From the Editor: Over the past two years, I've written in excess of 100 articles on the subject of balance transfers. In that time, much has changed. And those changes have not been positive. While I do my best to update content regularly, some articles discuss credit cards and balance transfer deals that are no longer available. It is my hope that currently irrelevant topics such as no fee balance transfers and fixed APR balance transfers will be relevant in the near future, as these were generally the best deals on the market.

I hope you find the following articles useful and informative and I greatly appreciate any feedback or comments that visitors like you provide. The purpose of this site is to educate consumers, and if I can do a better job, please don't hesitate to tell me how. I wish you the best of luck in securing a good balance transfer credit card and thank you for providing me the opportunity to share my knowledge with you.

Regards

Jeffrey Weber

Balance Transfers 101: A balance transfer is the act of transferring debt from one credit card to a new card that has a lower interest rate. There are two types of balances transfers: limited duration balance transfers and fixed rate balance transfer. Read Full Article

How to Avoid a 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. Read Full Article

Balance Transfer Credit Card Application Tips: Applying online for credit cards is not as easy as it used to be. And with 0% balance transfers, there are even more roadblocks. Learn about how to approach balance transfer credit card applications and avoid credit card traps. Read Full Article

0% Balance Transfer Dos and Don'ts: With 0% balance transfer options dwindling and credit card companies growing evermore stingy, these tips can help you take advantage of the best deals on the market and avoid balance transfer mistakes that could sap your savings opportunities.

Don't Transfer Credit Card Balances When Applying Online: Credit card companies are raising balance transfer fees and shortening the length of 0% balance transfer offers. Why, because they don't want your balance transfers. Because of this, and two other key reasons, it is best to apply online and wait to transfer balances until after your credit card application is approved.

Balance Transfer Credit Cards Ending: New regulations and a desire to conserve capital is leading many credit card companies to cut back significantly on balance transfers. Companies are raising credit score requirements, reducing 0% interest rate periods and increasing fees. Soon, they may not be offering 0% balance transfers at all. Read Full Article

How Long do Credit Card Balance Transfers Take: While it may be tempting to transfer balances online to expedite the balance transfer process, one should wait until their credit card arrives in the mail, which adds about a week to how long balance transfers take. Read Full Article

The No Headache Balance Transfer Guide: Discusses our pick for the best balance transfer credit card and explains the logic behind our decision making process. Read Full Article

IMPORTANT! The End of 0% APR Balance Transfers for 1 Year: In the spring of 2008, it was possible to get a 0% APR no fee balance transfer for 1 year, or a low fee balance transfer with a 0% APR for 15 months. While these offers were exceptions to the norm, the average 0% introductory rate on balance transfers has been 1 year for quite some time. Soon, this may change dramatically. Read Full Article

Get Out of Credit Card Debt with Balance Transfers: Getting out of debt is a difficult process. However, utilizing balance transfers can provide more than interest savings. They can also help get you out of credit card debt faster. Read Full Article

How Balance Transfers Affect Credit Scores: Examines how balance transfers can impact your credit score positively or negatively. Read Full Article

The Benefits of 0% APR Balance Transfer Credit Cards: Do you know how much money you waste on interest every year? For the average consumer, this figure is somewhere around $140 for every $1000 of credit card debt. This means that someone with $3,000 in debt spends over $400 a year on interest. Read Full Article

When No Fee Balance Transfers Aren't the Best Deal:The vast majority of no fee balance transfer credit cards only offer a 0% interest rate on balance transfers. Any purchases you make on your card are charged the standard interest rate. Thus, for example, if you transfer $1000 at a 0% interest rate and spend $1000 at the standard rate (we'll say 15%), any payment you make will reduce the 0% balance and you will be charged 15% interest on your new purchases. Read Full Article

What is the Best Balance Transfer Credit Card?:Over the years, we've received countless emails from individuals wondering what is the best balance transfer credit card. Because every person's situation is unique, there is no straightforward answer to this question. However, there are certain cards that are better for certain types of credit card applicants. Read Full Article

About Fixed APR Balance Transfers: A fixed APR balance transfer offer allows you to transfer a higher rate balance to a credit card that charges a fixed interest rate for a set amount of time that can last anywhere from a year to life. Unfortunately, no credit cards offer fixed 0% APR balance transfers for life. However, many fixed APR balance transfer offers do provide 4.9% transfers for life. Read Full Article

Balance Transfer Fees 101: Only a small number of credit cards offer no fee balance transfers, and those that do tend not to offer a 0% interest rate on purchases as well as balance transfers. The vast majority of credit cards that offer 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers charge a nominal 3% balance transfer fee. While a nuisance, balance transfer fees are offset by the interest savings that come with a 0% balance transfer credit card. Read Full Article

A Brief History of Balance Transfer Fees: Discusses how balance transfer fees have gone from zero to as much as 4% during the past few year. Read Full Article

How to File a Credit Card Complaint: This blog posting, designed to help consumers file government complaints, has generated a lot of feedback. It includes consumer feedback on nasty credit card tactics. Read Full Article.

What to Do When Your Credit Limit is Cut: With banks slashing credit limits, this article provides some advice on how you can fight back. Read Full Article.

How to Hurt Your Credit Score with a Balance Transfer: Although the title is alarmist, balance transfers can actually help your credit score. Unless you make a big mistake. Read Full Article.

  Helpful Balance Transfer Blog Categories

Balance Transfer Fee Updates: This section covers changes in balance transfer fees.

Credit Card Companies: This section covers the moves of individual credit card companies.

0% APR Deals: This section features updates to 0% balance transfer deals.

The Credit Crunch: This section discusses issues stemming from the credit crunch.