0% APR No Fee Balance Transfer
Credit Cards
A year ago, there were about fifteen
no fee balance transfer
credit cards that offered a 0% APR for 1 year. Today,
there is one. And, while there are still a few credit cards
that offer 0% APR no fee balance transfers for 6 to 9 months, the
current no fee balance transfer deals are generally not as good as
they used to be.
Let's begin with the problems.
With exception of the Bank of America Platinum Visa, which offers
0% APR no fee balance
transfers for 6 months as well as a 0% APR on purchases, all
current no fee balance transfer offers only extend a 0% APR to
balance transfers. This is fine if you only intend to use
your new credit card for balance transfers and will not be making
any new purchases. However, if you use your new credit card
(or your old credit card) for new purchases, you end up racking up
interest charges again.
What's even worse is this dirty
credit card tactic: if you transfer a balance to a new
0% APR credit card, but make new purchases,
any payment you make will reduce the amount of money being charged
no interest, not the balance with the standard purchase interest
rate! Here's an example: you do a $1000 no fee balance
transfer, then spend $1000 on new purchases. Your purchases
get charged the standard interest rate of around 14%. So you
decide to pay that off and cut a check for $1000. That check
pays off your 0% balance, not your high interest balance.
Now, instead of having $1000 on a credit card being charged no
interest, you have a $1000 credit card bill getting charged 14%
interest. Its the type of deal only your friendly credit
card company can get away with.
Avoiding balance transfer fees and
interest fees for a full year thus becomes slightly more difficult
than it used to be. However, there are a few strategies you
can employ to maximize your interest and fee savings. One
strategy is to transfer your credit card balance to a no fee
balance transfer credit card offering a 0% interest rate for 1
year and putting all of your credit cards in a drawer. With
this strategy, you can enjoy a full year of life without interest
expenses.
Unfortunately, many people will need
to use a credit card over the course of a year. If you fall
into this category, there are two options. One is to apply
for a no fee balance transfer credit card that offers a 0% APR for
1 year and apply for another credit card that offers a 0% APR on
purchases for 1 year. While this adds an extra bill to pay,
you can at least take solace in the fact that the bill doesn't
have an absurd interest charge on it.
A more straightforward option is to
simply apply for a credit card that offers a 0% interest rate on
purchases and balance transfers and pay the balance transfer fee.
With most credit cards, the maximum balance transfer fee is the
greater of 3% or $75 for each balance transferred. While
this option may cost a few dollars in balance transfer fees, the
money you will save on interest charges vastly outweighs this
nuisance fee.
You can review credit card offer
details for no fee balance
transfers and 0% APR credit cards on
our website and apply online for approval.
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