Credit Card Balance Transfers Can Help You Stop Putting Money Down The Drain
As you probably know, interest rates are at all time low
right now and if you aren't 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 you'll be doing yourself and others a big
favour indeed. By doing this, you'll 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
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
you're 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, don't throw those offers that you receive in the
mail away. If you have great credit then
you'll 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 you've 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 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 re-read the credit cardholder agreement a
couple of times. Make sure that you
understand all of the jargon and if you don't, 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:
a. How long does the introductory rate last?
b. What will be the rate after the teaser expires?
c. What are the cards annual fees? Can they be waived?
d. Are there any transfer fees that you should be aware of?
e. Are there any perks that are offered? (Ex. frequent
flier miles, free gifts, etc).
7. Once you've 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 isn't, then contact the
company right away. If they aren't open to doing so then
tell them that you're 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, don't 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.
That's it my friend. Credit card transfers don't 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
http://www.the-credit-card-centre.co.uk
where you will find further advice and money-saving tips on the best credit cards, 0% balance transfers and cash back credit cards.
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