The quality of 0% APR balance transfer offers in September remains strong. Most major credit card companies have help 0% interest rate periods at exceptionally long lengths and getting a 0% balance transfer for 15 or 18 months is still within reach for most consumers with good credit.

Citibank continues to offer the longest balance transfer offer, a 0% APR for 18 months with the Citi Platinum Select Card. This offer, which also carries a 0% interest rate on purchase for 12 months, is a full 3 months longer than the next closest offer and 6 months longer than the best offers from many credit card companies.

The Citi Platinum Select Card does carry a 5% balance transfer fee. However, 4-5% fees are common on many cards that only offer a 0% for 12 months, so anyone who could use a full year and a half to get out of credit card debt with the help of a 0% APR should gladly fork over the fee in exchange for the savings this card can provide.  For example, a person with $5,000 of credit card debt currently at a 15% interest rate can save close to $1,000 after balance transfer fees with this offer. If the same person used a credit card with a 0% rate for 12 months and a 3% fee, the savings would be closer to $600. Continue Reading »

After treating customers horribly for the past two years, credit card companies are desperately trying to lure in new customers.  One tried and true approach is to offer free money in the form of cash back credit card offers.  The other method is offering excellent 0% APR balance transfer deals that can last up to 18 months.  While most people with credit card debt can benefit significantly from a 0% APR balance transfer, those who have minimal credit card debt and want to cash in should look no further than these lucrative cash back credit card offers.  Here’s a list of the most lucrative:

1.)   The Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back offers, well, $100 cash back. This is the most generous cash back deal on the market today, but there is a catch.  In order to get the $100 cash back reward, you must make $799 in purchases during the first three months you are a card member. This won’t be hard for most people, but don’t run up debt just to get $100 cash back.

Apart from the $100 bonus, this cash back credit card also offers 1% cash back on most purchases and 5% cash back in categories that change every quarter. However, if you’re looking for a balance transfer credit card, this isn’t a great option, as this particular card does not have a 0% introductory rate on balance transfers or purchases.

2.)  The Discover® More® Card – $75 Cashback Bonus® offers a $75 cash back bonus – pretty close to the Chase Freedom Visa offer – and requires new cardholders to spend $500 within three months to cash in on the cash back. While slightly less generous, this card does provide a 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months as well as a 0% APR on purchases for 6 months, making this a better deal for those who want a cash back credit card and have a balance to transfer.  Continue Reading »

On August 22nd, the second phase of the CARD Act was enacted.  Unlike the first set of new credit card rules that took effect in February, the newest credit card rules won’t have a huge impact on the wallets of most people.  One rule limiting penalty fees will help those who accidentally (or habitually) make late payments. However, a key rule that requires credit card companies to re-evaluate interest rate increases and lower interest rates on customers who qualify is extremely vague and likely to do more harm than good to consumers.

There are two key problems with the interest rate re-evaluation rule. First off, it is absurdly vague.  Credit card companies must review all rate increases that have occurred since January of 2009 every six months and, if appropriate, reduce interest rates.  On the surface, this sounds great.  However, credit card companies can use their own methods to determine if an interest rate should be reduced.  Thus, cardholders’ will likely hear that “market conditions” warrant that their interest rates stay the same, just as “market conditions” were cited to millions of customers when rates were increased prior to the CARD Act. Continue Reading »

Do you have significant credit card debt? If you’re like most Americans, you do. Even if you seem to have your payments under control, do you know how much you’re really paying in interest? Over the life of your credit card debt, interest can accrue at incredible rates and influence your savings more than you could ever imagine. Read on to learn how to stop high interest from impacting your savings and affecting your wealth.

With the average interest rate on credit cards now at about 15% (and it’s on the rise), it is no wonder that so many people are falling behind on payments and finding themselves drowning in a sea of debt. One reason this debt has gotten so bad in America (one in three households now carries credit card debt of more than $10,000), is a lack of education concerning interest rates and how high interest can impact savings.

