A summary of techniques for receiving BT money into your checking

r0man said: faztcobra said: So just for clarification, I could take a AMEX BT check into BofA (my institution) and just write 'BofA' into the "pay to" line and then "for acct xxxx" and that's it?

From my little book of AMEX IN:NYC promotional checks:

"Checks made payable to cash, yourself, for deposit only, or to a brokerage account or similar asset account, or for purposes of making mortgage or insurance payments will be treated as Cash Advances"

I would be concerned that pay to BofA "for acct xxxx" could be considered 'for deposit only'. I wrote the check to my wife's name and deposited it into her checking account. She has a different last name, so there can be no confusion. I actually got a call from AMEX fraud dept asking me to confirm that I wrote the check.YES, this is exactly the case with AMEX:

1) DO NOT WRITE THE CHECK TO YOUR BANK WITH ACCOUNT #
2) Do write the check to ANY other individual (they can even be a joint account holder with you and this is ok, i have done it)
3) Do call AMEX and tell them what you are doing. YOU WILL GET A FRAUD CALL WHEN WRITING A BIG CHECK TO ANOTHER PERSON IF YOU DO NOT CALL AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFOREHAND!

Sorry for the caps, but this AMEX situation is very touchy and I don't want other's to screw it up and get a cash advance rate. I will update my OP with more of this AMEX info.

1) DO NOT WRITE THE CHECK TO YOUR BANK WITH ACCOUNT #
2) Do write the check to ANY other individual (they can even be a joint account holder with you and this is ok, i have done it)
3) Do call AMEX and tell them what you are doing. YOU WILL GET A FRAUD CALL WHEN WRITING A BIG CHECK TO ANOTHER PERSON IF YOU DO NOT CALL AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFOREHAND!

Would I be able to write the check to my Citi HELOC account?

Thanks,

Sammy

^^^You've got to be kidding. According to that thinking there would be no credit account that could be paid using an AMEX card.

barefool said: I didn't see anything about Principal Bank on your summary, so I'll add my $0.02. I called them to request BT checks, but they've stopped sending any out. They offered to put the money straight into my checking account. It's not electronic, they're mailing my bank a check with my name/account number on it. I don't know if that's policy, or because I have a small, hometown bank. BoA did a direct deposit with no problems, so it may just be policy.

Principal sent me blank BT checks about 6 weeks after my application. I didn't request them.

In my mini AppORama, I applied for a BankOfAmerica Platinum Plus and a Chase card among other cards.

I was able to get 12K BT'd from BofA credit card to my checking account with BofA. I have a total limit of 15K. The money is in my checking account now.

I also have a 13K limit on my Chase card. I have tried all the options for BT - using the convenience check that came with the card, it seems that it will be considered as Cash Advance. Then, I asked them to BT 11.5K to my debit card. I told them it is a secured credit card. They were not able to do so as their system did not allow them to do so.

So now, I have come up with the following plan. I will have Chase BT 11.5K to my BofA credit card. So, it will be like I paid BofA some of their money back. Then again I will have BofA credit card account transfer 11.5K to my checking account.

Is this doable?

Thanks.

MikeR397 said: The AMEX: IN:New York , IN: Chicago , and IN: LA all have 6 month 0% BT with no fees. I used the online CLI and went from 3.2k to 10.2k (only asked for 10.2 first time) and on second card when from 2.6k to 24.9k just like that! (reported HHI was 220k though, this appears to be AMEX's main criterion when deciding on CLI)

How much did you ask for on the 2nd card? In my experience, I was issued an initial line of 11.9k, asked for $35k believing it would likely approve closer to $25k. WHAMMY! "Congratulations. You have been approved for $35,000." Point being, I should have asked for $1,000,000 rather than a paltry $35,000!!

I called AMX to request BT checks to "pay my brother the money I owe him." After placing me on a brief hold while he checked my account, the first rep said "I could send you checks but they would not be BT 0% rather treated like a standard purchase." No thanks I said. He then offered info that aftr 90 days of being open, offers of 0% checks are often available. After confirming MikeR397's experience posted in this thread, I called back and spoke with Joy 3 minutes later @ 6:31 pm (her rep number 49421). She said she would send promo checks to my address on file. She explained they'd be good for VISA, M/C, Individuals all at the promo rate. Not good for myself, brokerage houses, online gaming, etc.

jackcrawfish said: MikeR397 said: The AMEX: IN:New York , IN: Chicago , and IN: LA all have 6 month 0% BT with no fees. I used the online CLI and went from 3.2k to 10.2k (only asked for 10.2 first time) and on second card when from 2.6k to 24.9k just like that! (reported HHI was 220k though, this appears to be AMEX's main criterion when deciding on CLI)

How much did you ask for on the 2nd card? In my experience, I was issued an initial line of 11.9k, asked for $35k believing it would likely approve closer to $25k. WHAMMY! "Congratulations. You have been approved for $35,000." Point being, I should have asked for $1,000,000 rather than a paltry $35,000!!

