Among the best successes in credit cards during the last several years has been the zero per cent balance transfer package, where people could arrange not to pay interest charges on the arrears by shifting it on to a fresh credit card that billed no interest for a small period of time on debt moved on to it.
Not merely was this greatly loved by potential customers, who were able to sidestep paying interest on what they owed almost indefinitely by moving the debt owed from card to card, it became a hotly contested marketing point for card issuers who sought to offer longer and longer promotions to bring brand new consumers. Of course, this state of affairs couldn’t last forever – it was basically costing the card providers a lot of revenue in lost interest, and thus the appeal of balance transfer deals started to be restricted by additions such as a balance transfer fee, where a preset fraction of the balance moved onto the card was incurred as a handling fee.
At this point, 0% balance transfers are still out there, but the shrinking number of credit card providers means that it’s hard to find a different provider to shift the debt to at a 0% rate. What can you do if you’ve still got a hefty account balance, and need to pay as little interest as possible? The answer is a lifetime low rate balance transfer.
With these specials, rather than paying 0% for a few months on your debts, then the full standard APR of the card account once the discount offer has run out, you agree to pay a minimal rate of approximately 5% APR that is set until the amount owed has been wholly paid off. Even though you’re still having to take care of interest, these offers are far less costly than regular borrowing on credit cards, and normally are also cheaper than other kinds of finance like usecured bank loans or bank account borrowing.
Ideally, you’d take the chance provided by this low percentage rate to target all your financial firepower on repaying the debt as speedily as you are able to, and you certainly shouldn’t shop using your lifetime balance transfer card if you want to take full advantage of the low rate on offer.
Accordingly, should you have a large credit card debt and wish to start clearing it in the most efficient and affordable way possible, a balance transfer for life offer is well worth considering.
About the author: Michael Strauss writes on credit cards and related topics, and has written more on life of balance transfer deals at his site.
I’ve have been checking through this website& being in debt myself there is some useful posts here. My target to being debt free is still at it’s infant stage, but sites like these can be a help. Anyone know if they have a forum?
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!