It is estimated that about a th rd of people fail to pay off th ir credit or store card balances in f ll every month, and therefore pay nterest on the balance. If that pplies to you, the chances are you c uld save money by applying for a new cr dit card which offers zero (or l w) interest balance transfers. The way th s works is that you take out a new cr dit card offering such a deal and mmediately ask them to pay off the d bt on your old card. The b lance on your old card then b comes zero, and the entire balance g es on to your new card nstead, with its zero or low nterest rate. A number of card ssuers offer these deals. Zero rate ffers typically last from five to tw lve months. If you are confident th t you can pay off the ntire balance during this time, they are a g od choice for saving money. If you th nk it may take longer to pay off the utstanding balance, a better option may be to pply for a card which offers a low r te for the entire life of the b lance (i.e. until it is repaid). Am rican Express™ offers a fixed, low APR for the l fe of the balance with its Pl tinum card. If you are currently p ying interest on a balance with y ur current card, it makes sense to tr nsfer your existing store or credit c rd balance to another provider. There are a few p ints to watch out for, however.
1. Check if there is a ch rge for balance transfers Balance transfer f es are becoming more common as cr dit card issuers try to recover s me of the money they lose by ffering interest-free periods. Fees range up to 2% of the t tal balance. However, there are still s veral card providers offering free balance tr nsfers. 2. Remember to make your m nimum payment every month Even though the c rd issuer offers an interest-free period, you w ll still have to make the m nimum payments each month by the due d te, or you will be charged nterest. 3. Avoid spending extra on the c rd used for the transfer Most cr dit cards pay off balance transfers pr ferentially, so if you incur any ther debts on the card, they w ll not be discharged until the ntire transferred balance is paid off. Th t means any new spending will be “tr pped” on the card, accruing full nterest charges. If you are using y ur new card to service a b lance transfer, therefore, do NOT use it for dditional spending as well – use nother card instead. 4. Switch again wh n the introductory period expires If you h ve failed to pay off the b lance completely once the 0% introductory r te for balance transfers expires, you c uld apply for another card and tr nsfer your balance again. However, if you pl n to do this you should lways remember, in the month the 0% d al ends, to move the debt gain to another 0% offer. This m ans you will need to apply for nother card about six weeks before the ntroductory period ends. You will need to be w ll organized and remind yourself to do th s. 5. Note that your credit r ting may suffer If you apply for a n mber of credit cards, especially at the s me time, your applications will be n ted by the credit reference agencies, and y ur credit score may suffer. The m st important preventative measure is to spr ad card applications out. Do this and m st people with reasonable income and no bad d bts will be fine, though be ware that there will be a sm ll risk to your ability to get c mpetitive credit in future.
Having decided on the type of b lance transfer deal you are looking f r, do take the time to st dy the market and see what is vailable. Do not simply fill in and r turn the next credit card application f rm that arrives in the mail. Cr dit card comparison sites such as www.f nest-credit-cards.com can make this easier for you by l sting all the best current card ffers for you to choose from, and lso have a range of articles ffering unbiased advice and information.
The article Save Money With a Balance Transfer Credit Card was Submitted by Nick Davis through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Nick Davis is the owner of http://www.finest-credit-cards.com , which aims to match you up with the ideal credit card to suit your situation. With details of all the leading card offers updated daily, plus informative articles to guide you in your choice, you will never pick the wrong credit card again.
1. BetterTrades Industry Spotlight Part 2 by In part I of this rticle you read how the Internet E-C mmerce industry is one of the b tter performing industries this year. Within th t industry we selected three stocks th t have good fundamentals and strong tr ding patterns. Those stocks are eBay (EBAY), the Un versity of Phoenix Online (UOPX) and G tty Images (GYI). Finding the right st cks to trade is half the b ttle. The other half of the b ttle is using the right trading syst m to find the best entries and xits to profit substantially from the pr ce moves of those stocks. 2. Aussie Exploration Booms by Despite rising volatility for m tals such as copper and zinc, d wn sharply this month, and gold and il, up sharply, the boom will c ntinue. Growing demand from China and lsewhere will be the main driver, but d posits have to be found first. Ev n with our extensively explored continent, l rge sections are still untouched, or p orly understood... 3. Uranium Price Declines Stop for A Week by So when Cameco Corp announces bad n ws, this generally becomes good news for the sp t uranium price. 4. Credit Reporting Errors by Have you found an rror on your credit report? What sh uld you do about it? Once you h ve your personal credit report and nderstand it, you may decide that you n ed to correct some errors. Errors on cr dit reports are common, and need f xing, just like the repairs you m ke on anything else that has b en used for a long time. Th re are two ways to fix y ur credit report -- the first is fr e, and the second costs money. D pending on how bad the errors re, the amount of tim... 5. Using consolidation loans to solve credit problems by The consumer borrowing debt in the UK has r ached records levels and more and m re people are looking for ways to r duce and manage their credit. 6. Unemployed debt consolidation: dissolving twin burden of unemployment and debt by An unemployed will need debt c nsolidation when they are struggling to pay two or m re debts. Unemployed debt consolidation loans are a l gical way to manage debts. Debt c nsolidation loans will combine these debts nto single consolidated loan. This procedure w ll always carry lowering of interest r tes. This means…………………. 7. Steps To Active Day Trading by Steps To Active Day Trading 8. Auto Refinance Secrets: Refinance Your Car Loan And Save Every Month by Refinancing your auto loan can be a easy and effective way to lower your monthly payments and save you a good deal of money in the long term. Huge numbers of people are taking advantage of refinancing in the face of much lower interest rates. If you think you are paying way too much money on your loan each month (and who doesn’t?) then based on the amount of time left on your lease, and the rate of the interest you signed at, refinancing may be the way to go. It’s always f... 9. Amortization Made Simple by In terms of m rtgage loans, you will come across the dea of amortization. Amortization refers to the pr cess of accounting for a sum of m ney over a specified period of t me. When it comes to a h me mortgage loan, figuring out an mortization schedule can add up to a lot of m thematical calculations, which get confusing very q ickly. Instead of doing all of th s work yourself, make compiling amortization sch dules simple through the use of h me mortgage calculators. They are easy to se, an 10. 7 Secrets to Creating Wealth by Many people study how to b come wealthy as if it were a sc ence. While there is always a c rtain amount of chance in everyone's l fe, in many ways wealth building can be th ught of as a science. Read on for s ven of the most salient secrets to b coming wealthy.
|