As of June 30th, the no fee balance transfer deal offered by American Express for its series of IN credit cards will no longer be available.  The offer, available with the IN:LA, IN:NYC, and IN:Chicago cards, provided a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months and charged no balance transfer fee.

The removal of these three offers from the market is not surprising.  Just about every credit card company has stopped offering no fee balance transfers since the beginning of this year and most have raised balance transfer fees substantially.

Currently, the ESPN Visa, a Washington Mutual credit card, continues to offer a 0% APR for 6 months on no fee balance transfers.  However, most people will save more money by opting for a low fee balance transfer offer.  Additionally, many credit card companies have increased their requirements to qualify for 0% offers, and with the economy’s future uncertain, it may be very difficult to get approved for a new 0% credit card when the 6 month intro period expires.

Thus, we recommend applying for a credit card that charges low fees and offers a 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for a full year.  You can learn more, compare current offers, and apply online at our main site, www.smartbalancetransfers.com.

Comsumers 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.

The Advanta Platinum card, though designed for business, is available to consumers as well, though this is a source of confusion for some applicants.  Here’s the simple step you need to take to complete the application and take advantage of a 0 APR for 15 months.  When on the application page, you will find a field where applicants are prompted to enter a business name.  In this field, simply enter your name and voila, you are on your way to extra 3 months of balance transfer savings.

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.

If you’ve recieved a mailing or email from Bank of America encouraging you transfer high interest balances on the website www.bankofamerica.com/easybt, you may want to think twice before completing a balance transfer.  Not only can you get a 0% APR on balance transfers from most other credit card issuers, you’ll end up paying much more money in interest and fees with the offer from www.bankofamerica.com/easybt.

First, we’ll examine the reasons this is not a great deal.  To begin, this offer charges a 3% balance transfer fee with no maximum.  A good 0% balance transfer credit card caps the maximum fee at $75.  Thus, if you accept the Bank of America offer and make a $4000 balance transfer, you would pay $120 in fees instead of $75.  But that’s just the beginning. 

Buried in the fine print of your credit card is a statement such as this, “all payments will be credited to the balance with the lowest interest rate first.”  Thus, if you have a $2000 balance on your card being charged 10% and you transfer $2000, your first $2000 in payments will reduce the lower interest transferred balance, leaving you with $2000 being charged at the 10% or higher rate.

Clearly, the easy balance transfer offer at www.bankofamerica.com/easybt  is not a great deal.  And, compared to a credit card that charges a 0% APR on balance transfers for 1 year and charges low fees, it is not even a good deal.

To maximize your savings on balance transfers, you can review current 0% APR balance transfer offers and apply online at Smart Balance Transfers.  At Smart Balance Transfers, we feature detailed information to help consumers save money on balance transfers.  To find the best money saving balance transfer deal, peruse our website, compare offers, and apply online here.

While the majority of credit cards only offer a 0% APR for 12 months, there are a few major credit cards that offer a 0% APR for 15 months.  Unfortunately, no credit card currently offers a 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.  However, there is one credit card on the market for each 0% category.

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.  Although this Advanta credit card offer is aimed at businesses, consumers can also apply.  Many visitors have written us about the application process, as the form requests a business name.  In this area, simply use your name as the business name to complete the application.

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. 

Getting a 0% APR balance transfer for life is a thing of the past.  While this type of deal was once offered by Discover, no bank has offered such a deal for over two years.  However, it is still possible to get a low fixed APR balance transfer for life.

The Advanta Life of Balance card is the clear leader in this category.  They offer a 2.99% fixed APR for life on balance transfers.  Although this is marketed as a business credit card, consumers can apply for this fixed apr for life balance transfer credit card.  When filling out the application, simply use your name instead of business name when prompted to do so.

The Advanta Life of Balance card offers the lowest fixed APR for life on the market.  However, there are a few addtional offers.  American Express offers three credit cards that offer a fixed APR for life on balance transfers.  Among the deals they offer, the American Express Clear card offers no fee balance transfers and a 5.99% fixed APR for life.  The remaining offers from American Express do charge a balance transfer fee, but offer a 4.99% fixed APR for life.  If you expect to repay your balance in more than 3 years, this may be the best deal.

Overall, the Advanta offer provides the best deal of all fixed APR for life balance transfer deals on the market.  However, individuals who intend to pay their balances off in around a year may save most with a 0% APR balance transfer credit card.

The ESPN Visa card, issued by Washington Mutual, is currently offering a 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for 6 months.  There are no fees on balance transfers initiated at the time of application.

