All but one of these cards charge a Transfer Fee of about 3% of what you transfer over. Transferring $5,000 x 3% = $150. The Transfer Fee of 3% is a lot less than the regular 10% interest you are currently paying. But if you can save $150, you should!
I’m not sure whether I am allowed to say in this post which card has the “Balance Transfer Fee” of $0, but you will know in about 10 seconds after clicking the widgetty box at the bottom of this post. Email me if you have any questions.
NOTE: You can’t transfer a balance from one card to another card if the cards are from the same bank. Therefore, you can’t transfer a Chase card balance to a Chase card, but you can transfer a Citi card balance to a Chase card or any other bank, and vice versa.
In the event that you don’t pay off your card(s) balance during the time period that you have 0%, you can apply for another card in the future and keep moving that debt from 0% card to 0% card for years until it is paid off. It takes very little time to save yourself a lot of interest!
REMEMBER: Don’t cancel those older cards once you pay off the balance. You probably developed a toxic dose of disdain for that old credit card that milked your for interest all those months. Don’t cancel it. Keep it alive. It’s better for your credit score if its credit limit and length of history is active.
“What if the card charges an annual fee?” Call the number on the back of that card and ask to be downgraded to a free version of that card. If the bank absolutely, positively does not have a free version of that card, or another at their bank to which you can downgrade your annual fee card, do this: transfer the credit limit to another card you have at their bank. Only after that should you consider cancelling it. But ask again about the free version of a card!
FYI: I have a slew of old cards that I rarely use. Every January, I take them on a field trip to the gas station. I put a couple bucks on each as I fill my tank. This keeps the accounts from going dormant and being closed by the bank. As you now know, closing the card hurts your credit score.
Email me if you have any questions. Full disclosure: I may get a commission if you apply using my link, so… Thanks!
