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Another thing to find out is what specifically happens to the 6% rate if something happens such as a missed payment. In the case of a missed or late payment, a credit card company can raise the 6% rate to something much higher. Someone told me they have seen a rate as high as 31% on certain cards. Even if you have always paid on time, it would be good to find out this information.
I've also read that credit card companies don't like people who pay their balances in full every month because they can't make interest off them and in cases like that the credit card companies have gone as far as to shorten the cycle (length of time) of when the payment is due in order to try to get the payee to miss the deadline and hence slap extra late fees on them and justify raising their rate (If I can find the article again I will come back and post a link). So even if you are carrying a balance, I would be sure to pay attention to the monthly deadlines and make sure they are not changing on you.
I pay every month in full and never missed any payment, the only thing the credit card company (bank credit card) did was raising my limit.
I think that if I am to pay $5k in the next year on anything, it will be on my mortgage, as I think that would save me more money in the long run. I've only been paying on the place for less than a year, so most of my payment is still going to interest, which hurts to look at. So I think if I can get my principal balance down on the mortgage and lower the interest curve, I would be better off than saving a few hundred bucks on my car interest.
The interest on your mortgage is tax deductible, the interest on your car is not. There are exceptions, but usually it makes you more money in the long run to pay off the car before pre-paying the mortgage. Or you could just refinance. My insurance company refinanced my car, dropped the interest rate significantly and reduced the term by over a year and all they charged me was the $33 retitling fee.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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But wouldn't you incur balance transfer fees in exchange for the fixed rate?
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