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You’ve run up too much debt on a credit card with a sky-high interest rate and making your monthly payments has become a challenge. You’re ready for a do-over. Transferring that high-interest debt to an American Express credit card might be the right solution.
But there are limitations. American Express will usually charge you to transfer a balance and will limit how much you can transfer.
Here’s everything you need to know about transferring existing credit card debt to an American Express card.
See related: Best balance transfer credit cards
American Express balance transfer guide
- American Express balance transfer offers.
- What you should know before applying.
- How to improve your chances of approval.How to initiate a balance transfer.
- How to make a balance transfer work.
American Express offers
American Express currently offers several credit cards that come with 0% intro APR offers on purchases, but not on balance transfers.
American Express Cash Magnet® Card
- 0% promotional period: 15 months for purchases only, not balance transfers.
- Regular APR: Variable of 13.99% to 23.99%. For more information, see American Express Cash Magnet® Card review.
- Worth noting: $150 welcome bonus after you spend $1,000 within the first three months. 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- 0% promotional period: 12 months for purchases only, not balance transfers.
- Regular APR: Variable of 13.99% to 23.99%. For further information, see Blue Cash Preferred® Card review.
- Worth noting: $250 statement credit after you spend $1,000 within the first three months. 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1%) and on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back at U.S. gas stations and transit, and 1% back on general purchases.
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
- 0% promotional period: 15 months for purchases only, not balance transfers.
- Regular APR: Variable of 13.99% to 23.99%. For more information, see Blue Cash Everyday® Card review.
- Worth noting: Earn 20% back on Amazon.com purchases in the first six months (up to $200) and earn $100 back after spending $1,000 in the first six months.How does a balance transfer affect your credit score?
How to initiate a balance transfer on an AmEx credit card
If you already have an American Express credit card:
- Log in to your account and choose the “transfer a balance” option from your account page.
- To start the process, provide key information about the card from which you want to transfer a balance, including your account number and how much you want to transfer.
If you are applying for a new American Express credit card:
- Start a credit card application for one of the balance transfer cards that American Express offers.
- During your application, you will be given the option to transfer a balance from an existing card. Select this option to proceed.crafting a household budget and adjusting it every month. It should include a goal for how much transferred debt you’ll pay off. If you do this, you’ll be less likely to lose your motivation to pay down your transferred debt.
See related: Multiple balance transfers: a difficult debt payoff strategy
“You won’t want to lose the internal drive pushing you to pay off that debt,” Newland said.
Ideally, you’ll want to pay off all the debt you transferred before the 0% introductory offer expires. But paying off even a portion of this debt should be considered a positive, Huynh said.
“The faster you can reduce debt, the better,” Huynh said. “But if you can only reduce it by X%, that is still a start. As long as you end that introductory period with a lower balance, that is a good thing. If it’s just a matter of surfing from one card to the next? That’s when you’re not addressing your financial situation.”
Source: creditcards.com