Balance Transfers – Make Your Cash Work Harder

July 1, 2005

If you are currently looking for ways to streamline your cash to save you some cash, then you should be eyeing up changing your to one that will offer you a balance transfer. With interest rates being at they’re lowest since began, then the chance to find a better deal is there to be had. This is all down to the credit card companies fighting for spare customers out there, as the need to succeed takes over them. So the right thing to do is get the deal that suits you and not the credit card issuer and if we all do this then we will be getting a little back from the credit card companies of what they have been taking from us for years, and we might get a bit of respect from them as they see that we are not going to be fleeced anymore. Balance transfers are a handy facility to use to save your cash and using one will be of an advantage to you, if you don’t know about them or you do or are not sure how they work then I will try to explain a bit about them. Related Articles

What is a Balance Transfer?
Be Careful With 0% Introductory
Rate Tarts Winning The Credit Card War

What is a balance transfer?

A balance transfer is when you move the money that you owe one credit card to another credit card that is giving you a better APR than your present card. Currently around fifty credit card companies are offering deals that will give you 0% interest free for a period of time, which may last from 6 months to up to a full year. An example of this could be that you currently own a card that is charging you at the higher end of APR, say 27.9% and you have a balance of £2000 of which you pay back at £300 a month you will not clear this balance after a period of six months, instead you will have paid around £494 in interest alone and your total amount still due will be £694, Where as if you had put this amount into a balance transfer then the total amount due at the end of the six months would be £200, saving you £494 in cash in the period, which relates to around £83 a month.

There are so many different balance transfer offers....

With so many credit card companies sending out these offers straight to your home, don’t just disregard them by throwing them straight into the bin, read them through and see if they are giving you a better deal than your current card, if not then try looking out for better offers in the papers or over the internet to take advantage of the credit card climate right now. Though a word of warning when checking out a 0% deal, is that when the interest free period is over make sure that the APR you will now be incurring will be lower than the one you left behind.

Once you have decided to switch cards, make sure that you continue to pay on the old card until you have received your old card, this will save you incurring any penalties and will also keep your credit rating up to scratch and we all know how important this is in this day and age. Another tip is not to be afraid to jump ship again when your initial free period is over, as it is all about getting the best for you and not the best for the credit card companies.