Promotional 0% balance transfer rates on credit cards are a big incentive for customers who carry balances. But those customers don't always stick around.
Once the promotional period for the 0% rate runs out, some customers transfer their entire balance to a new card with another bank offering a 0% balance transfer promotion, and close the old card.
Before approving a new card, banks will review your credit report for suspicious behavior, like multiple credit cards for short periods of time.
"This is sometimes called credit card arbitrage, and it's pretty easy to tell who does this just by looking at credit reports," said Harzog.
