Things to Consider When Taking Advantage of 0% Intro APR Credit Card Balance Transfer Offers

All across the United States, consumers who are smart with their finances are taking advantage of zero percent credit card offers, and for good reason. By signing up for a 0% intro APR credit card deal, consumers with credit card debt and a good credit score can literally pay no interest on their lingering credit card debt for 12 months or more.

Here are some important things to remember when taking advantage of zero percent intro APR offers:

1. Many credit card companies will offer you an interest free period as a way of introducing you to their credit card. It is very important that you know and understand what the interest rate will be once that free period is over. If you are forced to pay a significantly higher interest rate after the free period you will likely wind up with a much worse deal than you had intended. If at all possible try to pay off your total credit card balance before the interest free period comes to an end. Try to find a balance transfer deal that gives you at least 6 months 0% introductory APR so that you don't wind up making balance transfers too often.

2. Be sure that you read through all the fine print very carefully. A lot of the 0% balance transfer credit card offers include a catch: if you use the new card to make a purchase while you are in the interest free period, the APR or Annual Percentage Rate can often be quite high, even as high as 25%! Additionally, payments that you make on your new credit card with a low or zero percent intro APR will be applied to the transferred balance first, which often means you?ll get hammered with high interest charges for purchases and cash advances. A balance transfer can be a really good way to help you save money over the long term, but if you need to make new purchases you will be much better served by using cash, a pre-paid credit card, or your bank debit card.

3. Try to avoid using the convenience checks. Many credit cards will include convenience checks along with your regular credit card statements. A convenience checks is usually equivalent to a cash advance, and cash advances almost always carry the highest interest rate. Sometimes a credit card will give you a good interest rate if you use their convenience checks for making balance transfers. Just be sure that you read the fine print thoroughly so that you fully understand the terms before using their convenience checks.

   There is good news about convenience checks. Some credit card companies will provide you with blank checks that are covered under their 0% intro APR balance transfer offer. These blank checks can be very useful as you can use them for whatever you want. A lot of consumers use these blank checks as a method of obtaining an interest free loan, but they can also be used to open a high-yield savings account or to purchase a certificate of deposit. Keep in mind that once the 0% introductory APR period is over interest charges will begin to accrue so it is recommended that you pay off the balance before, or as soon as, the interest-free period ends.

   If you are not absolutely certain as to whether the checks you receive are included in the 0% introductory APR offer then take a few minutes and call the credit card company to ask. Whenever you call your credit card company, be sure to jot down the name of the person you speak to in case the representative makes a mistake.

4. Don't get carried away with your credit card applications. Regardless of whether or not you are approved or rejected, if you file too many credit card applications within a short time period your credit rating could suffer a downgrade.

5. Many credit card companies own multiple credit card brands. Before submitting an application for a balance transfer, be sure that you are dealing with a credit card company that is different from the one you want to transfer a balance from. If you try to transfer a balance from one account to another, and one bank controls both credit card brands, then your application will almost certainly be rejected. Remember that inquiries into your credit report may have a negative effect on your credit rating; this is especially true if the inquiry results in an application being rejected.

   If you already have two different credit cards that have been issued by the same bank or credit card company, you can usually consolidate the balances into one credit card account. If you have questions about this call your credit card company to discuss consolidating your credit cards.

6. It is very important that the account to which you?ll be transferring your balance has a high enough credit limit so as to avoid getting into trouble with fees. Some credit cards charge a fee for transferring balances, and if your new account?s credit limit isn?t high enough, you may get hit with an over-the-limit fee after e.g. the balance transfer transaction fee is added in. When shopping for a zero APR offer, try to find one that doesn?t charge a fee for transferring balances. If you go with an offer that does charge a balance transfer fee, then do your best to find out what your new account?s credit limit will be.

7. Always pay all of your bills on time. This may sound obvious, but it is very important. Credit card companies will offer the best terms to applicants with the best credit rating scores. Having a high credit score will also minimize the chances of having your application for a credit card rejected.

   All the best 0% APR credit card offers can be found at http://www.BalanceTransfer.cc. Information about new business credit cards can be found at http://www.BusinessCreditCards.cc

Balance Transfer Credit Cards - Which One For You

If you have any kind of existing credit card balances, balance transfer credit cards may be just the thing you need to reduce your credit card debt. They can also help you save money in other ways, too. Here are some ways that a balance transfer credit card can save you some money.

0% APR Interest

The first way it can save you money is that, hopefully, the new card gives you a 0% APR interest introductory offer for balance transfers. You will need to double-check the fine print on the credit card to be sure that this rate applies to balance transfers. Most often it applies to the interest rate on your purchases, and only on some cards will it apply to transfers. If you also get that rate of interest on your transfers, then be sure to notice how long that you get that rate for. The rate on balance transfers is often different than the length of the introductory offer.

