Do Balance Transfers Hurt Your Credit?
5 Min Read | Last updated: July 3, 2025
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Find out if a balance transfer hurts your credit. Get insights on balance transfers and see steps you can take to boost your credit health.
At-A-Glance
- Balance transfers let you move an existing high-interest balance to a new card with a low or 0% introductory interest rate.
- Balance transfers can help streamline debt payments and lower your credit utilization ratio. However, if the balance isn’t paid off during the introductory period, the card’s usual interest rate will apply.
- Transferring credit card balances doesn’t automatically raise credit scores, and the approval process could cause a slight short-term drop.
Paying down your credit card debt to strengthen your credit profile is a responsible goal. Balance transfers could make paying down debt and saving on interest charges easier, but they can come with caveats that could affect your credit score. Keep reading to understand potential impact of a balance transfer on your credit.
The Logic Behind Balance Transfers
Balance transfers let you move an existing high-interest balance to a new card with a 0% introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) period. Because carrying high APR balances could quickly result in expensive interest charges, balance transfer cards could help offset those costs if you pay the balance before the promo period ends and the APR kicks in. However, balance transfers don’t purely save you money, as these cards typically always come with a balance transfer fee totaling 3% to 5% of the balance being transferred.1
Did you know?
Did you know? If eligible, you could enjoy 0% intro APR on your balance transfers for 12 months after opening a Blue Cash Preferred® Card.
Do Balance Transfers Hurt Your Attempts to Improve Scores?
The simple act of transferring your balance won’t directly affect your credit score. But opening a new balance transfer credit card could have an impact on a few of the factors that might affect your credit score:
- Hard Inquiries
Credit card issuers often perform a hard credit check before approving you for any card, including balance transfer credit cards. These routine inquiries usually result in a temporary dent in your credit score.2
- Account Age
Opening new lines of credit may decrease the average age of all your accounts, which could cause a dip in your scores, as scoring models may favor longer credit histories.3
When Could Transferring Credit Card Balances Raise Credit Scores?
Practicing good financial habits with your balance transfer credit card could improve your credit profile, potentially outweighing short-term negative effects on your score.
Here are a few ways balance transfers could help lead you to better credit scores:
- Reduced Credit Utilization, Especially With Paid Balances
If you open a new credit account to do a balance transfer, that new account often increases your overall available credit, which then reduces your credit utilization ratio. This might positively impact your credit score and could indicate to lenders that you’re likely making charges you can repay.4 - Streamlined Debt Management
If you can afford balance transfer fees, keep your spending to a minimum, and make prompt payments, you could pay off your debt quicker and for less with balance transfer credit cards. - Incentivized On-time Payments
Payment history weighs the most when scoring models calculate your credit score, and consistent on-time payments often help positively impact your credit score in the long run.5 Knowing you need to pay off a balance before the 0% APR intro period ends to avoid high-interest charges may also motivate you to pay on time.
How Does a Balance Transfer Impact Your Credit Score if Done Incorrectly?
There are a few scenarios where you might incorrectly manage your balance transfer, possibly leading to lower credit scores:
- If you know you can’t pay your new card’s balance during the promotional period, a balance transfer card could likely be the wrong choice for you.
- If you predict you’ll put new charges on your card that you can’t afford to pay, you could lower your available credit ratio and increase your debt.
- If you don’t make a monthly budget that factors in any potential higher payments needed to pay off your debt in time, your repayment schedule could surpass your intro period’s deadline.
How to Help Boost Your Credit Score Using a Balance Transfer Card
These additional tips could further help you build sound borrowing habits that benefit your credit profile:
- Keep older credit card accounts open to contribute to your average account age.
- To positively impact your credit score after a balance transfer, try keeping your previous high-interest account active with periodic affordable purchases that don’t compromise your new payment schedule.6
- Keep new credit applications to a minimum.
- Consider autopay to make sure you pay your bill on time every month.
Overall, to make sure a balance transfer doesn’t negatively impact your credit score, use your new balance transfer credit card as a strategic tool to eliminate debt faster with less interest, not merely to extend or ignore debt.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have strong credit, getting approved for a balance transfer card, especially one with a low APR rate, could be difficult.7
Aside from eliminating the balance and having no payments due, nothing concrete happens to an old credit card after a balance transfer. You could close the account or keep it active, but both can have disadvantages based on your financial situation. Researching each option in-depth before choosing one is a smart move.
You may not lose credit card points and rewards you’ve already accumulated before transferring a balance.8 However, you may not earn any extra rewards after a transfer, even if the card you transfer to offers rewards like the Blue Cash Everyday® Card. Check with your credit card issuer to learn more about their policy.
The Takeaway
Applying for new balance transfer credit cards might trigger a hard credit check that temporarily lowers your credit score. But your credit score could benefit in the long run if you take steps to pay off your balance in full during the promotional period and manage your credit responsibly. You can avoid taking on new charges that fall outside of your budget and keep your new credit applications to a minimum to maintain your credit score.
1 “What is a balance transfer fee? Here’s everything you need to know,” Bankrate
2,3,4 “What is New Credit?,” myFICO
5 “What is Payment History?,” myFICO
6 “What happens if you don’t use your credit card?,” Bankrate
7 “Can you get a balance transfer card with bad credit?,” Bankrate
8 “Does A Balance Transfer Affect Your Rewards Points?,” Forbes
Related Articles
Balance Transfer Cards: How to Make the Most of Them
Learn how you can get the most out of your balance transfer credit card. See tips to help you save on interest charges and regain control of your finances.
What Could Impact Your Credit Score
What hurts your credit? See the potential impact of credit actions on your credit score so you can take steps to help build your credit over time.
What Factors Impact Your Credit Score?
Wondering what factors impact your credit score? See how payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, and more can all impact your credit.
The material made available for you on this website, Credit Intel, is for informational purposes only and intended for U.S. residents and is not intended to provide legal, tax or financial advice. If you have questions, please consult your own professional legal, tax and financial advisors.