 For instance, a credit card holder with a debt of $10,000 and a 15% interest rate who pays a minimum payment of $300 per month toward the debt will take almost 4 years to pay off the total amount, and will pay $3,200 in interest on the original debt of $10,000.

A credit card holder with a debt of $7,000 and a 21% interest rate who pays a minimum payment of $150 per month toward the debt will take more than 8 years to pay off the total amount, and they will spend a total of $14,550 to pay off the debt – that’s more than twice the original debt of $7,000! Continue Reading »

In early July, I posted a consumer advisory on balance transfer checks.  At that time, I had received a few emails from consumers complaining about Citibank balance transfer checks that were not being honored.  When I published the first advisory, I had expected a flood of new comments from angry consumers.  When those complaints didn’t arrive, I assumed the issue was over.  It isn’t.

Yesterday, a visitor named Patti posted about her recent Citibank balance transfer check problems.  Here is her story:

“I too experienced the same problem with these faulty Citibank checks. The biggest issue for me was that I received them not once, not twice, but THREE times and then I decided to take the bait and use them to pay off some small balances on other credit cards for some higher APR relief – especially since the offer stated the 0% was for 12 mos AND the balance transfer fee was only 3%, compared to 4 and 5% from other large credit card companies (i.e, Chase, Discover).

What ensued for a measly $1000 in BT offers was not worth the headache that I endured after this.

1). Sent out a check to a creditor for approximately $570 around 7/20.

2.) Sent out another check to a creditor for another $500 on 7/23.

3.) On July 24th, I received an email from Citibank stating that I should review a note in my account regarding my balance transfer offer. Upon reading this note, it stated that the first check I sent out to a creditor was going to be rejected. Continue Reading »

As a result of increased balance transfer fees on a number of Citibank credit cards, the average transaction fee charged on balance transfer offers lasting 12 months or more increased once again in July to 4.1%. Two Capital One credit cards, the Platinum and Platinum Prestige card, offered the lowest transfer fees at 3% on balance transfers lasting until August 2011. The Citi Platinum Select card, along with a host of other cards from Citi and Chase, carried 5% balance transfer fees.

Despite the increases in fees, 0% balance transfer credit card offers continue to be extremely generous. For example, the Citi Platinum Select Card charges a 5% fee, but offers a 0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers, the longest 0% balance transfer deal on the market. Most consumers who carry credit card debt can save a substantial amount of money with such a deal, as the 5% upfront fee is essentially the only cost of carrying debt for the 18 month period. Compared with an interest rate of 15% or higher, this can equate to savings of 60% or more, depending on the long term interest rate of balances that are transferred.

Another Citibank balance transfer offer that accompanies the Citi Dividend card carries a 4% fee and a 0% APR for 15 months.  A few Citi cards offering 0% rates for 12 months carry fees of 4 or 5%. Continue Reading »

Credit card companies continue to offer lucrative incentives to lure in new customers.  These include extremely long 0% APR deals and some pretty substantial cash back bonus offers. Last month, Chase came out with the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back Bonus Offer. This card, which is still available, offers consumers who spend $799 during their first three months of card membership a-drum roll please-$100 cash back bonus.

Yesterday, Chase released a new version of the Freedom credit card, the Chase Freedom® Visa – $50 Bonus Cash Back Offer. While this offer may seem less generous, it is in fact the opposite. This new Chase Freedom card lets you earn $50 cash back after your first purchase and, more importantly, offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months and a 0% APR on purchases for 6 months.

Consumers who don’t carry credit card balances and thus don’t need a 0% APR on balance transfers can clearly benefit more from the $100 cash back bonus offer. However, consumers who carry balances and could benefit from a 0% APR for a year are much better off with the new deal.  While the balance transfer offer carries a 5% balance transfer fee, the $50 cash back bonus offsets this fee on the first $1000 transferred, essentially providing a no fee balance transfer. Continue Reading »