The Problem with Credit Card Balance Transfers

You get them in the mail everyday. They are credit card balance transfer offers. You apply for a credit card with them and they will allow you to transfer a balance from your high interest credit card to their card for little or no interest for the next 6-12 months. Sounds like a great deal, but is it really?

So, you take the company up on their offer and you transfer your balance and everything it great. This is true as long as you make your payments on time and are not tempted to charge on the old card. In many cases one of two things happens, causing the balance transfer idea to look less attractive.

First, you have that old credit card that you just paid off and it has a lot of available credit. It is the day before payday and you need gas or a friend comes to town and you want to go to dinner. What do you do? You take out that old credit card, the one with the available balance, and charge on it. Little by little that card begins to have an accumulating balance again and before you know it you now have two credit card payments.

The other problem is with payments that are not made on time. You must make ALL of your payments on time. Making late payments will cause you to lose your introductory rate and if you have a habit of making late payments, you could see you interest rate increase to over 30% annually. You can make you payment 3 days after your due date and it will most likely never affect your credit. It usually has to be more than 30 days late before it is reported to the credit bureau. But paying 3 days after your due date, you will be considered late by your credit card company and will be charged a late fee.

Balance transfers can help you reduce your debt and save you money, but it is all in how you handle them. Make your payments on time and refrain from using your charge cards and they are a good debt option for you. If you have a problem with making your payments on time or you find credit cards tempting, there are other debt repayment plans that will work better for you.

Marjorie Salada is the owner of debtmanagement1.com, a website that contains information on debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt counseling and how to manage credit card debt.