I called AMX to request BT checks to "pay my brother the money I owe him." After placing me on a brief hold while he checked my account, the first rep said "I could send you checks but they would not be BT 0% rather treated like a standard purchase." No thanks I said. He then offered info that aftr 90 days of being open, offers of 0% checks are often available. After confirming MikeR397's experience posted in this thread, I called back and spoke with Joy 3 minutes later @ 6:31 pm (her rep number 49421). She said she would send promo checks to my address on file. She explained they'd be good for VISA, M/C, Individuals all at the promo rate. Not good for myself, brokerage houses, online gaming, etc.I am sure you could milk the AMEX CLI button for a lot more than we are doing, however, be aware that anytime you hit 25k CL on a single card with them (be it CLI or consolidation), the chances of an FR seem to skyrocket. This is why I played it safe(r) with 24.9k as I'm not sure they will like a law student having over 40k of credit with them and putting down his family's HHI, not his own. If you can prove your income and arn't worried about it, sure shoot for the sky with the CLI. The worst they would do likely is just lower your CL (but they still shouldn't be able to make you pay back the BT prematurely if you already got it deposited).

Data Point regarding BofA. I just got the Iowa World Points card (for the 25,000 free points/$250).

Upon reading T&C NOTICE OF FUTURE CHANGES TO YOUR NEW CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT. They are restructuring the definition of BT, Cash Advance or Purchase. As of Nov. 10, 2007, a Cash Advance includes:
"by transfer of funds to a deposit account initated by us at your request ("Direct Deposit"). A Direct Deposit does not include an Overdraft Protection Cash Advance or a same day online funds transfer.

They also define BT: "Balance Transfer" means a transfer of funds to another creditor initiated by us at your request.

I do not know if this is going to apply to all BofA cards. In the past, I have successfully had BoA directly ACH a BT to my BoA checking account, as a BT. As I read their soon to be instated policy, such action will now be viewed as a Cash Advance.

Has anyone else received this pamphlet stating this change as it applies to other BoA cards? It was a snap before to get a BT to cash with BoA. Guess they caught on.

lippyroa said: BoA - Will Direct Deposit into a Checking Account using Routing & account numbers. They informed me, they will NOT direct deposit into a Savings account.

They did a BT for me into savings.

r0man said: rainman01 said: Just found out that Citibank credit cards have an ONLINE option to request for a credit balance refund. As others have suggested in another thread, it is possible to BT from a CC that requires transfer to another credit card to BT to a Citibank credit card. Has anyone tried this? I'm wondering how long it takes to get the credit refund and also what is the largest refund they would issue without raising flags? Thanks!

To follow up on my earlier post, I got the $22K check (on $4K line) from citibank 1 month after I requested the refund. Details here.

And props to you for pointing someone to the information!

*I'm not just saying that because I started that thread! LOL!*

FWIW, I deposited an AMEX IN:NYC BT check made out to my wife's name into a joint account and there were no finance charges assessed.

MikeR397 said: r0man said: FWIW, I deposited an AMEX IN:NYC BT check made out to my wife's name into a joint account and there were no finance charges assessed.Yes, jackcrawfish, that AMEX rep was wrong. I have deposited 6 checks from AMEX to my mom/dad and vice versa and we are all joint owners on the same checking account with no problems. All they do is call to verify for the first check you write. It is not at the cash advance rate as long as it is a different person, and that is all that matters. Besides, how will they even know that you are a joint owner if you write it to your wife?

Family members (wife, mom, dad) often have the same last name ... this is fairly easy to catch and may raise some alarms, e.g., AM3X may suspect you to be joint on the depositor's account just because her/his last name and yours are the same ... and if this happens the burden of proof may be entirely on your side (and AM3X may not be a fair judge in this situation).

r0man said: Good point. My wife has a different last name.Ditto. That's one transfer I have yet to successfully complete. The vendor keeps rejecting the request due to "insufficient funds."

jackcrawfish said: Thanks all for your feedback. I'll be a datapoint for.... (are you ready?) ... the last-name-the-same-following-email-asking-permission-to-write-to-wife-scenario.

Now I wonder if I should call AMX at all? I may have messed this one up....ooops

Edit: Since I opened her own individual checking account, however, AMX won't care that she's my wife. I just happen to owe her $$$ (sorry Mike for getting off topic a bit). I'm calling anyway to give them the heads-up.Haha, just a warning..I have been informed that no matter how many times you call and write emails (I have done both each time regardless), they will still call for verification for your first check on a new account (they say the fraud division is required to call for large bt checks). It is not a big deal, and this just ask if you really wrote the check, but the problem is that if they don't get ahold of you, and you don't call them back by 6PM eastern that evening, they will void the check. Therefore, if your bank as already cleared it and you have transferred it out to a HYS, you will get hit with a insufficient funds and returned check fee by your bank (happend to me on my first check to my girlfriend, caused $45 in fees, but then again, I earned interest for 5 extra days on a 22k check so that about made up for it and more ).

