What is the best balance transfer credit card?
2008-03-06 12:20:00
In our opinion, the best balance transfer
credit
cards charge no balance transfer fees. Consequently, our selections for best balance transfer credit cards are the Citi Professional Card, which offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for nine months and the Bank of America Platinum Plus Card, which offers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months. Both of these cards charge no balance transfer fees.The runners up are credit cards that offer a 0% APR on balance transfers for 1 year, a 0% APR on purchases as well as low long term APRs. Cards that fall into this category are the Discover More Card and the Chase Platinum Card.With credit markets tightening, it is becoming more difficult to get approved for a good 0% APR balance transfer credit card. Thus, we suggest that anyone
Capital One Does Not Offer 0% Balance Transfers
2008-03-04 10:40:00
A number of visitors have written me regarding Capital One balance transfer offers. Unlike many credit card companies, which offer a 0% APR on balance transfers instead of purchases, Capital One does the opposite: they offer a 0% APR on purchases only. This has proved confusing for the people who emailed us, so we wanted to clarify this issue for other readers.Additionally, Capital One does offer no fee balance transfers. However, all balance transfers are charged the standard interest rate, which is often in the low to mid teens. Essentially, you may end up paying the same interest rate you had on your previous credit card.To learn more about no fee balance transfers as well as 0% APR balance transfers, visit the respective sections of Smart Balance
Transfers
credit card comparison s
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0% APR Balance Transfers Going Bye-Bye?
2008-02-29 13:52:00
A few recent articles have discussed the possibility that 0% APR balance transfers may become scarcer in the near future. One, from a UK paper, notes that 0% balance transfers have all but completely disappeared from the market.A second, on MSN money, is more pertinent to US residents. In this article, author Liz Pulliam Weston cites Chase bank officials who have publicly stated that they will be making it harder for individuals with a history of using balance transfer offers to obtain one from Chase. On top of that, many banks have heightened requirements for credit approval, saving the best offers for those with the best credit.As the "credit crisis" evolves, credit availability may become an issue, especially for individuals with borderline credit. If you think you fall into this ca
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, Transfers
, Balance
The 0% APR For Life Myth
2008-02-27 13:58:00
Once upon a time, when credit was easy and banks were giving money away, at least one credit card company offered a 0% APR on balance transfers for life. A recent email inquiry led me to investigate whether or not such offers still exist. What I found was, well, a lot of confused and persistent rumors.Let me begin. Many web forums have discussions about these 0% for life credit cards. If what they say is true, Discover once offered a 0% APR for life on balance transfers. The one condition was that a person made monthly purchases which would be charged the standard interest rate. The most recent postings about these offers stem from early 2005, with most of them coming earlier. Now, perhaps these offers did exists then. I couldn't imagine anyone on the internet making something up.
Are Credit Card Companies Still Approving Applications for Balance Transfers?
2008-02-20 12:14:00
With the "credit crunch" dominating headlines, many people may find it more difficult to get approved for a credit card. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, major credit card companies have reduced their approval rates from 40% to 32%. This translates to a 20% overall drop in approvals.My question to readers is this: have you had difficulty getting approved for a credit card recently? Any feedback would be appreciated. Feel free to post here or send us an email with your thoughts.
Read more: Applications
, Balance
, Companies
, Transfers
Another No Fee Balance Transfer Bites the Dust
2008-02-11 12:50:00
On Friday, February 15th, yet another 0% apr no fee balance transfer offer will be removed from the market. This time it is one of the best offers available, the Citi Home Rebate card. This credit card offered a 0% APR on balance transfers for a full year.Once Friday comes, there will only be two solid 0% APR, no fee balance transfer offers left on the market, neither of which offer a 0% interest rate for 1 year. These no fee cards offer 0% rates for 6 and 9 months respectively.If you're looking to transfer a balance to Citi Home Rebate card before the no fee balance transfer offer expires, you can do so at SmartBalance
Transfers.com before the offer expires. Additionally, you can view all current no fee balance transfer offers at our website at any time.
