Anyone every used one of those promotional checks from the CC company?

[funkybutt]

i'm thinking about paying these electricians with one of these..it's got a really low rate, but the thing says we can use them for balance transfers or purchases. Of course that's right after it says that you can use it any way you please. Does one purchase a service? I wonder if the checks apply for professional services.

I'll be paying it off before the rate really applies, so i guess I could just pay with my CC.

[aden_nak]

1. I never use them, they are generally a cleverly disguised rip off.

To put it another way, a friend of mine, who is an accountant, goes into fits of anger when people don't immediately shred them.

[Kadie]

2. Read the fine print.

Make sure that they won't be charging you some kind of fee for using the check, they do this sometimes too for balance transfers.

[denverbill]

3. Read the fine print.

I've used them in the past for balance transfers, but that was before they started treating them as cash advances.

Don't be surprised if they charge you a 'cash advance fee' in addition to the interest.

[funkybutt]

5. thanks.

Just found this:

" Transaction Fees: The transaction fee for each Convenience Check in this offer is 3% of the amount of the check, with a minimum of $5 and a maximum charge of $50"

I think i'll just let them swipe the card. It's not _THAT_ "convenient"!

[Worst Username Ever]

4. The catch is usually that

the low interest portion gets moved to the "front" of your debt. Whenever you make a payment, the payment goes towards the low-interest portion. The higher-interest portion gets paid off last, which means that it just sits there and accumulates high interest while you are busy paying off the low-interest portion.

I actually have nothing against these checks. If made to choose against charging something at the high rate or the low rate, I think you should choose the low rate. Even if you are charged a fee, depending on the size of the check you are writing, you could actually come ahead in the interest that you save.

But credit cards themselves are generally a problem.

[tsakshaug]

6. Shread Shread Shread

I must get 5 or 6 a week (or so it seems)
lots of stuff in the shreadder

[Rainbowreflect]

7. I used one that was 0% for 18 months to finally pay off my

student loan. I will have it paid off before the 18 months is up so I saved $. Just read all the fine print first!