The secrets of choosing and using a balance transfer card explained
As an incentive to attract new customers many credit card providers offer a low interest introductory period on balance transfers. They allow money owed on existing store or credit cards to be transferred to a new card initially with a lower rate of interest.
Many providers offer 0% interest on balance transfers for anything between 3 months and a year. Unless you are planning to chase 0% interest rates and transfer your balance from one card to another each time they expire, it is important to check the standard APR offered by a provider after the introductory period.
Before transferring your balances make sure that you are aware of any balance transfer, or handling fee imposed by the provider as this tends to be charged at roughly 2-3% of the balance you intend to transfer. Also check whether there is a time limit in which balances have to be transferred to qualify for the low interest rate. Deals that offer low interest balance transfers for a set number of months are preferable to those that specify an end date as it takes time to transfer your balances and you may loose out on some of the low interest period.
Additionally if you are transferring your balance to a balance transfer credit card with the intention of paying it off, try not to make purchases with the card as these will most likely be charged at the providers' standard APR rate. If you still want to make purchases it may be best to look for credit cards that offers low introductory rates for purchases.
If you don't want to chase 0% interest offers it may be worth transferring your balances to a card which offers a low rate for the life of your balance.
