In a Nutshell
If you’ve requested to move a balance from one credit card to another, it can be stressful waiting for the balance transfer to process — especially if you have a payment coming up. Here’s how long you can expect it to take with some credit card issuers.A balance transfer could take up to six weeks to appear in the account you’re transferring the balance to, depending on your card issuer.
While many issuers can complete the process within a week, it’s not a “set it and forget it” kind of situation. You can check your accounts to see when the transfer processes. Make sure you continue to make at least the minimum payment on time on the card you transferred the balance from so that you don’t get slapped with a late fee.
To help you better understand what to expect, we’ve put together a list of some credit card issuers and how long they say it can take to process a balance transfer. We’ve also got some tips on what to do if your transfer still hasn’t been credited to your old account.
- How long do balance transfers take?
- How to track your balance transfer status
- What you can do if a balance transfer isn’t showing on your original card
How long do balance transfers take?
If you’re planning to transfer a balance to a credit card with one of the following issuers, here’s how long they say you can expect to wait for them to process the transfer.
| Credit card issuer | Time frame to transfer a balance to this issuer |
|---|---|
| American Express | Usually 5–7 days, but it could take up to 6 weeks |
| Bank of America | Usually 2–4 business days; up to 14 days from the open date if you recently opened the account |
| Capital One | Usually 3–15 days |
| Chase | Usually within one week, but it could take up to 21 days |
| Discover | There is a 14-day waiting period before a balance transfer request can be processed for a new account. After this waiting period, most transfers are processed within 4 days. |
If your credit card is with a different issuer, contact them directly to find out how long your transfer can take.
How to track your balance transfer status
Each credit card issuer may process balance transfers differently, and transfer requests to new card accounts may take longer than to existing cards.
But the timing for a balance transfer can be important, especially if …
- You have a balance transfer credit card with a 0% intro APR offer that requires you to transfer any balances within a certain timeframe in order to take advantage of the intro offer
- The card is offering an introductory time frame when you won’t be charged a balance transfer fee
- You have a payment coming up on the card you transferred the balance from
If you request the transfer and don’t follow up or check to make sure everything has gone through, you could end up paying a late fee and interest on the card you transferred the balance from.
And depending on the card issuer and when you request the transfer, you may have to make more than one monthly payment on the card you transferred the balance from before the transfer finalizes.
We recommend checking every couple of days to see if the original card issuer has received the funds. You’ll typically see it reflected on your account just like a normal credit card payment.
Read more: How to do a balance transfer in 6 stepsWhat you can do if a balance transfer isn’t showing on your original card account
If you think the transfer is taking too long based on the time frames provided by the issuer you’re transferring your balance to, don’t hesitate to call for an update. And you may need to make a second call to the original card issuer to find out when it’ll apply the funds to your balance.
If the transfer is already in the works, there may not be anything you can do to speed up the process. So in the meantime, stay on top of your payments and keep checking with both issuers to make sure there aren’t any more holdups.
Bottom line
If you have high-interest credit card debt, it might make sense to transfer it to another credit card, especially if you can get a 0% introductory APR offer on balance transfers. But depending on which card issuer you transfer the balance to, it can take a while for the transaction to be processed.
It’s important to know how long it could take. Be sure to stay on top of the situation until the transfer is completed. As you do, you can help avoid other headaches, like late-payment fees, along the way.
Frequently asked questions
Whether or not you can cancel a balance transfer depends on your individual lender. Call your lender or card issuer directly to see whether you can cancel a balance transfer.
Yes, you can request a balance transfer with bad credit. But if you’re approved, your terms may not be as favorable compared to applicants with good credit.
The time it takes to transfer a balance depends on the lenders you use. Each lender is different, so make sure to look into how long a balance transfer usually takes for each lender.
Yes, balance transfers can be denied for a few reasons. A balance transfer could be denied because of credit, balance transfer history or too low of a credit limit to name just some of the reasons.