 Smart Balance Transfer's Article of the Month
How to Avoid a 0% APR Balance Transfer Mistake
A 0% APR balance transfer provides a great opportunity to save money on interest. However, there are three pitfalls one must avoid to insure a 0% balance transfer doesn’t become a balance transfer mistake.
- Continue to make payments on your old credit cards until your new credit card has completed the balance transfer. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for a balance transfer to clear with your old credit card company. Until it has, don’t neglect bills from your old credit card.
- Pay your new balance transfer bill on time. Obviously it is important to pay one’s credit card bills on time. However, with a 0% introductory rate it is even more so. Why? Because the fine print states that a late payment can void the 0% offer. In other words, if you miss a payment, you lose your special 0% rate.
- Don’t run up a bill on your old credit card and waste money paying interest on new purchases. With so many cards offering 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases, a good way to avoid this pitfall is to apply for a credit card that offers 0% interest on both, not just one or the other. However, you can also maximize interest savings by applying for a credit card that offers a 0% APR for 1 year on purchases and one that offers 0% APR balance transfers and charges no fees.
If you avoid these three pitfalls, you are prepared to maximize the savings a 0% APR balance transfer credit card provides.
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