Most people in the United States have at least one credit card. Once, the habit of making the lowest balance deposit on your credit card kicks in, it becomes highly difficult to lower your debt due to the high interest rate which ranges from 18 to 30% annually. This is the reason that transferring credit card debt with a balance transfer credit card (especially with the lowest 0 balance transfer fee possible) has become such a popular option.
A look at the figures
Let’s say for example you owe $10,000 on one credit card that has a 27% interest rate. The total interest pay if you only come up with the minimum pay will approximately be $2,700, more than a quarter of the original loan. If this seems like a waste of good money then you should start considering your alternatives. There are many credit cards that offer a program in which you may transfer your high-interest credit debt to a brand new card. Most come with a 0% balance transfer interest rate, with no 0 balance transfer fee, within a span of at least 6 months up to a year. The main idea is that you are given a grace period wherein you are allowed to avoid any interest and in turn, make payments to the original loan.
Fees
A 0 APR balance transfer most likely won’t be done for free (which would be called a “0 balance transfer no balance transfer fee” if done for free). It will be usually be between 3%-5% of the total that you are transferring. It’s important for you to make sure that you understand exactly what fees are involved in the process. Of course, nothing in this world is free, the offer of zero percent interest has a limited time and after this offer expires, the interest rate will then be higher. This is the importance of paying the balance off when your interest rate is still zero. You can also do searches for “0 apr balance transfer no fee” or “0 apr no balance transfer fee” or “0 balance transfer credit cards no fee” – in order to have the best shot in finding a large number of credit card options for this kind of money saving transfer.
There are also some other things you need to watch out for when using credit cards with zero balance. First off, don’t make any purchases with your new card. The zero interest rate more likely only applies for the transferred amount and not to any new purchases. You should also make the required minimum payment punctually. If you miss this, then there could be extra fees and you may lose the zero percent interest rate – and this certainly won’t help you clear debt any faster with additional fees.
One big help to determine whether you can actually save and how much can you save with a balance transfer scheme, you can use a balance transfer calculator. You can actually get the most savings from a transfer if you can pay off the entire balance of the credit card during the period of the promotion offered to you. You should also be aware of what the balance transfer fee is and also the annual rate, because these factors will greatly impact the overall cost of your balance transfer.
For listings of recommended credit cards to apply for
check out the FPT credit card reviews page.
Once your balance transfer is done, do not forget to check your previous credit card and make sure that your new statement indicates that you have a balance of $0 before you cancel the card. This way, you can note if there are any mistakes on the transactions. If you are a college student, there are even 0% APR transfer cards that are among the best college student credit cards that one can find.
As with any credit card spending or balance transfers, make sure that you control it – you want to avoid trying to get rid of debt and have to ask for credit card debt forgiveness from the government. Better to manage your expenses and focus on building wealth.