Friday, April 11, 2008

The Cycle of the 0 Apr Balance Transfer Credit Card Routine

The APR (or annual percentage rate) of a credit card is important as it determines the interest you are required to pay on the balance of your credit card from the company that issued it. Many people get in a jam where they have several cards they owe on and the interest is from 12-22 percent. They are not able to pay the balance each month so this really can add up.

In this situation ,it can be helpful to find out about the 0 apr balance transfer credit card. You probably receive these in the mail daily or weekly. Keep in mind that these cards are useful but they are time-limited. This means that after a certain period of time the 0 apr balance transfer credit card will go up to a normal or high interest rate and if you have a balance you will be required to cover this.

This can help slow down the rate which your credit card debt accrues but if you are spending more than you bring in in terms of income, this will regrow again. Each month you don't make the full payment but only make the minimum payment on your card, the leftover amount is charged the interest rate and this can grow quite rapidly , depending on your spending habits. Things get worse if you don't even make the minimum payment as you are then charged a late fee as well, so always make the minimum balance and keep track of the deadlines they give to receive the payment. Sometimes you can call them the last minute but that can resolve in a 10.00 or more pay by phone fee.

In conclusion the 0 apr balance transfer credit card is useful to move credit card debt from cards but the problem is that if you continue to spend more than you bring in to the point of only making the minimum payments with each statement. The same cycle can occur again.

Dee Cohen is a publisher and author at http://www.money-rocks.com/0-apr-credit-cards.html . Learn the best way to deal with the cycle of 0 Apr Balance Transfer Credit Card to stop juggling and moving debt around.

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Balance Transfer Tips

The most expedient and convenient way (but not necessarily the most effective as we shall see later) of reducing the interest on your card is to get balance transfer, which basically means paying off one card with another. Obviously you need another card to do this and there is really no objection to this (unless you simply must abuse it.) Of course cards with no annual fee are best, but even a small annual fee is okay when you're saving more anyway. The number of card offers these days that have low or no interest periods makes this fairly easy. Here are a few things to take note of:

1. Balance transfer offer periods usually start on the card activation date, not the date you actually do the transfer. Once this period (usually about 6 mouths) is finished, the remaining transferred amount and any further transfers revert to the standard balance transfer rate.

2. Balance transfers at a later stage are still useful to eliminate cash out interest that may have been 'sandwiched' between purchase transactions. Learning not to get cash out is a good move in the long-run, but this will solve those impulse hiccups.

3. Transferring a whole card account balance frees your initial card to enable you to make use of the 'interest free days' or 'grace period' facility. (See Report.)

4. Depending on the credit card company's policy, you can do balance transfers over the phone, online or only by having a form sent out and sending it back. This last takes longer of course (though you could use fax if you're in a hurry) so allow for this extra time. On new card applications this is rarely a problem anyway as they'll ask you during the application process whether you want to do one (or you can wait until your card is activated if you like.)

William Ember is author of the Credit Card Conqueror Report which provides detailed and practical plans on how to save money on credit card interest and other charges (and in some cases pay none at all!) The report is available free from his website

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

No Fee Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Looking for a 0% balance transfer credit card that does not charge a balance transfer fee? Chances are, you?ve had some trouble finding one. Over the past year, the number of credit cards offering no fee balance transfers has decreased dramatically. Additionally, the maximum fees have risen on many cards from $50 to $75. Fortunately, there are still a few credit card companies that offer no fee balance transfers. The trick is to find the right offer and to read the fine print.

The standard fee for balance transfers is 3%, with a maximum fee of between $50 to $75. Now, if you are transferring a large balance, let?s say $5,000 the maximum fee of $75 amounts about 1.5% of the balance transferred. However, if you are transferring $5000 from three different cards, you will be charged 3% from each card. Thus, if you transfer balances from two credit cards with $1500 balances and one with a $1000 balance, your fees will amount to $120, or 2.4%.

Now, even with balance transfer fees, transferring $5000 to a 0% credit card from a credit card with a 15% interest rate will still save you over $600 over the course of 1 year. However, doing so with a no fee balance transfer credit card will save you about $750, or enough to buy a very nice dinner with a bottle of wine.

Clearly, moving balances from high interest credit cards to 0% credit cards is a great money saver. However, it is worthwhile to seek out a 0% credit card that offers no fee balance transfers, as the savings can add up quickly, especially when consolidating balances from multiple cards.

Now the hard part. Since credit card companies that offer 0% balance transfers aren?t making money on interest, they look to get it from fees. Consequently, many companies bury the details of their balance transfer offers in the fine print. After looking over credit card offers from every major issuer, I was only able to find one company that currently offers no fee balance transfers. And the offer was buried very deep in the fine print. However, if you look hard, no fee balance transfer offers can be found.

