Low APR Balance Transfers: Pay 0% for a Year

One way to save money on your existing debt is to take advantage of a low APR balance transfer offer.  Many credit card companies will offer you a low APR balance transfer because they want to get your business.  You will likely even find that you are offered 0% APR balance transfer deals.  This is a great way to buy yourself a little bit of “free” time to work towards paying down your existing debts.

So how can you use these 0% offers to your best advantage?  One way to use them is to help you manage any large balances that you have.  If you have built up quite a bit of debt on your current credit cards, then you are paying for it every single month through the interest rate on those cards.  However, with 0% APR balance transfer offers, you can have an entire year to work at paying down that debt without having to pay interest on it.

Low APR Balance Transfers

Chase Platinum MasterCard Intro APR - 0% Intro Period - 12 Months Regular APR - 13.74%  Chase PerfectCard MasterCard - Top MasterCard Gas Rebate Card Intro APR - 0% Intro Period - 6 Months Regular APR - 13.74%  Blue Cash From American Express Intro APR - 0% Intro Period - 6 Months Regular APR - 13.24%  Discover Open Road (SM) Card Intro APR - 0% Intro Period - 6/12 Months* Regular APR - 10.99%

Another way to uses 0% or low APR offers to your advantage is to use them when you make large purchases.  Here is what you will need to do.  Make the purchase on your existing credit card.  Then, when you get the first statement, make arrangements for the low APR balance transfer.  The credit card that is giving you the balance transfer offer will make the payment to your other credit card in the amount you dictate.  Then you will have an entire year to pay off that large purchase.  This works very well when you have emergencies come your way that you are not prepared to pay for, such as when your refrigerator stops working suddenly.  While you may not have the money on hand to pay for this, you can make the purchase without paying interest on it. 

When shopping for a low APR balance transfer offer, make sure that you read all of the fine print.  There are many excellent offers out there, but there are some that will cost you more than they are worth.  Look for fees and unexpected costs that are attached to the offer.  If you find any, you might want to keep looking.  There are plenty of companies that offer these balance transfer deals with little cost to you.

Also, make sure you find out what will happen to the APR on your balance transfer if you should miss a payment or make a payment slightly late.  Some companies give you a little bit of a grace period, where you will not have any increase on your APR if your payment is a little late.  However, other companies will immediately give you a higher APR if your payment is even one day late, and the increase is usually quite a bit more than the low APR balance transfer offer you were originally given.  While knowing this information may not change your mind about an offer you are considering, you need to know what to expect so that you will stay motivated to pay your bill on time every month.

Once you have found the low APR balance transfer offer that you want, carefully fill in all of the information.  Put the entire amount that you wish to transfer on the section of the form asking for this amount.  If you are not approved for enough credit, the balance transfer company will simply transfer the maximum you are allowed to transfer.  However, if you put the entire amount, chances are good you will be approved for that amount.  Carefully look over the information to make sure that it is all correct, and send in the application.  Soon you will be enjoying the freedom of a low or 0% APR balance, saving yourself hundreds of dollars in interest for the next year.