The 0% APR interest generally applies to your purchases made during the introductory time period. This gives you great savings over that time frame, but be sure to pay off the balance each month - and on time, for the best savings. Any late fees take away any savings you get, otherwise, and you may actually end up paying more than if you had made your purchase at retail prices.

Balance Transfer Fees

Another thing you need to look for is to see if there are any fees associated with the transfers. Some balance transfer credit cards will charge up to a hefty 4% of any amount transferred to the card. While this figure may sound good when compared to the interest on the other card, keep in mind that many cards will not charge anything.

Rewards

Choose your balance transfer credit card on the basis of this option, too, since you can definitely save some money here, if you get the right card. Rewards come in many types, but if you get one that is geared to your needs (most expenses per month), then you will probably be able to save considerably. A card with rewards on it means that you get either discounts on future purchases, rebates or cash back. This amount of savings can certainly add up after a while, and can put a smile on your face when your bill comes each month.

Remember to compare a number of balance transfer credit cards in order to see what kinds of deals are available. Also, be sure to look at the various fees, so that you do not lose the value of your rewards. There can be many fees on a credit card, but by shopping around, you may be able to get one that does not have very many, or, has fees that you can avoid with prompt and full payments. Get as low of an interest rate on the card as you can for the time after the introductory time period runs out ? or get a new card.

Joe Kenny writes for the Credit Card Guide, offering the latest 0% credit cards, visit today for introductory 0% balance transfers and start clearing credit card debt today.
Visit today: http://www.cardguide.co.uk

5 tips on find the best balance transfer credit cards

The balance transfer credit card can help you save money if you have an outstanding payment to make on one or more high interest credit cards. You can use the balance transfer feature to transfer you balance from your high interest credit card to the credit card with the lower rate of interest. Accordingly, you pay less on the balance transfer credit and save money.

These low interest credit cards or balance transfer credit cards have an introductory period, which can generally last for six months or a year. The interest rate that you pay in the introductory period is either zero or negligible. Since the interest rate is low or zero, you can make your credit card payments on the principal amount a whole lot faster. You get a regular APR on the card after the introductory period is over.

Here is a look on the 5 tips on find the best balance transfer credit cards:

1. Check how long the introductory period lasts. Though it is normally a year, it is not obligatory. Sometime you can have a free promotional period for 18 months or sometimes you can have a negligible interest rate for the life of the balance. You have to check how high will be the APR charged after the promotional period is over. Will the interest rate rise by a few percentage points or is the increase going to be drastic? Though some credit card companies will sugar-coat the entire thing about the rise in interest rate, you have to proactively ask them or at best, read the credit card fine print or the documentation in its entirety.

2. When you are looking for the balance transfer credit card, go through the terms and conditions for payments. Is there any annual fee for the card? What are the late fees and over the limit fees? How are you going to be penalized for defaulting on the payments? Do you stand to lose the introductory APR if you default? Some credit card companies automatically increase the APR, and keep it higher than normal, after the promotional period, if you do not make prompt payments.

3. Most balance transfer credit companies readily offer the facility to transfer larger balances to people who have a good credit history. The ones who do not have a good credit history may not be able to avail the benefit to transfer a large balance. It is important to make it clear with the balance transfer credit card company about the maximum amount that is allowed to be transferred.

4. Check if there are fees for balance transfer. If you are transferring a huge amount, the balance transfer fees can really be on the higher side. Stay away from such murky offers because ultimately there is not much sense if you are paying more for the transfer of the money to be saved.

5. You may get a zero percent or a negligible interest rate from the balance transfer credit card but there can be a catch to it. As per there 'terms and conditions', you may not be able to make a credit purchase on your card for a certain period. Alternatively, you may be offered a promotion to buy something within a certain period. Ask the balance transfer Credit Card Company about what kind of purchases you can make during the promotional period of 0% or low APR. There are some balance transfers credit cards, which offer you cash back for any new purchases on the card. You however do not get cash back on balance transfers. The cash back offer is a good thing if you hope to use the balance transfer credit card for a longer period of time.

Daniel Cohen recommends Find Credit Cards for comparing the best balance transfer credit cards

The Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards

What is the concept of a balance transfer credit card? To put it simply, making 0% interest balance transfers from one credit card to another is a great way of answering the age-old conundrum: how to have your cake and eat it too. You have nothing to lose -- but to gain you have a bundle of money that could have disappeared while you paid high interests on purchases and loans you've made on your current credit card(s). Sounds like an interesting proposition? It most certainly is! Balance transfer credit cards are there to save you in the hour of need. And then there are the best balance transfer cards. We call them best for a reason; flat zero percent interest rate being one of them.

