BOA's 0% APR BT card with no fee? Not really...

Saw many FWers' AOR post.
Many of them apply for BOA's card for 6 month 0% APR for BT with no fee.

I applied BOA money return visa card at the end of Dec. and got instant approval. I received my card today and called to relocate the credit from other cards to take advantage of 0% APR. Since I have filled out the BT info on the appplication form, the rep told me it has been processed for my BT. but instead of send to the other CC company, the check is actually sent to me with the payee's name and amount typed already. the rep told me I just need to send this check to the CC company to finish the BT.

I never had this kind of weird BT before so I asked why it is like that. The rep asked me do I know there's 3% fee on my BT. I said "Hell No". no kidding, it is listing as no fee BT and that is why I applied for it. the rep told me I am approved for the credit card with 0% apr and everything, except the no fee for BT. It does charge me 3% fee with no cap on BT. I asked it clears list it;s no fee BT on ToC and there's no where mention about you may get charge for 3% BT under any situation. The rep said that is how it shows in my account. She said the best way I can do is not deposit that BT check, then I won't be charged for any fee. I guess that is why I have this type of weird BT that sent me with a typed check with payee name of the CC bank and amount, instead of a clean BT check or sent to the CC bank directly.

Fortunately I called and found out this. or I will suffer from the 3% fee with no cap. Be aware of that if you apply for any BOA 0% no fee BT card and thought it is no fee for BT.

P.S: I applied the card thru cardoffers, not a targeted offer mail.

Edit by Moderator: Thank you for your participation. Please note that there is also discussion about this topic Here.

See my post here:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=681033

I've also seen this has happened to a couple of people and talking to a manager seems to fix the problem! Good luck! BoA will also direct deposit BT funds to your bank account.

Thank you for the info.

A week ago, I did a BT over the phone on the Money Return Visa. The CSR whose name I got and his office confirmed he got supervisor approval for no fee. When I checked last night, lo and behold a $300 fee was nailed on my account. I called in today and was transferred 3x (once to the office where the original lying CSR was, was told that department is closed), and the last CSR kept refusing to acknowledge the terms of the offer which I said I had in front of me. When I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, he said he was an account manager. He said "You did it over the phone, the fees still apply." I told him this is ridiculous and I would call back. Now I so understand why BoA has one of the worst customer satisfaction reputations

EDIT: I also applied through the CardOffers link as well, but the first CSR even confirmed what I told him about the card being 0%, no fee when I called to do it

TheGersh said: Don't know if this helps, but here I go...

I applied for the BoA power rewards in August, got accepted, didn't use the BT rate at the time and come December I receive a promotion in the mail and online about 0% / no fee until November 2007. It's going to turn out to be about 10 months - but I hopped on that sucker!!

Same here.

I called in again a few moments ago. I get a hold of a supervisor in the Pasadena office who goes on CardOffers, looks at the T&Cs, puts me on hold....and skirts around the language claiming it means that no fees means no BT (wtf does that mean?!). When I told her why do the other cards with BT offers say 3%, no maximum and this one doesn't, she can't give a response. She just keeps refusing to credit back the fee claiming it's correct. She sent a message for the original CSR to call me back. Even IF I get the fee back, this whole ordeal has opened my eyes. I had an inkling of how bad BoA was when I helped my dad, but now this is just plain absurd. So the language in the T&C is vague and incomprehensible, therefore it's my fault so I get hit with the fee....

Unbelievable

Good find mark, I almost have to either get the original CSR to notate it correctly or find a competent supervisor. It's obvious that any other BoA card with a 0% BT offer specifically states "3% of the transaction ($10 min)" while the Money Return and Financial Rewards clearly don't have this language. So why the difference? Oh because there is no BT fee! Is this too much common sense for banking people to understand?

