I recently applied for two new credit cards. One was a Citi Bank and another was Capital One. Both offered 0% Balance Transfer for at least up to a year, with a small balance transfer fee (3% or higher). One distinction I noticed about how each company operates is this:

1) Citi Bank customer service are very aggressive in trying to sign you up for optional protection plan. I’ve found that these sales people are very good yet aggressive to the point of annoyance.

2) The good thing about Citi Bank is that they don’t add the balance to your card until you actually cash the check

3) Capital One customer service was some college kid who was very unprofessional and was probably high on marijuana because he was quite the idiot.

4) Capital One immediately charges your credit card for the balance transfer.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter because the end of the 0% balance transfer is the same regardless, but I thought Citi Bank’s method was preferred and more professional. Capital One is definitely budgeting for advertising, but absolutely nothing for customer service. Everyone has their business model and I can’t fault them for either, but I am scared to ask Capital One to do anything over the phone. There’s a very good chance a mistake could be made and you will pay financially for it.