Bank of America Raises Interest Rates
2008-02-08 12:26:00
According to a BusinessWeek article released today, Bank of America
has dramatically raised interest rates on a number of cardholders. In the article, a number of consumers with solid credit histories and a record of consistent payments reported that their interest rates have nearly doubled, with many cardholders being slapped with rates as high as 28%.Consumers hit with an interest rate hike by Bank of America were offered the opportunity to lock in their current rates if they opted to no longer use their cards. However, finding out if you're rate will be increased and preventing this from occurring has not been made particularly easy, as Bank of America sent notices without reply envelopes and offer no way to lock in current rates via phone or online.If you hold a Bank of America credi
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, Rates
, Interest
A Bad Balance Transfer Experience
2008-02-04 09:33:00
I received an email from a visitor detailing a bad balance transfer situation that she wanted me to share with other visitors. The visitor received a mail offer from her current credit card company offering her a 0% APR on balance transfers for 1 year. When she received the offer, she had a $5000 balance with the company extending the 0% offer and a $3000 balance with another company. Hoping she could save some money and consolidate her payments, the visitor initiated the balance transfer. That's where the problems began.First, she was charged a $75 balance transfer fee. If you've been here before, you know I strongly recommend no fee balance transfer credit cards. However, the $75 in balance transfer fees was only the tip of the iceberg. When the visitor made payments to her consol
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Capital One No Fee Balance Transfers
2008-01-31 12:54:00
I recently received an email regarding no fee balance transfer offers from Capital One. I have been aware of these offers for some time, but have not mentioned them because, although Capital One offers no fee balance transfers, they do no offer a 0% APR on balance transfers. Instead, they offer a 0% APR on purchases and, while charging no balance transfer fees, charge consumers the standard interest rate on all balance transfers. Consequently, one can save 3% in balance transfer fees, but in all likelihood will end up paying in excess of 12% to 16% a year in interest. In a nutshell, these offers offer a negligible amount of savings compared to a no fee balance transfer credit card that offers a 0% APR for 1 year. For more information on credit cards that offer no fee balance transfers a
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, Balance
New No Fee Balance Transfer Offer
2008-01-23 11:27:00
Yes, I actually spend a lot of time searching for no fee balance transfer offers. Most of that time is wasted, as searching for these deals is like looking for D.B. Cooper. However, I did stumble upon a credit card from my favorite charity that offers no fee balance transfers for 6 months and 1.9% APR. The credit card is the Make a Wish Visa, and this is a great card because the issuer, makes a contribution to your local Make-A-Wish® chapter every time you make a purchase with your card.Last year, I had the pleasure of making two special contributions to Make-A-Wish. The first was a donation of two Red Sox ALCS tickets (even though I'm a Yankee fan) to a young child in a wheelchair. The second donation was three Giants tickets to a young man, so he, his brother and his father could
Read more: Balance
, Offer
A Brief Note on Brad Renfro
2008-01-18 11:56:00
Although this is miles off topic, I wanted to take a moment to comment on the unfortunate death of Brad Renfro. I had the opportunity to meet this talented and under-used actor while working as a key set production assistant on a little seen movie titled, "The Job." One of my tasks was ushering the movie's stars from their trailers to the set. Another task was giving cues to the actor's. From day one, Brad Renfro proved to be a humble, friendly, and wholly unconceited young man. Over the course of the 30 day shoot, Brad and I became friendly. He spoke openly about his past problems and seemed determined to overcome them. He was, I imagine, deeply unsettled by his early fame and succumbed early to the dangers of Hollywood life. At the time I knew him, however, I thought he stood a c
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No Fee Balance Transfer Tips
2008-01-14 11:58:00
No fee balance transfers are the best deal in the credit card market. Not only do you get up to 1 year to enjoy a money saving 0% APR, you can also save anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars on balance transfer fees. I've received a number of emails from visitors of SmartBalance
Transfers.com asking for an explanation of how it is possible to save hundreds of dollars with a no fee balance transfer, so I will answer this question here. With 99% of credit cards, there is a 3% balance transfer fee. With most of these credit cards, the maximum balance transfer fee is $75. With others, the maximum fee is $99. With others, there is no limit on balance transfer fees. Since most credit cards charge 3% with a maximum of $75, we'll focus on how no fee balance transfer fees help y