You have no argument from me. The worst part is that I did the BT without getting the card first, but I verified the offer with the guy. The BoA clearly said it was for fee free, but I didn't find it odd at the time that he would need his supervisor to approve the $0 fee

I also applied using the cardoffers link and think this card should come with a no fee bt....

nm

LustfortheMoment said: if you go into a BofA and ask for their world points CC pamphlet it clearly states 12 month 0% no fee BT's

I think that you're incorrect, Fred. Here's a quote from the Terms cited on the BofA site for the World Points card:

"Balance Transfers and Cash Advance Checks are subject to transaction fees in the amount of 3% of the transaction (minimum $10).". They provide NO maximum.

I think that the BofA DOES have have $0 BT fees for cards with 6 MONTH durations. However, it appears that the largest bank in the world is increasingly moving towards uncapped 3% BT fees. Will competitors follow or hold the line????

What will become of our "beloved" AORs????? Or as Marlon Brando once uttered, "Oh, The Horror, The Horror"

"Website" does not equal "phamplet in bank". I believe they are changing many things from the merger. It is important to keep all docoumentation from what you sign up for because they have more then a few deals saying 9, 12, 6 "promotional" etc etc.

---I recently signed up for 2 worldpoints cards.
#1=in bank Visa
#2=online AMEX
--- The paperwork looks exactly the same, but one states %3 BT fee (AMEX) and the visa... no fee!

Edit: Oh -and the CSR was really helpful. I mentioned a fee on the AMEX and She said "lets just move the CL from the AMEX to the Visa so you can get a bigger balance transfer!"
Me "Uhhh ok."
her "I can just put that right into your checking account!"
me "uhhh ok."

LustfortheMoment said: Pamphlets are often outdated. I'd go with the Terms and Conditions on the current BofA website. I think that BofA will also facilitate a "live chat" with a credit card specialist to answer any discrepancies.website info or live chat info is not binding, and more often than not, not correct.

A pamphlet you receive with the card constitutes the T&Cs applicable to your account, and any change must be in a subsequent writing, not a webpage or chat.

Odd thing happened, and this looks like a fairy relevant pre-existing thread to add my issue onto.

I paid off a student loan (8% interest, low payoff) with a 6 month $50 fee 0% BT from BOA. The balance on the student loan was $2500ish. While doing the BT, the CSR offered to deposit $2000 into my checking account so I said go ahead (wasn't sure what I would do with it, but took it anyways since its free money) Well, today I got a BOA statement in the mail. The statement says my balance is $2000 (instead of $4500), and there was also no fee applied (no $50) Then, I went to check my student loan and found that it still hasn't been paid off.

There were no other enclosures or anything re: this attempted BT, just the statement saying that there is a $2K balance, first pmt of $20 due in a couple weeks.

What should I do? If it is an oversight, I would be better off using the 2K in the bank to just payoff the student loan and add the remaining from my own funds than to call and insist on the BT to student loan (along with the fee). Proceed to payoff $2K, forget about the BT and fee. Am I missing something here?

Has anything weird like this happened to anyone else before during BTs?

I have a case of the OPPOSITE happening to me.

Applied for a BofA Mercedes-Benz Visa (to actually use for the rewards for parts & service). BT terms were 1.9% for 6 months and NO MAX FEE stated, but I didn't intend to use this for BT purposes so it didn't matter. After receiving the card, I called to transfer CL and was told the card had a 6-month 0% NO FEE BT (& purchases). So I gladly pulled out a hefty BT. Thank you BofA!

This was from a standard mail-in application that I picked up at my local Mercedes dealership.

Another weird thing is that I applied for the standard Visa, but they sent me the Signature Visa - another reason why I pulled out the big BT, to pump up the max balance reported. When I called to convert to the standard one, they offered to just waive the $90 annual fee this year. Plan on converting it to the standard one next year.

My CL is $5K

FWIW, the BofA (former MBNA) cards are the only ones moving to uncapped fees.

Correct. I recently picked up a Fidelity Investments card which is offered by FIA but issued by the BofA. BT fees are 3% uncapped.