Credit Histories

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) has been sending balance- transfer checks with teaser rates to some of its “more creditworthy” existing customers and those clients may deposit the money in their bank accounts or use it for other purposes, said spokeswoman Pam Girardo.
Bank of America’s balance-transfer offers are generally sent to customers with better credit histories, said Betty Riess, a spokeswoman. She declined to specify the average size of their lines of credit.

Banks have been sending more balance-transfer mailings to prospects in addition to existing customers, said Woolsey of CreditCards.com. In the six months through August, about 71 percent of credit-card offers to potential new customers came with teaser rates on transfers, compared with 66 percent of mailings in the same period last year, according to Mintel Comperemedia, which tracks marketing trends.