The Basic Advantage of Balance Transfer Credit Cards

However, good things generally don't last for too long in this world, and 0% interest rate offers on balance transfers would usually be valid only for short periods like three or six months, after which, normal credit card interest rates kick in. Still, that is plenty of time to relax and breathe free! Not all credit cards have this zero percent interest-rate facility though; what most cards do offer is a significantly reduced rate of interest on balance transfers. Either way, a bargain is a bargain and we the consumers end up saving a little more than a paltry sum!

Cool Features of Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Furthermore, balance transfers need not only be made from one credit card to another, the best balance transfer credit cards can be used to pay off most types of financial debts. The bottom line is: you stand to gain from a balance transfer credit card whichever way you look. So look around for some good balance transfer offers on regular credit cards or for an exclusive balance transfer credit card, and go for one that seems to be the most suited for your needs. Also remember that the best balance transfer credit cards have attractive reward schemes to motivate you - their customer - to use their cards to the maximum capacity!

The Rationale behind Balance Transfers

Often credit card companies are detested by people for their seemingly exorbitant rates of interests. They are portrayed as financial leeches that suck the blood off us common folks at the least opportunity. That may or may not be true since all lending banks and credit card companies come under strict federal regulation and supervision. However, it is time we get back at them and rip them off left right and around, out of pure spite! What say?

Many smart people in fact come close to doing so by routinely getting new balance transfer credit cards that usually have a promo offer of a zero percent interest rate for the first year or so, and then they rotate the outstanding amount from one card to another ad indefinitum. Pretty neat! It may even look like a little con trick but it is perfectly legal and could be the most logical thing to do for any person trying to make ends meet. Aren't we all, by the way? In this turbulent chaotic world, most of us are constantly grappling with a makeshift existence, and it makes sense that we shift our debt from one point to another if in the process we also happen to save plenty of dollars!

Choose Your Balance Transfer Credit Card

So what are you waiting for then? Do your balance transfer now! Oh sorry, not right away, because you need to do some research and shopping around first. Although you may be rest assured that there is, by and large, no deviousness involved in the offer of zero percent or marginal interest rate balance transfer, you have to be alert while ordering a balance transfer to an existing card or while picking up your new balance transfer credit card from among a plethora of names and choices available.

To begin with, you may have spent irrationally on your credit card, but that is not the point; at least now you can make a very rational choice by carefully assessing and comparing the balance transfer credit cards available. The keyword is "best," for nothing less will do!

Basically you have three criteria to take into consideration here, namely, the annual fee of the card, the transfer fee, and the rate of interest. The best balance transfer credit cards will as zero all these with a few additional features and incentives to boot! If you find any such, make merry! If you don't, make an apparent compromise and go for the second best, but still second to none, and therefore still the best! Transfer your balance, gulp down a cake and take ample rest.

Bert Wills recommends that you visit CreditCardAssist.com to find out more about the best balance transfer credit cards.

0% on a Balance Transfers Will Not Last Forever

Have you ever been attracted to a credit card because it promises you an outstanding interest rate that seems just too good to be true? Most of us have at some stage jumped for one of these attractive offers. There are a growing number of credit card providers out there that will offer you 0% deals on either balance transfers or purchases, and sometimes they just seem too good to resist.

Particularly if you have a large outstanding credit card balance that you are currently paying a lot of interest on, these offers will be very tempting. In fact, many 0% balance transfer offers will save you hundreds of pounds on interest that you would otherwise have had to pay on your credit card balance. But no matter how attractive such offers may appear at the time, you should only ever take on another credit card if you have taken the time to review your finances and are satisfied that it is the right financial move for you at this time.

To look at a typical example, suppose you have one thousand pounds outstanding on a credit card that charges 10% APR. This means that over the course of a year, this balance will cost you 100 pounds in interest charges. Now suppose you find a credit card that offers you 0% on balance transfers for six months. Well it is pretty obvious that 0% is better than 10 and if you were to take up this offer, assuming there are no balance transfer fees, then how much will you have saved over the six month interest free period? The answer is 50 pounds. However, what will the interest rate revert to once the interest free period has come to an end? This is something you should be thinking about before you opt for the credit card, and not when the interest free period is about to expire and everything is more urgent. Suppose, for the sake of our example that the interest rate reverts to a rate of 25%. This means that over the next six months you will pay ?125 in interest.

