A balance transfer credit card can be a great tool to utilize if you are trying to pay down an existing credit card, or multiple cards, balance. Balance transfer credit cards offer a lower interest rate, many times 0%, for a specified time to give you some breathing room and allow more of your payments to go towards paying down principle instead of be applied towards interest that you have accrued.
Determine Which Balance Transfer Credit Card
There are a handful of factors when determining which balance transfer credit card is right for you. First take a look at the length of the reduced interest rate period and decide if that will be enough time for you to pay off your entire balance. After the intro period ends you will return to paying a high interest rate on whatever balance is left over. There is also the balance transfer fee, which is a percentage of the amount that you are transferring over, that is due upfront. From time to time, there are balance transfer cards that offer $0 balance transfer fees. So take some time to do some research and find the right match for you.
Remember that the purpose of a balance transfer credit card is to give you breathing room to pay off whatever balance you currently have. Come up with a payment plan to eliminate your entire balance before the lower intro APR rate expires. Then try to get the lowest balance transfer fee possible and you will be back to spending more of your money on what you want instead of paying for interest charges.