Credit card balance transfer
Save on interest and make real financial progress by transferring your balances footnote 1 to a BMO credit card.
Save money on interest- Pay off your credit card balances faster
- Simplify your finances with one consolidated payment
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What’s a credit card balance transfer?
A balance transfer is when you transfer an amount you owe from one or more credit cards to another footnote 1, so you can:
Maximize your savings
Consolidating high-interest credit card debt onto a BMO credit card with a lower interest rate helps you pay it off sooner and reduce interest charges.
Simplify your finances
Streamline your credit card balances and track your finances under one account.
Enjoy flexibility
Take advantage of limited-time, low-interest promotional A P R offers so you can focus on paying down your debt.
Tip: If you’re transferring a balance to your BMO credit card, set a plan to pay off the amount you owe on the card before the promotional period expires. This way, you can avoid accumulating high-interest debt and maximize your savings. Keep in mind that there’s also a balance transfer fee of either $10 or 4% of each balance transfer amount (whichever is greater).
How to make a balance transfer
Apply for a BMO credit card
Choose the BMO credit card that’s right for you. Once you receive your card, activate it in BMO Digital Banking.
Sign in to BMO Digital Banking to activate your card
Select your card in Account summary, choose Manage card and then Activate your card. You can also call the number on the back of your card.
Transfer your balance
Go to your BMO credit card account, select Account options, and then Transfer a balance for instructions.
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Sign in
Sign in to BMO Digital Banking to get started.
Check your account
Go to Manage card to see if you have any balance transfer offers available.
Redeem your offer
Redeem it online or give us a call footnote 2 at 1-855-825-9237
Not signed up for BMO Digital Banking yet? Enroll now
Apply and make a balance transfer
Start making financial progress sooner. Make a balance transfer when you apply and are approved for one of our credit cards today.
F A Qs
A balance transfer fee is a charge that comes with moving your debt from one credit card to another. This is typically a percentage of the transferred amount and is added to your new credit card balance. For BMO, this would be $10 or 4% of each balance transfer amount, whichever is greater.
Your BMO credit card can accept a balance transfer from other United States credit cards issuers.
Balance transfers can affect your credit score in various ways. Firstly, opening a new credit card for a balance transfer might lead to a temporary dip in your credit score due to the inquiry and the new credit account. Secondly, how you manage the balance transfer, such as making timely payments and reducing the transferred balance, can influence your score positively. Lastly, your credit utilization rate, which considers the balance transferred relative to your credit limit, plays a role in your credit score. So, lower utilization is generally better for your score.
You can visit TransUnion for more on how your credit score works.
Most balance transfers are completed within 30 business days, but some occasionally take longer. It’s important to keep making minimum payments to your creditor until the balance transfer is confirmed as complete.
Tip: If you’re making a balance transfer, make sure that the details from the account number that you’re transferring from are accurate.
This depends on the available credit limit on your BMO credit card. If the balance transfer amount, including the balance transfer fee, doesn’t exceed the unused portion of your credit limit, you can transfer as little as $100.
Let’s say your BMO credit card has a limit of $6,000 and a transfer fee of either $10 or 4% of each balance transfer (whichever is greater). Your card already has an existing balance of $3,000, and you want to transfer $2,000 to it.
This means your balance transfer fee will be $80 ($2,000 times 4%), bringing the total balance on your card to $5,080 ($2,080 + $3,000). Since the total amount you now owe is less than the card’s $6,000 limit, you can request this balance transfer.
Have questions? That’s what we’re here for.
Give us a call
Want to know more about our credit cards? Call us. footnote 2
- Footnote 1 details. Balance transfers are available to the Primary Cardholder only. You can request to transfer balances from credit card accounts that you have with other credit card issuers. By submitting your Balance Transfer request, you agree that the terms and conditions of your Cardholder Agreement (or found at: bmo.com/en-us/pdf/credit/ccagreement.pdf) apply to all balances transferred.
- Footnote 2 details. We accept relay calls.