Balance Transfer Credit Cards

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How to choose a balance transfer credit card

By: Connor Wrenn

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A balance transfer can be a great way to consolidate payments and avoid interest if you’re carrying a balance. With the right card, you can even reap rewards and benefits after you pay off the transferred balance. If you know how these offers work, and you know what other perks to look for, you can find the best balance transfer card to minimize your interest and maximize your rewards.

Introductory offers
When reviewing options for a balance transfer, the length of the introductory offer is usually the most important consideration. That’s the period of time during which you’ll pay the introductory rate; for example, “0 percent for 12 months.”Balance transfer offer periods can run as short as six months, or as long as 21 months. Generally speaking, the longer the period, the better. Some offers describe the promotional period in “months,” some in “billing cycles” and some as “until” some date in the future. Don’t be confused by this language; they’re essentially the same. 

Balance transfer fees
The other important consideration is the balance transfer fee. According to our survey of balance transfer cards, nearly 90 percent of major cards offer balance transfers, and the most-common fee is 3 percent of the amount transferred. A lucky few may qualify for offers with a zero fee balance transfer. Otherwise, use a tool such as a balance transfer calculator to discover the time you need to pay off the debt (including the fee), then look for cards with those terms. If you can pay it down with a 12-15 month window, you should find plenty of offers to help you out.

Ongoing rates
Those who intend to continue to carry a credit balance month over month should carefully consider the regular APR. While these post-introductory interest rates run a bit higher on average, you can find certain offers with regular APRs starting around 11 percent.

Rewards and other benefits
Finally, cards with strong balance transfer offers can carry other perks as well. Many balance transfer cards don’t have an annual fee, and many people will advise you to steer away from cards with fees altogether. However, cards with travel rewards or other perks may end up paying for the fee on their own and then some! Our balance transfer card reviews will help you discover what the details of each card are, and show you what rewards are worth.

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