When to Consider a Credit Card Balance Transfer

During his tenure as the vice president of strategic initiatives at Synchrony Financial, Delaena Kalevor oversaw the company’s $20 billion portfolios, including elective surgery financing and installment credit loans. Delaena Kalevor also provides expert personal finance advice. During an interview with INSPIREY magazine, he explained how credit card balance transfers could reduce interest and debt.

Many credit card companies allow new cardholders to transfer the balance from other credit cards. For people with a very high-interest rate, transferring to a card with a lower introductory interest rate can save thousands of dollars. Some companies even offer zero percent interest for the first year. Cardholders can pay down a significant amount of their debt during this period, as the entire payment amount would go to the principal.

However, moving debt from one card to another can incur a fee of between 2 to 5 percent. Additionally, other factors, such as waiting too long to initiate the transfer or missing a payment, can suspend the zero interest rate terms. Before initiating a balance transfer, cardholders should calculate the cost of any transfer fees and ensure they are eligible for the lower introductory rate program.

Basic Rules Surrounding Personal Loans

A versatile business executive, Delaena Kalevor has experience spanning areas such as marketing, finance, and strategic operations. Among the areas in which Delaena Kalevor has extensive knowledge is consumer finance and lending, both through credit cards and personal loans.

The latter are more flexible than credit cards, as they do not need to be paid off within a month to optimize their benefits, but have terms that typically range from 12 months to 12 years. In most cases the money borrowed can be used for nearly anything, from emergency medical expenses to home renovation projects. There are certain exceptions, with personal loans not designed to be used for investing or paying off school debt.

In most cases, there is a fixed percentage of interest associated with the personal loan. This varies widely depending on one’s financial profile, credit score, debt-to-asset ratio, and the rates offered by the loan provider. The lowest personal loans are at an annual rate of around two percent, while the highest max out at more than 20 percent. In addition, origination and administration fees may be involved, which can significantly increase the cost of borrowing. Finally, keep in mind that personal loans can be either unsecured or secured, with the latter placing an asset such as a home at risk, should the loan balance not be paid off as agreed to.

The University of Rochester to Integrate STEM into MBA Program

An Irvine, California resident and consultant, Delaena Kalevor spent roughly 15 years working across various sectors in finance and business. Long before becoming an independent consultant, Delaena Kalevor attended the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School in Rochester, New York where she earned an MBA.

Considered one of the country’s top business programs in the country, the Simon Business School is also the first to offer a STEM MBA. Degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math are attractive to employers because they often incorporate the analytical skills needed to work in an increasingly data-driven environment.

These skills translate into the business world as data becomes a greater part of the landscape, more businesses also strive to be more data-driven. In fact, by 2024, the business school predicts that 200,000 jobs will be available in stem management roles.

The Simon Business School MBA offers the STEM option in 10 areas covering finance, marketing, and consulting. Students can specialize their program in the following tracks-asset management, banking, corporate finance, venture capital and private equity, brand and product management, operations, pricing, strategy, and technology.

CareCredit and RevSpring – A Collaboration that Benefits Everyone

Delaena Kalevor, an independent consultant from Irvine, California, worked with the healthcare financing provider CareCredit. Here, Delaena Kalevor performed many duties related to promoting the credit card that helps consumers pay for healthcare needs.

In December 2020, CareCredit announced that it would collaborate with RevSpring to integrate its credit applications into the latter’s PersonaPay portal. RevSpring is a company that also allows consumers to pay for a wide variety of health products.

The collaboration with RevSpring benefits both consumers and providers. Open to 240,000 healthcare providers, retailers, and healthcare systems across the country, CareCredit credit can be used to finance dentistry, LASIK and vision care, pharmacies and veterinary care, and cosmetics and dermatological procedures. The credit card can also be used toward co-pays and deductibles and coinsurance of purchases exceeding $200, and credit decisions are made immediately.

For providers, the inclusion of the CareCredit application into its portal allows it to offer patients another payment option. Finally, it facilitates patients getting access to a streamlined credit option.

Qualified Leads Are the Most Important Marketing KPI

As a business leader, Delaena Kalevor has experience in multiple organizational functions, including finance, information technology (IT), strategy, operations, and marketing. In marketing, Delaena Kalevor focuses on strategic marketing, where key performance indicators (KPIs), like qualified leads, play a huge role in decision making.

Qualified leads are people who are likely to be converted to customers. They are considered to be the lifeblood of a business and require further contact to bring them a step closer to conversion. This makes tracking them important for a business. For a high conversion rate, it’s recommended that the sales team act swiftly in contacting them while they still have the intent to buy.

In 2019, CoSchedule conducted a study that surveyed 3,599 marketers from over 100 countries. Marketers use dozens of KPIs at a time to track the performance of their marketing strategy. From this, 30 percent of respondents listed qualified leads at their number one KPI.

