In a move that has become all too common over the past year, Bank of America recently stopped offering 0% APR no fee balance transfers with its Platinum Plus Visa. To make matters worse, they have put no cap on balance transfer fees. This is a seismic shift, as what was once the best balance transfer credit card on the market is now one of the worst.
Here’s the problem. Most credit cards charge a 3% balance transfer fee with a maximum fee of $75. Thus, if you transferred a large balance of $10,000, your balance transfer fee would be $75. With the new fee structure of the Bank of America Platinum Plus, the fee on a $10,000 balance transfer would be $300, or 4 times the maximum fee most other issuers would charge.
The elimination of this no fee balance transfer credit card from the market has left only one current offer available to consumers looking to save money on balance transfer fees. And, based on the way credit card companies have been behaving, it is only a matter of time before the final no fee balance transfer credit card is gone.
What’s the best balance transfer option now?
As I write this, Citi still offers one no fee balance transfer credit card (see the no fee balance transfers section of SmartBalanceTransfers to learn more). If, however, you need to transfer a balance from a Citi card, there are no current fee free offers. If you find yourself in this position, or cannot get approved for the Citi no fee credit card, Discover and Chase still offer 0% APR balance transfers with $75 fee limits. Over the course of a year, these credit cards will provide hundreds, if not thousands in savings. Sure, you’ve got to pay a little more in upfront fees, but most reasonable people would much rather pay 3% in fees than 15% in compounding interest.
Hopefully, this decidely consumer un-friendly trend will end soon. However, with the credit crunch still looming over everyone’s head, it looks like deals will get worse before they get better.
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