The ESPN Visa is a sports affinity credit card that offers consumers a range of sports themed rewards.  Aside from offering no fee balance transfers, this card also offers new customers the following benefits:

• 2,500 Bonus Points upon first card use within one year.
• Rewards start at just 2,500 points.
• No annual fee.
• Earn 5 points for every $1 you spend on purchases from ESPN, including ESPN Shop, ESPN Zones, ESPN Sports Concierge Service, and more.
• Earn 1 point for every $1 you spend on other purchases.
• Earn tickets and VIP Access to Sporting Events, Sports Merchandise and Collectibles, Retail, Dining, and Travel Rewards through the ESPN Total Access Rewards Program†.
• Use the FREE ESPN Sports Concierge Service to buy hard-to-get tickets, arrange travel to sporting events, or create your own ultimate fan experience.

You can learn more about the ESPN Visa by viewing the online application or compare other balance transfer credit cards in the credit card offers section of Smart Balance Transfers.

The days of 0% APR no fee balance transfers are over-for now.  This week, Citi stopped offering no fee balance transfers with its Citi Professional Cash card.  This was the last no fee balance transfer offer from a major bank.  While Bank of America currently offers a 1.9% APR on no fee balance transfers with its Make a Wish card, this APR is only for 6 months.  Paying a balance transfer fee and getting a 0% APR for 1 year provides much more savings. Now that the market currently lacks a no fee balance transfer credit card, consumers should focus on credit cards that charge low balance transfer fees. 

What is a low fee balance transfer?  In a nutshell, a low fee balance transfer is one with a limit on maximum fees.  Currently, all major credit cards are charging a 3% balance transfer fee per transaction.  However, some credit cards have no limit on balance transfer fees, while others cap fees at $75.

Finding a low fee balance transfer credit card can provide a great deal of savings.  For example, if you transfer a $5000 balance to a credit card that has no limit on balance transfer fees, you would spend $150 in fees.  The same balance transfer, if done with a low fee balance transfer card, would only cost $75.

We have compiled a complete list of balance transfer credit cards here for easy comparison.

Even though balance transfer fees are now unavoidable, the amount of money you can save with a 0% APR balance transfer is still significant.  For example, if you have a $5000 balance on a credit card with a 12% interest rate, you can save over $620 this year on interest.  If you factor in the balance transfer fee, you still save over $550 on interest.

To find out how much you can save with a 0% APR balance transfer, check out our balance transfer calculator before applying for a new credit card online.

Credit card companies love to hide details in the fine print.  However, all companies are required to fully and clearly disclose all rate and fee information to applicants.

When you’re getting ready to apply for a balance transfer card, there is one very important disclosure to look for:  the balance transfer fee.  While different credit cards disclose this information in different ways, you will generally find information on balance transfer fees in the “Other Fees” section of the terms and conditions.

Once you’ve located this section, carefully review the specifics.  In total, there are three different possible fee structures.  The best, and most difficult to find, is a statement that there are no balance transfer fees. 

The most common balance transfer fee disclosure generally states, “ BALANCE TRANSFER TRANSACTION FEE: 3.0% for each balance transfer made under this offer, with a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $75.”

Notice that a maximum fee is clearly stated.  The third possible fee disclosure will look very similar to the one cited above.  However, there will be no notice of a maximum fee.  If there is no stated maximum fee, you will be charged a full 3% of the balance you transfer.  This means that a $10,000 balance transfer would cost $300, as opposed to $75.

If possible, we recommend finding a credit card that charges no balance transfer fees.  We list every available no fee balance transfer offer on our website.  If you cannot get approved for a no fee balance transfer card, we strongly encourage you to avoid a credit card that does not cap the maximum fee at $75.

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.

In our opinion, the best type of balance transfer is one that offers a 0% APR and charges no balance transfer fees.  As we’ve written many times before, balance transfer fees are a nuisance.  If you are only transferring a balance from one credit card, the maximum balance transfer fee you will incur is the lesser of 3% or $75.  However, if you transfer three balances of $2500, you’ll end up paying $225 in balance transfer fees. 

 Now, the savings one gets from transferring a $7500 balance from a 14% credit card is over $1000.  However, if you pay balance transfer fees, the amount would be reduced to around $800.  Now, while balance transfer fees are by no means deal breakers, they do help boost savings (in this example, by 20%).

 Given our stance on no fee balance transfers, it should come as no surprise that our selection for “Best Balance Transfer” offers no fees on balance transfers and a 0% APR for 1 year.  And the winner is…The Citi Professional Cash Card.

Below you can vote on the best balance transfer credit cards.  You can compare all of the offers listed in the 0% APR Balance Transfer section of our website and apply online for approval.

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