Balance transfer Q&A: “How many times can you balance transfer?”
Once. Five times. 28 times?
The short answer is that you balance transfer as many times as you’d like, or your credit affords.
But in reality, credit card issuers wouldn’t allow you to keep transferring balances over and over, because your credit score would likely take a hit if you repeatedly opened and closed credit cards, or continually took advantage of balance transfer offers.
So really, your credit and credit score will dictate how many times you can balance transfer (credit score needed for a balance transfer?).
Much like a standard credit card, credit card balance transfers should be used sparingly.
That’s not to say you should avoid executing a balance transfer just because you’re concerned about your credit score.
After all, paying hundreds in credit card finance charges isn’t optimal.
Just know that the more often you transfer balances, the less likely your chances of being approved for subsequent offers.
Additionally, your credit score will likely suffer, at least temporarily, every time you transfer a balance.
This isn’t a perfect science, but the idea is that the more you apply for new credit, the more your credit will go down, as you’re deemed a greater credit risk.
So in the end there’s no magic number for how many times you can transfer balances, just be prudent.
Instead of transferring balances over and over, try to take advantage of the best balance transfer offers, like no fee balance transfer credit cards and 0% APR balance transfer credit cards.
These will allow you to pay off that debt once and for all so you don’t have to execute another balance transfer anytime in the near future.