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Have A Question About Credit Cards?
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Balance Transfer Credit Card Tips
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0% Balance Transfer Deals can be a great tool to lower your interest payments and used as part of a credit card debt strategy. However, there are things that you have to be aware of or you might trip. Below are a few tips to consider before you get one of these balance transfer deal cards.
Always Pay On Time - As part of the terms and conditions, credit card issuers reserve the right to increase your rates if you are late on one payment. Very often, the new rate could be over 20%. To make sure you take full advantage of the 0% deal, PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME.
Set Up Auto Payment - The best way to make sure you pay your bills on time is to set up auto payment whereby your credit card bills are paid from your bank account automatically. There are two ways to set it up. The first method is with your bank and the other way is with your credit card company. I would suggest setting it up with your credit card company because if anything goes wrong, you can point the finger at them.
Look out for any changes in grace period - If your credit card company decides to reduce their grace period for example from 25 days to 20 days, it may mean that you have to pay your bills sooner. If this happens, check that your autopay schedule is still good.
Be realistic - If you have a good credit score, chances are good that you can still get 0% deals for 12 months. But if your credit is not so good, be more realistic. You are probably better off getting a low rate deal for 6 months and getting approved, rather than attempting a 0% 12 month deal and getting turned down.
Transfer your balance only after you get approved and know your credit limits - Credit card issuers are so strict these days that you stand a better chance of getting approved if you do not submit your balance transfer request during the application process. It is better to know what credit limits you have been given and then transfer the balance.
Do charge other things on the card - If you use your card for balance transfer, do not charge other things to the card. Your payments goes towards paying the balance transfer and you will accumulate more credit card debt at a higher interest.
Final Thoughts - If you carry a credit card balance, you should always be looking for good balance transfer deals to reduce your monthly payments and help speed up your credit card debt reduction plans. Much has changed over the last year since the credit crisis. A year or two ago, every credit card issuer was falling over one another with 12 month 0% balance deals with no balance transfer fees to get new customers. These days most impose a balance transfer fee (3%) with no caps. It is also getting difficult to get good 0% deals. Still if it makes sense, this should not deter you. As a result of this development, we have listed cards for those with excellent credit, for those with good to excellent credit and for those with average to good credit. Some are not 0% deals, but if they save you money, you should look to transfer your balances.
Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card For Excellent Credit
0% 12 months deal is back. The Discover® More(SM) Card is now bringing back a 0% Intro APR for FULL 6 months on Purchases, and Balance Transfers* for FULL 12 months. This really stands in contrast with cards that claim to offer 0% for "up to 12 months", that give themselves some wriggle room to offer you less than that. The things I really like about this card is that while you want only use a balance transfer card simply for a balance transfer, with this card, you would actually want to keep it because you can earn:
5% and 20% rebates (I look at them more like discounts) at over 100 online retailers like GAP.com, OldNavy.com, Dell.com, BestBuy.com!
5% rebates on Airlines, Hotels, Car Rentals and Cruises between Jan and Mar
5% rebates on Home Improvement Stores, Department Stores and Clothing Stores between April and June
5% rebates on Gas Stations, Hotels, Theme Parks, Zoos and Bookstores between July and September
5% rebates on Grocery Stores, Restaurants, Movie Theaters, Movie Rentals between October and November
You can also Double the value of rebates that you have earned if you redeem them for select gift cards (over 100 partners). For example, if you have accumulated $40 in rebates, you could get a $80 celebrity cruise, carnival cruise or Universal Orlando Resorts gift card or a $100 Hyatt Hotel and Resorts Gift Card
The Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® is another card to consider if you are looking for 0% balance transfer deal. They
are offering 0% APR* on balance transfers and purchases for up to 15 months. If you shop online a lot, this card has a unique feature whereby you are given a separately generated credit card number just for online use. This is another step to preventing fraud online.
Balance Transfer Fee Policy of Different Issuers
Bank of America - Has removed caps on balance transfer fees.
Chase - Has removed the cap on their balance transfer fees
Discover - Has removed caps on balance transfer fees
American Express - Maximum balance transfer fee is $99 but do not have 0% offers. Has no balance transfer fee for certain cards.
Citicard - Has removed the cap on their balance transfer fees
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Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Disclaimer 2: Though we may be affiliated with some credit card issuers, our credit cards reviews and the content on this site is written solely by us and are not influenced in any shape or form by any credit card issuers. In fact, any content here is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission. Though we make every attempt to make sure that our content is up to date. But please always check the terms and conditions for the most updated information since things like APR change fairly often.
*See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. *See the online application for details.
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