Balance Transfers Tips
Read these 7 Balance Transfers Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Credit-Cards tips and hundreds of other topics.
Make your credit card consolidation an opportunity for reform
After you've consolidated all your high interest rate credit card balances to a low interest rate balance transfer credit card, don't use your old credit cards for a while. If you do rack up large bills on your accounts it will negatively affect your credit score. Lenders like to see that you can handle credit responsibly and that you have credit to spare. Now that you've done your balance transfer, use the opportunity that the low interest rate gives you to put your extra money toward the debt you already have instead of incurring new debts.
Avoid balance transfer fees
Balance transfer credit cards that offer low percentage rates for credit card consolidation can sometimes surprise you with ugly transfer fees. To avoid balance transfer fees, find out if your credit card charges you for initiating the transfer. Some balance transfer credit cards only apply their low interest rates to transfers that they carry out--usually at the beginning of the contract and then a few more times that they will notify you about beforehand. By checking your contract for balance transfer requirements you can save a lot of money in unexpected fees and higher rates.
Balance transfers with 0% interest
Make sure you know how long your 0% interest balance transfer credit card is going to stay low and what it will change to when the offer expires. Some credit card companies give you up to a year, but not all do, so pay careful attention to the terms of the contract. To make the most of the new interest rate, make sure you use the period of time to pay down as much of the principal as you possibly can.
Consolidate debt with a balance transfer
Use a low interest balance transfer credit card to consolidate your higher interest debts. Consolidation helps you avoid multiple finance charges and rates from other credit cards and simplify your monthly bills. Even if you only have a single high interest credit card, you can benefit from performaing a balance transfer to a lower rate card. Every bit of savings helps.
A balance transfer can reduce your interest payments
Responsible credit card consolidation can help you get out of debt faster. If your monthly credit card bills are getting out of control, look into a balance transfer program. Balance transfer credit card offers allow you to move your higher interest credit card payments to a lower interest credit card. By lowering the interest rate by even just a little, you can save a significant amount of money in the long term.
Balance transfer checks
Use checks issued by your balance transfer credit card to pay off debts that are not easily consolidated with a standard balance transfer. These checks can be used for car loan payments, private retailer credit card payments, or any place you need to pay money that you want consolidated onto your low interest credit card account. It's important to remember that these checks are not free money. They do have balance transfer fees associated with them and the purchases you make with them will show up on your low interest credit card statement.
Maintain the introductory interest rate as long as you can
To keep your 0% credit card consolidation rate from jumping back up to the standard rate early, make sure you are paying your other credit card bills on time. Even if you're paying your low interest rate credit card regularly, a late payment somewhere else could cost you.
Now credit card companies review the consumers credit report periodically to see if your other credit card or loan accounts are in good standing. If you don't pay your other debts on time, your new credit card will find out about it. Your low interest balance transfer card rate can rise to the current interest rate before the low interest rate term was initially supposed to end.
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| Phyllis Serbes |
