The Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Quickly and easily review and compare the balance transfer credit cards. It has never been easier to find the credit cards that best suit your financial needs than it is now. Transferring high APR balances from high rate charge cards is one of the very best ways to save money.

Hey, let's face it, we can all use some extra cash. And without question one of the very best ways to do this is by eliminating interest payments. It's your money, keep it where it belongs, in your pocket. Heaven knows the banks and credit card issuers have plenty of money already.

Be sure that you read and understand the terms and services before applying for the balance transfer credit card of your choice. Unfortunately, far too many people fail to understand this important fact. I know it can be dry reading and very boring, but it's also very important - and here's why:

Important Facts:

1. What is the introductory rate?
2. How long will it last?
3. Are there any balance transfer fees?
4. Are there any annual fees?
5. What will the APR be when the introductory period expires?

It doesn't matter if you're looking for an American Express card, Bank of America card, Discover Card or any other, these are all clearly spelled out in the application. Please take the time to understand them before you apply. There is no need to be faced with nasty (read expensive) surprises down the road.

Here are a few more important facts to keep in mind. You must have a solid credit history to be eligible for the best zero percent interest offers. And to maintain the 0% APR offer you must also make your monthly payments on time. Credit card companies are rather unforgiving on this point, so be careful.

Comparing the best balance transfer credit cards are without question a fantastic way to save money. A quality web site that offers the latest deals is a great place to do your homework. It's fast, easy and free. It sure beats wading through all those credit card offers that choke your mailbox.

The World Wide Web has made life easier for us in many respects. Shopping for a new credit card is certainly no exception. We can now go online and compare credit cards without ever leaving the comforts of our own home.

We are able to check out the latest offers from the various banks and credit card issuers with just a few strategic clicks of the mouse. Never mind those credit card solicitations that regularly invade our mailboxes.

That is what makes the Internet so great... the convenience it offers. A quality credit card web site allows us to do side by side comparisons to discover all of the offers that interest us.

Look for the providers that fully disclose the terms of the charge card. Included here should be interest rates, grace periods, fees and penalties for late payments. Do your homework and read the fine print.

And be sure to choose a credit card comparison site that is secure. We recommend using www.bestcreditquote.com. It is a secure site that offers an excellent selection of charge cards.

You will also find valuable information and a first rate newsletter that you can get emailed to you for free. We highly recommend that you take full advantage of this outstanding resource.

There is one thing that I really enjoy seeing and hearing from people that use balance transfer credit cards. I love it when they tell me that they used their card to pay off existing credit card debt.

You see, what the big credit card issuers like American Express, Chase, Discover Card and Bank of America are hoping is that they will gain new customers by offering generous balance transfer deals.

What these credit card companies know is that the vast majority of these people will not pay off their balances before the introductory rate expires. Now they can charge whatever the prevailing interest rate is.

While taking advantage of 0% APR offers are a great money saver, I say let's go one better and use those zero and low interest rate offers to completely pay off all our credit card debt.

If you are currently considering a credit card balance transfer then I urge you to sit down and figure out exactly how much you owe on your current charge cards and set up a monthly pay schedule.

Let's say you owe $6000 across three different credit cards. By getting a quality balance transfer credit card with an introductory rate of zero percent over 12 months you can consolidate that debt.

Now you can make 12 monthly payments of $500 per month and have the entire debt paid off by the time the introductory rate expires. Now you just paid off all your debt without being charged interest.

Even if you can't afford to pay $500 per month you can most certainly pay down as much of the balance as possible, making you that much closer to being debt free. And of course, the true beauty lies in the fact that you are no longer paying any interest.

Another great reason for using balance transfers is to simplify your finances. This can be done by combining, or merging the balances of several cards onto one. This strategy has many benefits.

Surely paying one bill is far easier than paying two, three, four or more each month. This also mitigates the chance that you may misplace or forget to pay one or more of your bills on time. And lookout if you're late.

We all know what happens then. It is just the excuse that the bank or credit card company was looking for to raise your rates. I'm not suggesting that credit card issuers are the enemy. But they most certainly grab their profits where they can.

And as always, let us not forget the main benefit of using a balance transfer credit card. And that of course is to pay down most, or preferably all of your credit card debt. Hopefully before the zero percent introductory rate expires.

The whole purpose behind a balance transfer credit card is to save money by transferring your current high interest rate balances to a low interest rate, or 0% APR credit card.

While in many cases the credit terms will only last between 6 - 12 months, substantial savings can still be realized during this introductory period.

It is an excellent way to pay off existing debt, or to even allocate those dollars you would be spending on interest to other, more pressing expenditures.

All major credit card companies issue these types of deals, including Capitol One, Bank of America and Citibank so be sure to read the terms of each offer closely to compare the various deals so you are prepared to make an informed decision.

As a follow up to the Reuters story shown on the above video I would like to share my story. My credit card information was not stolen per se, but my actual credit cards themselves were used illegally. Here is a little background on how it happened and how I came to discover it.

In actuality what had happened was that I had lost two of my credit cards while shopping. I learned later that they just slipped out of my wallet. I figured that out when I examined my wallet. The leather had become very loose and no longer held anything in place.

Well, I'm 99% sure that the cards simply slipped out of the wallet while I was shopping at Walgreens and I of course didn't notice... until I got the phone call. The phone call was from Discover Card to see if I in fact had just purchased a $6000 bracelet.

You see you may or may not be aware of the fact that credit card companies will call their cardholders to verify card activity if they see purchases that don't fit the cardholders ususl spending habits. In my particular case a $6000 purchase definitely did not fit my usual spending habits.

The bracelet was purchased at a local mall about 2 blocks from my house. I called the mall to ask them why they didn't ask to see an ID for such a large purchase... they had no answer for me. Now here is the point of this story and why I felt it was important to share.

With credit cards you have 100% protection from theft and fraud. I was not held liable for that bracelet... thank God. If that were my bank debit card I would have been out that money because banks do not offer the same protection for debit cards linked to savings and checking accounts.

While I did not buy that bracelet and was not held financially responsible for it, I most certainly was guilty of being careless when I lost my credit cards. But hey, it happens. None of us are perfect and people do lose things. That's why the protection that credit cards offer is so vitally important.