Online Balance Transfer Mistakes
2008-01-07 14:18:00
While saving money with a 0 APR balance transfer credit card is one of the easiest ways to cut down on monthly bills, making a costly balance transfer mistake is also very easy. Here are a few quick tips to help you maximize the money you save when transferring balances online.1.) If you are transferring balances from more than one credit card, take advantage of a no fee balance transfer offer. Most credit card companies charge a balance transfer fee of 3% up to $75 dollars for each balance transferred. (Some credit cards have even taken the consumer un-friendly approach of putting no maximum fee on balance transfers.) However, you can avoid these altogether by applying for a no fee balance transfer credit card.Applying for a no fee balance transfer card provide a great deal of savings
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Balance Transfer Resolutions
2008-01-02 11:00:00
Although losing weight and quiting smoking are among the top New Year's resolutions, the easiest, and perhaps best resolution should be to save money. What makes this resolution so easy? The fact that there are hundreds of ways we waste money every day. As our specialty is credit cards, we're dedicating our first post of the new year to simple ways to save hundreds of dollars with balance transfer credit cards. Firstly, if you carry a balance on your credit card, you probably waste about $140 for every $1000 you carry on your credit card. With a 0% balance transfer, then, you can save $520 by transferring a balance of $3000. Not too bad for something you can accomplish online in five minutes. You can compare current 0% APR balance transfer credit cards in the card comparison section
Read more: Balance Transfer
, Resolutions
, Balance
Fast Instant Credit Cards
2007-12-19 12:44:00
If you're looking to get an instant credit card for holiday shopping you better apply today. Although many credit card companies offer instant online credit decisions, no credit cards give out instant access to your credit card numbers. This means that even if you are approved for a credit card, you still have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.Knowing this, if you apply for a credit card today or later, chances are you won't have it in your hand before Christmas. Plus, with the holiday season being the busiest time of the year at the post office, you can expect to wait longer than usual for a "instant credit card" to arrive.With that said, if you are looking to get a credit card fast, it might be worth considering Chase credit cards or Discover credit cards. While you probably won't
Read more: Credit Cards
, Cards
Best Balance Transfer Offers
2007-12-17 11:35:00
Happy Holidays for the Smart Balance
Transfers blog! This will be a quick post to help last minute credit card shoppers find the best credit card offer for the season. Basically, the most important thing to look for in a balance transfer credit card this time of year is what the 0% interest rate applies to. If you plan on using your new 0% APR credit card for purchases and balance transfers, we recommend the following credit cards:Best Overall Balance Transfer Credit Card: The Bank of America Platinum Plus, which offers no fee balance transfers and a 0% APR for six months on both purchases and balance transfers.Runner-Up: The Chase Platinum Card offers a 0% on purchases and balance transfers for a full year. However, there is a balance transfer fee of 3% up to $75.Worth Noting: The D
Read more: Offers
No Fee Offer Update
2007-12-05 10:50:00
As noted in my last posting, Citi has pulled the Driver's Edge card, a no fee balance transfer offer that provided a 0% APR for 1 year. However, there are still two Citi cards and a Bank of America credit card offering no fee balance transfers. The Citi Home Rebate card (see the no fee balance transfers section of Smart Balance Transfers to view the application) is offering no fee balance transfers and a 0% APR for 1 year. The Citi Professional card is offering no fee balance transfers for 9 months, and lastly, the Bank of America Platinum is offering no fee balance transfers with a 0% APR for 6 months, as well as a 0% APR on purchases.Apart from these no fee offers, there are still a number of credit cards offering a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 1 year. These credit c
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, Offer
No Fee Balance Transfer Expirations
2007-11-21 12:54:00
As written earlier, Citi will be pulling the Citi Driver's Edge no fee balance transfer credit card at the end of this month. However, Citi is still offering no fee balance transfers with the Home Rebate card. This card will continue to offer 0% APR, no fee balance transfers for 1 year. You can learn more about this no fee balance transfer credit card and apply online at our main page.
