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3 Indicators That A Balance Transfer Credit Card Is Right For You

Written by Toi Williams on Sep 29th, 2008 | Filed under: credit cards

Over the last several years, a large number of people have decided to use a balance transfer credit card to reduce the amount of money that they are spending on their credit card expenses.  Many people use a balance transfer credit card for transferring large balances from a credit card with a high interest rate to a credit card with a lower interest rate.  Finding a balance transfer credit card that is right for you and your financial situation will not be difficult if you know what features indicate a good credit card for balance transfers. 

A Low Interest Rate For The Transferred Balance
The first item to look at when looking for a credit card for transferring a balance is the interest rate that the person will be paying for transferring the balance to the credit card.  Many credit cards that are offered as a balance transfer deal will have different interest rates applied to balance transfers and purchases.  If the interest rate charged for the transferred balance is significantly lower than the interest rate that will be charged for purchases, transferring the balance to the credit card could end up saving the person hundreds of dollars, as long as the person does not use all of the available credit on the credit card as well.

Favorable Terms And Conditions For The Credit Card
For any credit card, it is very important to read all of the terms and conditions so you know exactly what you are getting into when you sign up for the credit card.  The terms and conditions of the credit card will disclose what the interest rate for balance transfers will be and how long that interest rate will apply to the transferred balance.  For some credit cards, the issuer will offer a very low or 0% interest rate for balance transfers to the credit card for the first several months.  After this initial period, the balance remaining on the credit card is subject to a much higher interest rate.

Having the interest rate reset to a higher rate after the initial period is typically not an issue for the people that transfer smaller balances to the credit card or they are able to pay off the transferred balance before the initial period is over.  The problem occurs when people transfer a significant amount of money to the credit card and do not realize that their payment amount will increase when the balance is subject to the higher interest rate.  The amount that the interest rate increases has the ability to double or triple the minimum payment required for the credit card.

A Reasonable Interest Rate For New Purchases
There are a number of credit cards that advertise a low interest rate for the amount transferred to the credit card in the hopes that you will continue to use the credit card and place purchases on the credit card that will be subject to a higher interest rate.  These types of credit cards can result in significant savings as long as no purchases are placed on the credit card.  If purchases are charged to the credit card, no payments made on the credit card will be applied any purchases until you the transferred balance has been paid off.  This allows the issuer to charge the person the higher interest for the purchase for a long period of time.


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