pay interest on all your balance and purchases going forward.

People who play this shell game of moving large balances to new cards with a promotional gimmick make sure that the card is not used for anything else. They know that new purchases generally don't get the 0% interest, and they lose the grace period. For their daily use they use one of their other cards.

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  • So essentially the promotional period becomes null and void if I miss a payment? Is that what it means to "Revolve your balance" ? I've stopped using credit completely while I'm paying off credit cards I racked up in college, but I'd like to avoid this charge if possible. =/
    – Sidney
    Feb 5, 2016 at 15:13
  • credit cards are revolving credit. There is no fixed repayment schedule. This is because you can add to your debt by buying more stuff.
    – mhoran_psprep
    Feb 5, 2016 at 15:18
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It means anything in excess of the balance transfer will start to accrue interest. This information is provided because typically if you just have purchases on a credit card and you pay the full statement balance every month you won't accrue interest. In this case, since you are revolving the balance transfer's balance every month this roll doesn't apply because you aren't paying the statement balance each month so everything outside of the promotion accrues interest.

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