The Differences between Secured and Unsecured Loans

Financial executive Delaena Kalevor holds a degree in accounting from the University of Ghana Business School and an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester. Delaena Kalevor previously served as VP of strategic initiatives with Synchrony, working to oversee program management, strategy development, and the development of various consumer finance products, including so-called “unsecured” loans.

There are a few reasons why you might need to take out a personal loan, whether it’s for paying for improvements to your home or making a large purchase, but whatever the purpose, personal loans typically come in two primary types: secured and unsecured.

Secured loans use collateral to “secure” the purchase. If you fail to make the loan payments, the lender then has the right to repossess the item in question (for example, your car in the case of an auto loan, or your home in the case of a mortgage) and sell it to recover the debt. The upside to a secure loan is that it gives you, the borrower, access to more credit. Without some type of collateral in place, it might not be possible for you to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a home, for example. Secure loans are considered to be less risky for lenders, and typically allow for lower interest rates.

Unsecured loans, by contrast, do not use any collateral to secure the loan. They are also sometimes referred to as signature loans. Because these loans are approved without the use of collateral, they depend primarily on the borrower’s credit score. A high credit score is necessary for most unsecured loans, and generally, they will also have higher interest rates, as lenders see these as riskier lending options.

Salient Features of Unsecured Loans

Finance professional Delaena Kalevor served as vice president and strategic initiatives program manager at Synchrony Financial for seven years. During his time at Synchrony, Delaena Kalevor leveraged his extensive knowledge and experience in finance, credit, risk management, and operations to drive the company’s success in its unsecured installment loan programs.

Some of the most common examples of unsecured loans are student loans, personal loans and credit cards. From these examples, below are the salient features of unsecured loans:

1. Unsecured loans do not require the attachment of collateral of any collateral. A debtor can secure this type of loan based on his or her capacity to repay the loan, creditworthiness, and word.

2. The application process for unsecured loans is relatively shorter and quicker compared with secured loans since there are no collaterals to verify. However, debtors with negative credit history and those with no stable income stream may be required with a co-maker in order to obtain unsecured loans.

3. Unsecured loans carry higher interest rates compared with secured loans because the creditor is exposed to higher risks of the debtor defaulting in his or her repayment plan.

4. When the debtor defaults in his or her loan repayments, the creditor may take any of these remedies: put the account under a collection agency, or take a legal recourse to obtain payment of the loan. In both cases, the credit rating of the debtor is adversely affected and may remain in his or her credit history for seven years.

Healthcare Finance Decisions and Long-Term Funding Sources

A strategic finance professional and former vice president of strategic initiatives at Synchrony Financial, Delaena Kalevor focuses on proffering solutions to institutional challenges. During his stint as the strategic initiative manager of the American healthcare payment portfolio, Delaena Kalevor was involved in various activities targeted at providing long-term funding solutions for individuals’ healthcare financing.

According to recent research, revenues spent on quality healthcare delivery in the US have been rising rapidly, and it doesn’t look like rising costs will slow down anytime soon. This increase is attributable to the boom in patient populations and advances in healthcare services. However, due to limits in coverage by medical insurance companies, accessing quality healthcare now requires many patients to pay more out-of-pocket expenses. This factor could adversely affect their healthcare purchase decisions.

As a result, the need to explore long-term funding sources to cover healthcare costs is necessary. Private healthcare payment systems like CareCredit provide long-term, pay-over-time financing for healthcare services to patients who can’t afford to settle their medical costs upfront. They also help ensure patients’ health care finance decisions are beneficial to them.

Choose the Right Credit Card for You

A cross-functional business leader, Delaena Kalevor has experience in finance, marketing, strategy, and operations. As the former vice president of strategic initiatives and payment solutions at Synchrony, Delaena Kalevor drove the design of new card products. He recently published a blog post guiding US consumers on how to select the ideal credit card for themselves.

To identify which credit card is the best choice for you, start with assessing your credit score. Get a free report from one of the major credit agencies (from Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion), evaluate it to ensure there are no illegitimate entries, and research different credit card offerings from banks.

If you have poor or no credit, you will be limited to student cards or secured cards. These require a deposit of up to $500. Pick a card that reports to one of the above credit agencies, letting you build your score progressively and one that has an upgrade option so you can get another card in the future. Examples are Discover it Student Cash Back and Chase Freedom Unlimited.

If you intend on using your card frequently, keeping your balance low, opt for a card with high rewards for consistent use. Rewards could be in the form of air miles, redeemable points, or cashback on purchases. Pick a card whose rewards fall within a category you spend heavily on and which does not prematurely limit your reward balance. Examples are Wells Fargo Platinum Visa and HSBC Gold Mastercard.

Finally, if you want a credit card for emergency use only, choose a low-interest rate card with minimal fees. Examples are Citi Simplicity and BankAmericard.