I asked via securemail to Citi to refund a credit balance from Citi Dividend Platinum Select to my Ultimate Savings Account:

Me: "Can this amount be directly ACH'd to a Citi "Ultimate Savings Account" I have open with Citibank?"
Them: "We cannot return the credit directly to your bank account."

FYI

I know this has been asked and replied to many a times in this thread. But I want to make sure that I am doing it right. I am going to write a check for 30K to my wife (different last name) and have her deposit the money in our joint checking account using an ATM card.

Is that going to fine? I just do not want to get hit by Finance charges and the crazy 26.7% APR for Cash Advances. Currently we only have joint account and if this is a no-go situation, I will have to have my wife open another checking account for herself and then do the transfer - in the process I will loose interest for about a month. (intro APR is only for 6 months and they took 20 days to send me the card and the checks!!)

jackcrawfish said: neednowallet said: I know this has been asked and replied to many a times in this thread. But I want to make sure that I am doing it right. I am going to write a check for 30K to my wife (different last name) and have her deposit the money in our joint checking account using an ATM card.

Is that going to fine? I just do not want to get hit by Finance charges and the crazy 26.7% APR for Cash Advances. Currently we only have joint account and if this is a no-go situation, I will have to have my wife open another checking account for herself and then do the transfer - in the process I will loose interest for about a month. (intro APR is only for 6 months and they took 20 days to send me the card and the checks!!)
What's the issuer name? Call them to verify check sequence is not CASH advance check. Often "CONVENIENCE" checks are cash rate APR - NOT INTRO.

sorry for not mentioning that - the issuer is AMEX
I have called AMEX 5 times in the last hour and the score is 4:1. 4 customer reps told me that it would be considered Cash Advance and 1 told me that it is not a problem. I even tried to argue that if I write it to my wife's name, why does AMEX care? The response was that they get the account number and name of all the account holders when the check is being cleared. And so it being a joint account, my name would also show up - even if I wrote the check to my wife's name.

Well what can I do?

jackcrawfish said: neednowallet said: jackcrawfish said: neednowallet said: I know this has been asked and replied to many a times in this thread. But I want to make sure that I am doing it right. I am going to write a check for 30K to my wife (different last name) and have her deposit the money in our joint checking account using an ATM card.
interest for about a month. (intro APR is only for 6 months and they took 20 days to send me the card and the checks!!)
Is that going to fine? I just do not want to get hit by Finance charges and the crazy 26.7% APR for Cash Advances. Currently we only have joint account and if this is a no-go situation, I will have to have my wife open another checking account for herself and then do the transfer - in the process I will loose
What's the issuer name? Call them to verify check sequence is not CASH advance check. Often "CONVENIENCE" checks are cash rate APR - NOT INTRO.

sorry for not mentioning that - the issuer is AMEX
I have called AMEX 5 times in the last hour and the score is 4:1. 4 customer reps told me that it would be considered Cash Advance and 1 told me that it is not a problem. I even tried to argue that if I write it to my wife's name, why does AMEX care? The response was that they get the account number and name of all the account holders when the check is being cleared. And so it being a joint account, my name would also show up - even if I wrote the check to my wife's name.

Well what can I do?

see this post regarding checks to wives that have their own INDIVIDUAL bank account.
So get your wife an individual account... a good idea anyways. If you can get an account opening bonus that would be good, but you probably also need something that will earn decent interest as it will likely be on hold for a 2-3 before you can transfer it to whatever account you prefer.

jennatx said: So get your wife an individual account... a good idea anyways. If you can get an account opening bonus that would be good, but you probably also need something that will earn decent interest as it will likely be on hold for a 2-3 before you can transfer it to whatever account you prefer.Be careful with this.
If it's a brand new account, many banks will have a 15-30 day hold on new deposits.
Check with you bank to insure that you will have access to you money when you need it.
Then again, if the new account has a high enough interest rate then this may be a non-issue for you.

shadow1woman said: Can't you just call and request that they do a direct deposit to your account? Everytime I call BOA for anything they almost beg me to do a BT and they want to deposit it directly into my checking account. They send me checks once a week and keep raising my credit limit. The only problem with it
is the BT rate is 3.99%, or I would take it.Of course. The topic (I thought) was with AMX wherein ACH to checking was not an option. Hence the dialogue regarding wife's account, yada-yada-yada.....