Make sure the conv. checks don't have a cash advance fee. They are sometime uncapped! BofA should be able to ACH the credit balance to checking. Since MBNA took over, I hope it doesn't set off any laundering alerts. Nice CL on the state farm card by the way.

PolarDude said:BofA should be able to ACH the credit balance to checking. Since MBNA took over, I hope it doesn't set off any laundering alerts.

I didn't explain that too clearly. I won't have a credit balance. Here's how I'm using BofA for getting BT cash:

1. BT large sum from BofA to checking
2. Pay off most of that sum with balance transfers from two cards that won't BT to checking
3. Wait until those two transfers clear, lowering my BofA balance to almost $0
4. Use the BofA checks to BT an additional sum to my checking, bringing that card to a comfortable 49% util
5. This spreads the BT cash over 3 cards, keeping them all under 50% util

The disclosure with the checks says there's no fee, and I confirmed it with a CSR on the phone. I'm thinking that using the checks is less likely to set off alerts than doing another BT by phone.

Hope that clears things up.


SleepyNyte said:Why not max this card out? I thought the appeal of this card was that it doesn't show on your personal credit report.

Um, poor strategy? The timidity of a noob doing a first AOR? In retrospect, it would've been better to get more from that card.

OP, how much is BT fee for the Citi Diamond Preferred AMEX? The one I see on FWF is $250.

mrmakochan said:OP, how much is BT fee for the Citi Diamond Preferred AMEX? The one I see on FWF is $250.

Ouch. There's no fee for me. I applied using offer code F1N9.

I just tried that code here and it still works. See this thread for more details.

I got BT checks in the mail, which clearly state no fee. I also verified with CSR when calling to activate the checks.

WashWest101 said:mrmakochan said:OP, how much is BT fee for the Citi Diamond Preferred AMEX? The one I see on FWF is $250.

Ouch. There's no fee for me. I applied using offer code F1N9.

I just tried that code here and it still works. See this thread for more details.

I got BT checks in the mail, which clearly state no fee. I also verified with CSR when calling to activate the checks.

3% of the amount of each balance transfer, $5 minimum, $250 maximum. However, there is no fee with the 0.00% APR balance transfer offer described above.

Oops, should have read the rest of the fine print.

BT harvesting is just about complete, just waiting for the BofA Financial Rewards card statement to close, before I BT another $13,000 to checking. That will bring the total to a hair over $100,000. (The card-by-card breakdown is in the first post, if anyone cares to see it.)

About half of that amount is in 6 month promo offers, so I'm looking at about $2000 in net profit from interest by January 2008. If I can move some of the expiring debt to new 0% offers this summer, the profit will increase, of course.

All cards are below 49% util, except for the Citi Diamond Rewards card, which is at 70%. (I'd planned to use it to launder another card, but then didn't need to.) I'll probably leave it at 70%, since overall util is around 40%.

The bonuses have started to roll in:
***$200+ gift cards from Citi
***$250 gift cards from AMEX
***$60 Cash Back from Discover
***$70 cash from Card Offers

I also expect about $350 in bank account bonuses, though some of those will take a while.

Credit scores are starting to fall, as the high balances hit. True Credit is reporting 715/718/793 (TU/Exp/EQ), with several more cards yet to report the big BTs.

I probably won't update again for a while, unless I encounter adverse action or other surprises.

Thanks for your interest, Pakaderm. There's not a whole lot to report. I am making minimum payments and watching the interest add up. It doesn't take much work, after the BT harvesting is done. I set up a spreadsheet with due dates and whatnot, but I don't really use it, since the CC and Yodlee both tell me when new bills are ready to be paid. (With only 8 BT cards, this is manageable.)

Credit scores are: TU-692, Exp-704, EQ-794. Not all BT balances have hit, so they may drop a little bit more.

I pulled all 3 reports with TrueCredit every day for the first 6 weeks, now about every 3 days. No inquiries have been bumped off yet.

Still waiting for a check from cardoffers.com.

WashWest101 said:Thanks for your interest, Pakaderm. There's not a whole lot to report. I am making minimum payments and watching the interest add up. It doesn't take much work, after the BT harvesting is done. I set up a spreadsheet with due dates and whatnot, but I don't really use it, since the CC and Yodlee both tell me when new bills are ready to be paid. (With only 8 BT cards, this is manageable.)

Credit scores are: TU-692, Exp-704, EQ-794. Not all BT balances have hit, so they may drop a little bit more.

I pulled all 3 reports with TrueCredit every day for the first 6 weeks, now about every 3 days. No inquiries have been bumped off yet.

Still waiting for a check from cardoffers.com.

Looks like things worked well for you. Even at this point you have three scores at or above 700 which is still considered A credit to most lenders etc. I pull TrueCredit daily. I have been able to knock some inqs off in time for my first organized offical AOR. I will probably apply for a similar number of cards as you have....Robert