The Balance Transfer Search Assistant has been designed to help consumers isolate balance transfer offers from our advertisers that will enable them to reap the greatest savings. The four search criteria available allow for custom tailored searching based on essential card features.
One search option of particular importance is the “Transferring Balances From” option. With this feature, consumers can input the brand of card that currently has the most debt. This will remove offers from that company, as one cannot transfer debt to a 0% APR credit card issued by the same company.
For example, if the bulk of a consumer’s debt is on a Chase credit card, that consumer will need to transfer balances to another company, such as Citi or Discover. This limitation only applies to credit card companies, not networks like Visa or MasterCard – consumers can transfer balances from one Visa or MasterCard as long as the company that issues the card is different than the one balances will be transferred from.
Additional Search Tips
As noted above, it is vitally important to select a 0% balance transfer card from a company that you currently don’t have substantial debt on. This will prevent transfer issues after application.
A second thing to consider is whether or not to choose a card with a 0% APR on purchases as well as balance transfers. Many cards offer the same rates on both categories, though some offer shorter 0% rates on purchases than on balance transfers. If there is a possibility that new purchases will be made on the card, be sure to choose an offer that provides the same 0% introductory length for both categories. This will insure against issues that arise when one 0% period expires before the other and credit card companies are allowed to allocate the entire minimum payment towards the balance with the lowest rate.
Lastly, questions, comments and suggestions are much appreciated and can be submitted via this contact form.