Original Aritcle:  A little over year ago, I researched the almost mythical 0% balance transfer for life.  Despite the fact this incredible offer seemed to be an impossibility, I ultimately learned that Discover had been offering this deal to select customers via direct mail invitation.  However, the trail of evidence dried up after 2006, and that offer disappeared.  At this time last year, 0% balance transfers for 15 months existed.  Sure, only one such offer remained (down from a half dozen), but getting a 0% APR for 15 months was a possibility.  Such is not the case today.

Unfortunately, I’ve come across some deceptive ads promoting phantom 0% for 15 month balance transfer deals, however, the ads lead to pages with 0% offers lasting 6 months.  On the average, 6 months is the new 12 months, and 0% for 15 months, is the new 0% balance transfer for life.  Things have changed dramatically in the consumer credit world, and 0% offers were one of the first victims. 

At present, the longest 0% balance transfer offers last 12 months, and these offers are few and far between.  However, they still do exist (for more information, see the balance transfer section of this website).  Although getting a 0% for 12 is still possible, you should expect, nay, welcome higher fees, as this has become the new norm as no fee balance transfers and fixed apr balance transfers have also gone the way of the dinosaur.

Whether or not more banks will extend balance transfer offers to 12 months in the near future is a question only time will answer.  As millions of consumers faced massively increased interest rates this spring, summer, and fall, banks not only made it tougher to get approved for new credit cards, but raised long term interest rates and shortened the length of balance transfer promotions.  Recently, introductory rates have gotten longer, but long term interest rates remain high, and are likely to move higher when the Prime Rate, currently at historically low levels, begins to rise, thus triggering the variable element of non-fixed interest rates to increase.

In the interim, the smartest thing consumers carrying credit card debt can do is to take advantage of the longest available 0% balance transfers and focus on paying down debt as quickly as possible.  The days of jumping from one 0% offer to the next have come to an end, and more and more people are opening up their credit card statements to find that a once reasonable interest rate is twice what it once was.

Small business owners looking to eek out an extra 3 months on a 0% APR balance transfer have extremely limited options.  To be precise, they have one.  At present, the only credit card on the market offering a 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers is the Advanta Platinum.

Just how much you can save with a 0% APR for 15 months obviously depends on the amount of the balance you transfer.  For example, a person with a $3000 balance transferred from a credit card charging a 14% interest rate can save over $100. 

An additional benefit of the Advanta Platinum Card is that after the 15 month 0% APR introductory period ends, the ongoing APR is a fixed 7.99%, significantly lower than most current offers.

You can learn more about the Advanta Platinum card and apply online to take advantage of a 0 APR for 15 months here.

The first of these credit cards is Blue from American Express.  This credit card offers a 0% APR for 15 months on purchases.  Aside from offering a 0% rate, this card also offers no fee rewards and charges no annual fee.  Once the zero interest period expires, this card offers a variable 11.24% interest rate on remaining balances.

The second offer comes from Advanta.  They offer a 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers with their Platinum Rewards card.When the zero interest rate expires, this card offers a low 7.99% variable APR on remaining balances.  This Advanta credit card offer is aimed at businesses.

As noted above, no credit card is currently offering a 0% interest rate on purchases and balance transfers.  There are, however, many credit cards that offer a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months.  You can review these offers and apply online by visiting the 0% APR credit card section of Smart Balance Transfers.

Note:  The information in this posting is accurate as of 5/29/08.  Before applying online for a credit card that offers a 0% APR for 15 months, be sure to examine the application to verify that the offers described above are still current.