Getting a 0% balance transfer credit card is one method of reducing your credit card interest payments. The savings that you make on your interest payments can then be used to pay “more” of your credit card debt interest. By getting a credit card with a 0% APR teaser deal, you save on your credit card interest payment by paying 0% rather than the regular rate for a fixed period.

Done in a disciplined fashion together with a debt payment plan, this is a useful tool to speed up the credit card debt reduction process. However, there are a few pitfalls you have to be aware of :

1. You cannot miss a single payment - While having a 0% deal is cool, credit card issuers will raise your interest rate the moment you miss a single payment or are late on a payment. Hence, if you get a card with such a teaser deal, make sure you make in advance. It’s best to pay your bills online or enroll in automatic payment with your bank.

2. You should not fall into the trap by taking on more debt - Well, I’ve seen quite a few friends fall for this one. Discipline is the key here.

3. You should not charge anything else to your card - For most 0% deals, any payments that you make will go towards charges with the lowest interest (in this case - your balance transfer). Therefore, if you charge anything else to your card, then you will incur higher interest charges because your interest payment will only be used to pay the 0% portion.

4. Beware of fees - The standard fee for balance transfer is 3% of balance transfer with a minimum of either $5 or $10. There is usually a cap of $75 on the maximum balance transfer fee. When you get a card to do a balance transfer, make sure that there is a cap on the balance transfer fee. Better still, get one with no balance transfer fee for the introductory offer.

Best Credit Card Balance Transfer Offers

With these points out of the way, here are a few credit cards that I would recommend for a balance transfer.

Advanta Platinum with Rewards - The Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Rewards offers the longest introductory period of any credit card in the market today - 15 months. Though it has a balance transfer fee, it is capped at $50 and the length of the introductory period more than offsets the fee. Many will wonder if they can get this card since it is technically a small business credit card. The answer is “YES”. You just have to apply as a sole proprietor and use your SSN instead of a business tax ID.

Discover® More(SM) Card - Discover is one the rare consumer credit cards today that offers a 0% APR deal for balance transfer for 12 months, but caps that balance transfer fee (3% of balance transfer, max $75). This is in contrast to most of the 0% teaser deals today, where they do not cap the balance transfer fees!