Comments on: Are Balance Transfer Fees Worth It? http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/2010/01/balance-transfer-fees-worth-paying-710/ The Balance Transfer Credit Card Resource Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:29:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Balance Transfers Helper http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/2010/01/balance-transfer-fees-worth-paying-710/comment-page-1/#comment-1399 Balance Transfers Helper Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:32:21 +0000 http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/?p=755#comment-1399 Thanks for the compliment, Bev. It is really amazing how some people refuse to simply do what you do, i.e. crunch the numbers. 9 times out of 10 a <a href="http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/0-apr-balance-transfers/" rel="nofollow">balance transfer</a> makes sense. What's really shocking to me is that some people will choose a 0% rate for 6 months because the fee is only 3% instead of a 0% for 12 months with a 5% fee, even though the 0% for 6 months balance transfer is really only worthwhile if you can pay your balance off within 6 months. There's something about upfront fees that lead people to make poor long term decisions. Your family members are lucky to have someone like you around to tell them how to save money, even if they won't listen to you:) Thanks for the compliment, Bev. It is really amazing how some people refuse to simply do what you do, i.e. crunch the numbers. 9 times out of 10 a balance transfer makes sense.

What’s really shocking to me is that some people will choose a 0% rate for 6 months because the fee is only 3% instead of a 0% for 12 months with a 5% fee, even though the 0% for 6 months balance transfer is really only worthwhile if you can pay your balance off within 6 months. There’s something about upfront fees that lead people to make poor long term decisions. Your family members are lucky to have someone like you around to tell them how to save money, even if they won’t listen to you:)

]]> By: Bev http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/2010/01/balance-transfer-fees-worth-paying-710/comment-page-1/#comment-1398 Bev Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:25:42 +0000 http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/?p=755#comment-1398 This is a good article and you explained it well. ALOT of people won't use 'balance transfers' because they don't understand how they work , they think it's some sort of 'trap' . .- a few family members we have dont' understand it can save you alot of money over the long run, no matter how much we explained it to them , ha, so i've given up trying to educate them. As for myself, i usually sit down, total up what i'm actually paying per mo on a finance charge, then figure out how much i'm saving over time, if i used a bal transfer. Then I calculate how much i 'd have to pay each month in order to take adv of the zero % ( 0 %) BEFORE the apr goes up. I make sure to pay it off before that date. If you're lucky enough to get alot of bal transfer offers in the mail , you can decided which one will work best for you. It's a great deal only if you can pay it off in time before the very low rate goes up. This is a good article and you explained it well. ALOT of people won’t use ‘balance transfers’ because they don’t understand how they work , they think it’s some sort of ‘trap’ . .- a few family members we have dont’ understand it can save you alot of money over the long run, no matter how much we explained it to them , ha, so i’ve given up trying to educate them. As for myself, i usually sit down, total up what i’m actually paying per mo on a finance charge, then figure out how much i’m saving over time, if i used a bal transfer. Then I calculate how much i ‘d have to pay each month in order to take adv of the zero % ( 0 %) BEFORE the apr goes up. I make sure to pay it off before that date. If you’re lucky enough to get alot of bal transfer offers in the mail , you can decided which one will work best for you. It’s a great deal only if you can pay it off in time before the very low rate goes up.

]]> By: Balance Transfers Helper http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/2010/01/balance-transfer-fees-worth-paying-710/comment-page-1/#comment-1397 Balance Transfers Helper Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:34:06 +0000 http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/?p=755#comment-1397 You make a good point on a 6 month 0% balance transfer, though the article focuses on 0% rates lasting for a year. At lower interest rates, i.e. 10%, a 0% for 6 months isn't really going to help much. However, if someone has a 20% or higher rate, switching to the 0% rate will surely produce savings and the long term rate will likely be lower than 20% as well, so the person makes out on both fronts. You make a good point on a 6 month 0% balance transfer, though the article focuses on 0% rates lasting for a year. At lower interest rates, i.e. 10%, a 0% for 6 months isn’t really going to help much. However, if someone has a 20% or higher rate, switching to the 0% rate will surely produce savings and the long term rate will likely be lower than 20% as well, so the person makes out on both fronts.

]]> By: conflict http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/2010/01/balance-transfer-fees-worth-paying-710/comment-page-1/#comment-1396 conflict Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:12:35 +0000 http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com/blog/?p=755#comment-1396 b/c the offer is usually not for the life of the balance, it is more illuminating to compare the MPR of the offer (tranfer fee plus the applicable offer rate) over its term to the current MPR. in this case, for a six month term, (5%/6*12)+(0%/12)=10%. you've not obtained any advantage for your trouble (and you may have agreed to an end of offer MPR even higher than the current MPR). b/c the offer is usually not for the life of the balance, it is more illuminating to compare the MPR of the offer (tranfer fee plus the applicable offer rate) over its term to the current MPR.

in this case, for a six month term, (5%/6*12)+(0%/12)=10%. you’ve not obtained any advantage for your trouble (and you may have agreed to an end of offer MPR even higher than the current MPR).

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