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sendmethecard.com Again and Again
2007-11-13 14:50:00
In this blog, I've covered credit card mail offers a good deal. Why? Because it seems like I get five in the mail every day. And today is no different, as I once again received a Chase credit card offer for www.sendmethecard.com. And, just like the last two I received, this one is completely different. And not that good of a credit card offer to boot.First, we'll examine this sendmethecard.com offer. It provides a 0% APR on balance transfers until September 1, 2008, or about nine months. If I were to accept and use the card for purchases, the APR would be a lofty 21.24%. Given that Chase is offering tons of credit cards with a 0% APR on purchases, and most people will be using credit cards for holiday purchases, this is not the best card for the season. Add that to the fact that m
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www.sendmethecard.com Again
2007-11-06 16:52:00
Credit card companies are filling up mailboxes, and yet another www.sendmethecard.com offer arrived from Chase. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, credit card companies tend to offer different rates to different people with pre-approved mailings such as those for sendmethecard.com. This instance was no different.The offer was for a Chase Platinum Visa and offered a 0% fixed APR on balance transfers for 1 year. However, unlike the Chase Platinum Visa offered on Smart Balance Transfers, this sendmethecard.com offer did not provide a 0% interest rate on purchases. With the holiday shopping season essentially here, the best 0% offers cover both purchases and balance transfers. The way this mail offer was designed, you had to look closely to discover that the special 0% rate only applie
Read more: Again
Calculating 0% APR Balance Transfer Savings
2007-11-06 11:01:00
Many people I know don't keep track of how much they pay their credit card company in interest every month. When their statement arrives, they tend to look at the balance, the amount due, and perhaps peruse the charges they made during that billing statement. What is commonly overlooked is the extremely important interest charge.At Smart Balance
Transfers, we have a balance transfer calculator that can be used to help estimate how much a person can save with a 0% balance transfer. In general, it is safe to assume that for every $1000 a person carries in credit card debt, they will pay an average of $140 in interest. This number is based on an average interest rate of 14%. With some reports claiming the average household has close to $8000 in credit card debt, a 0% balance transfer can
Read more: Savings
Balance Transfer Fee Limits
2007-11-05 12:53:00
I received an email from a visitor regarding the issue of maximum balance transfer fees. In general, it is safe to assume the maximum balance transfer fee is $75 or 3%, whichever is greater. However, never assume anything when it comes to credit card companies.As I've reported recently, a number of credit card companies have lifted the ceiling on balance transfer fees. Individuals transferring less than $2500 need not be concerned, as the maximum fee on a balance transfer of that size or less will be no more than $75. The issue of no limit balance transfer fees only effects individuals transferring more than $2500. If you fall into this category, then it is vitally important to examine the fee disclosure in the terms and conditions of your credit card application.For example, a typica
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, Balance Transfer
, Balance
Bye-Bye No Fee Balance Transfers
2007-11-01 10:37:00
As I've been documenting, the number of no fee balance transfer credit card offers are dwindling fast. And as of Novemeber 30th, the number of credit cards offering no fee balance transfers and a 0% APR for 1 year will now reach 0. That's right. Zero. Zilch. None. Presently, the Citi Driver's Edge Options card is the only credit card on the market that charges no fees and a 0% APR for 1 year on balance transfers. On November 30th, this card will no longer be available.Once this card disappears, there will be two no fee balance transfer cards available. One, the Bank of America Platinum Plus, offers no fees and a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months. The other, the Citi Professional Card, offers no fees and a 0% APR on balance transfers for 9 months. At this time
Read more: Transfers
, Balance
0% Balance Transfer Applications
2007-10-30 12:09:00
When you're applying online for a 0% balance transfer, there are a few areas of the application that you should examine particularly close. Here's a rundown on what to look for on a balance transfer application.1.) Duration of the 0% APR balance transfer period: Most credit cards that advertise 0% APR balance transfers for a year give approved customers a 0% APR for 1 year. However, some credit card companies offer consumers a shorter duration on balance transfers if they do not meet certain credit requirements. To be sure you will be offered 0% for 1 year, check the rate information in the terms and conditions of the application.2.) What the 0% APR applies to: Some credit cards offer a 0% rate on purchases and balance transfers, while others offer a 0% rate on one or the other. If
Read more: Balance Transfer
, Applications
, Balance
www.mydiscovercard.com
2007-10-27 11:09:00
Another day and another credit card offer arrives in the mail. This one came from Discover and included the application url www.mydiscovercard.com. This offer was pretty good, as I find Discover offers to be some of the best balance transfer credit card deals on the market. ( You can review all 0% Discover balance transfer offers in that section of Smart Balance Transfers.)Like many of the other mail offers I've recently written about, the www.mydiscovercard.com offer provided a 0% interest rate on balance transfers and purchases for 1 year, followed by an APR of as little as 10.99%. While this offer did have a 3% balance transfer fee, the maximum was the greater of 3% or $75. However, the bulk of this fee was offset by an offer to get $40 cashback if you spent $500 in the next three
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