Credit card fraud or creative financing? (I have an idea)

[notfred]

So, I have a credit card issued by Washington mutual. It has a pretty significant balance on it, and the current APR on the card is a less than fantastic 11.49%. Washington Mutual sent me three checks, as credit card companies often do. One of the checks is good for a 1.99% APR on balance transfers. The other two are good for a 5.99% APR on anything, for the life of the balance.

Can I use one of the 5.99% checks to pay off my balance in full? Would they catch that?

Edit: I read everything that came with the checks, including the fine print, and none of it said I couldn't do that.

 

[TommyVercetti]

Isn't that the same thing as using a card with a lower or zero % APR on balance transfers to pay off a higher paying card? The only catch is that if you spend with that card, the payments are going to apply to the balance transfer first. So the interest on the purchases will keep on accumulating.

 

[IamElectro]

I think that would be incredibly dumb thing to do. One of the company account auditors would catch it, every account has to be checked every so often. I believe this crime would be known as floating money. Its illegal to make a payment on a c/c with a another c/c let alone charge it to the same account.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: TommyVercetti
The only catch is that if you spend with that card, the payments are going to apply to the balance transfer first. So the interest on the purchases will keep on accumulating.

Yeah, just thought of that 🙁

 

[ggavinmoss]

Technically it should work. Those checks are probably considered cash advances, so they'd be as good as cash -- you could also just deposit the check into your checking account and turn around a check for your old balance.

Good luck. 🙂

-geoff

 

[TommyVercetti]

I don't understand one thing. Those checks that you recieved, those are for the same card you are trying to pay off? If that is so, then I don't know the answer.