0% APR Balance Transfer Offers
0% APR balance transfer offers are without question the best way to save money on interest. By transferring a high interest balance to a credit card that offers a 0% APR on balance transfers, the average consumer can save close to $100 for every thousand dollars transferred. Recently, credit card companies have been making it more difficult to get a 0% APR for a full year on balance transfers. Many companies now advertise a 0% APR for "up to 1 year", but may only offer you a 0% APR for 6 months. Thus, when you apply for a balance transfer credit card, the best move is to wait until your card arrives in the mail before initiating the transfer. This way, you can be sure you get the introductory period you applied for.
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About the Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
0% APR balance transfer offers allow consumers to transfer high interest credit card debt to a new 0% APR credit card. Depending on the current market, these 0% offers can last anywhere from 6 to 18 months. During the course of a 0% APR balance transfer, it is quite possible to save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on interest. Just how much money you save with a balance transfer credit card depends on a number of factors, such as your current interest rate and your rate of repayment.
In general, if your current credit card interest rate is 15%, you can expect to save about $100 a year for every $1,000 you transfer to a 0% balance transfer card. Thus, a person who has $5000 in credit card debt can expect to save $500 in interest expenses.
With the longest balance transfer offers, which can last up to 18 months, you can save about $200 for every $1,000 transferred. And these number include balance transfer fees.
Balance transfer fees are perhaps the only drawback to balance transfers, but are well worth paying. When you apply for balance transfer credit card offers, you typically have to pay an upfront 4-5% balance transfer fee. While this may seem expensive, it is much cheaper to pay 5% to get a 0% APR on balance transfer for 15 months than it is to pay a 15% interest rate. Plus, in order to get the longest 0% balance transfer offers, you will likely have to pay a higher fee. Despite these fees, balance transfers are one of the easiest ways to save money on credit cards and get out of credit card debt faster. |
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0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards: How to Avoid Costly Mistakes and Take Advantage of a 0% APR
You've seen the offers: 0% interest on balance transfers, pay no interest for one year. For those carrying balances on high interest credit cards, the savings that can be reaped with these balance transfer offers is tremendous. However, one false move and you'll not only lose the 0% rate, you might also end up paying a higher rate than the one you previously paid. Credit card issuers call it the default rate, and it can range up to 29.99% or more, a far cry from 0%. |
