Impact of 0% APR CC on Credit History

[ShlockDoc]

I'll be opening new credit cards to pay for tuition in a lump sump but don't have the cash to pay it back in month 1 so want to transfer to a 0% APR, 0 transfer fee card and pay it off over the year. 

My question is whether carrying a balance negatively impacts my credit history even though there's no APR.  I've never in my life not paid the entire balance by the due date so I don't have any experience with this.

Thanks.

NB:  I've tried searching, so apologies if this has been discussed already.

[Dr Moose]

get the chase ink cash.

http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/45394

[Joe4007]

get the chase ink cash.

http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/45394

+1. Won't effect your credit utilization ratio.

[ckmk47]

Keeping a balance hurts the 'credit utilization' portion of your credit score. You're using a higher percentage of the credit allocated on that card(s).
So what?  Even if your CS goes down a bit, you're gaining a 0% loan. (beware of 3% fee or so on some cards to start)
In my experience, the lowering effect fades pretty quickly.  The score starts to creep back up.

Try to keep the other components of the CS as high as you can:
Credit utilization: 35%
Payment history: 35%
Length of history: 15%
Types of credit: 10%
Credit pulls: 10%

A business card is not included in the utilization portion of the score, so using the Ink or other business card for the free loan won't affect your score at all.

[Novo]

get the chase ink cash.

http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/45394

but on the Ink you'll have transfer fee

[ShlockDoc]

Keeping a balance hurts the 'credit utilization' portion of your credit score. You're using a higher percentage of the credit allocated on that card(s).
So what?  Even if your CS goes down a bit, you're gaining a 0% loan. (beware of 3% fee or so on some cards to start)
In my experience, the lowering effect fades pretty quickly.  The score starts to creep back up.

Try to keep the other components of the CS as high as you can:
Credit utilization: 35%
Payment history: 35%
Length of history: 15%
Types of credit: 10%
Credit pulls: 10%

A business card is not included in the utilization portion of the score, so using the Ink or other business card for the free loan won't affect your score at all.

So the act of "missing a payment" doesn't hurt my score?

[ShlockDoc]

but on the Ink you'll have transfer fee

So I can get signup bonuses on other cards and then transfer to the Chase Slate which has 0% APR and 0% transfer fee.   Do I get signup bonuses if I transfer the balance away?

[chamdena]

So I can get signup bonuses on other cards and then transfer to the Chase Slate which has 0% APR and 0% transfer fee.   Do I get signup bonuses if I transfer the balance away?

yes you do. That is the best way. Get bonuses on other cards and then transfer balances to slate WITHIN 60 DAYS OF OPENING (to save transfer fee).
Here's what I would add to the mix: if you could pay your school with visa gift cards (i can), buy them at staples on ink (make sure to register on Visa savings edge). Pay loans with gc. Transfer balances to slate.
So if you can open a new ink you can get sign up bonus plus 5x on gc.

[ckmk47]

So the act of "missing a payment" doesn't hurt my score?

35% of your score is payment history.  Missing or late payments will certainly hurt your score.  But the affect fades over time.  And unless the $20 minimum payment will break the bank, you're not gaining anything by paying late.

So I can get signup bonuses on other cards and then transfer to the Chase Slate which has 0% APR and 0% transfer fee.   Do I get signup bonuses if I transfer the balance away?

yes!

[rng]

yes you do. That is the best way. Get bonuses on other cards and then transfer balances to slate WITHIN 60 DAYS OF OPENING (to save transfer fee).
Here's what I would add to the mix: if you could pay your school with visa gift cards (i can), buy them at staples on ink (make sure to register on Visa savings edge). Pay loans with gc. Transfer balances to slate.
So if you can open a new ink you can get sign up bonus plus 5x on gc.

I'm not so familiar with the 5x thing as i just got the 2 ink cards, what do you do after buying the visa gc from staples? in terms of paying my cc bill and is there a limit to how many you can buy at once like there was with vanilla reloads? Also do i get it online or i have to go to store?
is it easy to register on visa savings edge?

[dovidb]

So the act of "missing a payment" doesn't hurt my score?

what do you mean by "missing a payment" paying the minimum is still considered payed on time and it's only considered a missed payment if you are more than 30 days late

[chamdena]

Whow.... There is a thread (or more) for every single one of your questions...
Please look around. Its a lot to write up in a single "response".
Start with visasavingsedge.com. To nroll your card. It is an abselute no brainer.