For information and links to online applications to no fee balance transfer credit cards, visit www.SmartCreditChoices.com. SmartCreditChioces features online credit card applications from every major issuer. At SmartCreditChoices, you can compare 0% balance transfer credit card offers and apply online for instant approval

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Tips And Tricks About Balance Transfers

Using balance transfers to pay off credit cards is a strategy that many people use. When using this tactic cardholders should use both the old and new card responsibly.

When you use one credit card to pay off another you are doing what is known as a
balance transfer. Many consumers use the balance transfer as a way to keep from becoming delinquent on their credit card payments. Theoretically, you can keep transferring balances between credit cards indefinitely as long as you have a credit card that allows the transfer.

Different credit card issuers have different terms regarding a balance transfer. The most important of these terms are the interest rate to which the balance transfer is subject, the total amount that can be transferred, and any fees associated with the transfer. When you are making a decision about transferring a balance to a credit card these are the primary factors that you should consider. Each of these factors has an effect on the amount you will end up paying for transferring the balance.

The ideal credit card for transferring balance is one that has a zero percent APR, a high limit allowed for the balance transfer, and no fee associated with the transfer. With these conditions in place, you are able to transfer a credit card balance for free.

If you are looking for a way to pay down some of your credit card debt, using a free balance transfer is the best way to do so. By transferring your credit card balances to a credit card that does not have associated interest rate or fees, you can pay off balances easier. You can find a lot of help here http://www.balance-transfer.com/.

When you do a balance transfer, you should close out the old credit card account immediately. Doing this will curb your spending, ensuring that you do not become deeper in debt.

Another rule of thumb to follow when you are working with balance transfers is not to use the new card to make any purchases. Once you have transferred the balance to the credit card, you should put it away. Don?t use the card until you have completely repaid the amount of the balance transfer. If you use the card to make purchases, you have nullified the benefits of transferring the balance to a new credit card.

If you use a zero percent APR credit card for the balance transfer, you must make sure you are aware of the terms and conditions of the credit card. In many cases, you lose out on the advantage of not having an interest rate if you make a single late payment.

You should be aware that transferring balances might not necessarily improve your credit rating or standing with the credit reporting agencies. Since credit bureaus look at your total balances and available credit, juggling debts does not improve your credit score. In fact, if you have too many credit cards open at one time, your credit score could be negatively impacted.

There are pros and cons to using balance transfers with credit cards. Using them responsibly can help a great deal. Abusing the privilege might put you in a worse situation than you began with.

Fruzsina Csery is a freelance copywriter. She occasionally writes for Credit Card Balance Transfer

Labels: , , , ,

Monday, December 3, 2007

Balance Transfer Disasters

 

There has been a rapid growth in the availability of zero per cent rates in the credit card industry. These have been caused by the combination of very low national interest rates, and the injection of fierce competition from American lenders such as Capital One. The UK credit card industry is now recognised as one of the most sophisticated and competitive credit card markets in the world.

One of the most popular innovations in the past number of years has been the introduction of the zero per cent balance transfer. This has revolutionised the finances for many indebted customers. How it works is if you have very high interest charges on one of you?re out standing credit card balances, then you can transfer it to a new credit card. In exchange for getting your business in this way, the new credit card provider will give you a zero per cent interest rate on the sum transferred for a period of usually, six to nine months.

While taking advantage of these zero per cent offers is highly advisable, as it can save you literally hundreds on interest charges, there are still precautions that you should take if you wish to avoid some costly mistakes. The first thing to realise is that there are different types of zero percent. What you will most likely come into contact with is zero per cent on balance transfers or zero per cent on purchases. You must not confuse the two.

If you have zero per cent on balance transfers then that will not mean you have zero per cent on purchases, so any purchases you make during your zero per cent period will not be at zero per cent but at your standard rate. This can be very important if we look at the situation using an example.

Supposing you have five thousand pounds on a credit card a 15%. If you transfer this to a card that gives you 0% on balance transfers for nine months you will save hundreds on interest. However, supposing the new card has a standard rate of 15% also. Now, if you have your five thousand on it safely at 0%, but suppose you make one hundred pounds worth of purchases. And then you pay back one hundred pounds; the one hundred you pay back will be applied to the first one hundred of the five thousand-balance transfers. This will leave you with 4,900 left at zero per cent on the balance transfer, and 100 as a purchase that attracts the standard 15%.

In this way you can quickly see how a zero per cent balance transfer can become a 15% purchases balance.Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb For additional articles and an extensive resource for everything about credit cards, please visit us at http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk and http://www.creditcards2go4.com

Labels: , , , ,