While this is a very simple example, it illustrates an important point when it comes to 0% balance transfers. In the example above if the customer had stayed with his 10% card, he would have paid ?100 in interest over a 12 month period. In the same period, by opting for a 0% balance transfer for six months that then reverted to 25%, he ended up paying ?125.

The point to remember is that just because a credit card offers you 0% does not mean it is the best deal out there. Look at the long term rates that the card will offer you, and compare these to the rates you are already getting from your credit card. If your existing rate is better than the rates that you will get from the new card once the introductory offer expires, then maybe you should remain loyal to the card you have.

So while this is going on you will not be spending on the new credit card, but you will be safe in the knowledge that you are saving the interest payments on the old debt.

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.ukand http://www.creditcards2go4.com

Balance Transfers Can Help You Stop Putting Money Down The Drain!

Balance Transfers Can Help You Stop Putting Money Down The Drain!

 by: Claire Bowes

As you probably know, interest rates are at all time low right now and if you arent getting the best deal from your credit card company then they owe it to you to either lower your rate, or you owe it to yourself to find a better deal. You see, credit card companies need your business in order to succeed and if you refuse to pay a penny more than you have to then youll be doing yourself and others a big favour indeed. By doing this, youll avoid paying more than you should and the companies will stop treating its clients inappropriately.

Now that this is clear, we will talk about the essentials of balance transfers, how they work and how you can ensure that you get the absolute best possible deal.

1. First and foremost, understand what a balance transfer http://www.the-credit-card-centre.co.uk/balance-transfers.html is. A balance transfer is when you transfer the balance from one card to another in order to get a better interest rate than the one that you are currently getting.

2. Second, to find the absolute best deals, look to transfer balances on cards where the initial interest rate is 0% and the amount after that is lower than the one you have now. For instance, if youre a cardholder that has an interest rate of 27.4% on a 1000 balance and you only pay 150 a month for 6 months, you will not pay off the balance in 6 months. Instead you will pay 247 worth of interest and your balance after 6 months will be 346. In contrast, if you had a 0% card and make the same monthly payment then your balance will be reduced to 100 at the end of the 6 month period, a tremendous saving!

3. Third, dont throw those offers that you receive in the mail away. If you have great credit then youll likely have credit card companies vying for your attention. Just use this power to your advantage and find the very best 0% deal for you.

4. If no good deals seem apparent, then you have to find your own deals. You can do this by conducting a thorough search on the internet to see if you can find a 0% card offer.

5. Once youve done this, request information and then review it carefully. Pay close attention to the rate after the initial introductory period is over. For instance, if you have two choices of cards with 0% interest rates http://www.the-credit-card-centre.co.uk/0%-credit-cards.html for 6 months and one charges an interest rate of 15.00% after the initial period and one that charges 11.00% after the initial period then by all means choose the second one because it is by far the better deal overall.

6. Read and then reread the credit cardholder agreement a couple of times. Make sure that you understand all of the jargon and if you dont, find someone that does before you sign it. Review it closely to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible. For instance, when evaluating deals, you should ask yourself these questions:

   1. How long does the introductory rate last?

   2. What will be the rate after the teaser expires?

   3. What are the cards annual fees? Can they be waived?

   4. Are there any transfer fees that you should be aware of?

   5. Are there any perks that are offered? (Ex. frequent flier miles, free gifts, etc).

7. Once youve decided on an offer, fill out your application fully and get it in the mail as soon as you can.

8. Once you get the offer, make sure that it is a 0% teaser rate and if it isnt, then contact the company right away. If they arent open to doing so then tell them that youre cancelling the card and look for another company that delivers what they promise. Your primary goal is avoid the old bait and switch while simultaneously saving money on interest.

9. While waiting for your new card, make sure that you continue to pay on your old card to avoid glitches in your credit report and once you receive notification that the transfer has been made, make sure you contact the old company and make sure that they received the payoff amount.

10. After the teaser rate is up, dont be afraid to jump from one credit card to another after the teaser expires. You see, there is absolutely nothing wrong with surfing cards and taking advantage of 0% offers whenever you possibly can. Just keep finding and researching great deals.

Thats it my friend. Credit card transfers dont have to be so confusing and daunting. If you follow the above mentioned steps then you can and will win the balance transfer rate and stop throwing your hard earned money down the drain.Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of the Credit Card Centre http://www.the-credit-card-centre.co.uk/ where you will find further advice and tips on the best credit card deals http://www.the-credit-card-centre.co.uk/best-credit-cards.html , balance transfers and 0% credit cards http://www.the-credit-card-centre.co.uk/0%-credit-cards.html .