A balance transfer fee is what you are charged when you transfer the debt you owe on one credit card to another card. The biggest advantage of balance transfers is that they lower your interest rates and enable you to pay off your debts sooner. The debt from the previous card with high interest has been paid off by the current one and you pay the debt on the new one at a lower interest. However, you have to factor in the fact that, usually, balance transfers don’t come for free. You have to pay a balance transfer fee. If you are going in for a balance transfer, look for free balance transfer credit cards.
There are quite a few of them. The most successful way to pay off a debt with free balance transfer credit cards is to choose one with a long 0% APR period which doesn’t charge a balance transfer fee.
Some of the top free balance transfer credit cards include the following:
- Barclaycard Ring MasterCard: This is probably the best in the market for balance transfers. It has no balance transfer fee, no annual fees, and no foreign transaction fees. It has a 0% introductory APR rate for 15 months, one of the longest periods of time.
- Wells Fargo Platinum Visa Credit Card:
This is a no annual fee, no balance transfer fee credit card. You will also not be charged a fee for purchases up to 15 months from opening the account. One of the more original perks of this credit card is that you get a protection against damage or theft on your cell phone worth $600 if you pay your phone bills with the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Credit Card monthly.
The Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card from American Express: The Amex Every Day Preferred Card offers both a zero percent balance transfer fee and some surprisingly good rewards that include a zero percent APR on balance transfers and purchases up to a year from the time of activating the account, points of 3x up to purchases worth $6,000 annually in supermarkets, points worth 2x in gas stations, and 1x on every other purchase. If you purchase for $1,000 within the first three months of acquiring the card, you get to earn 15,000 points in Membership Reward. If you use your cards 30 times or more, you earn points worth one and half times more than normal in a billing period. This is subject to terms and conditions, of course. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card: Capital One offers a zero balance transfer fees, no annual fees card. Purchases are at zero percent along with balance transfers for the first nine months. One of the biggest perks of this card is that you earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase you make every day. This offer is unlimited. Another perk is that this card offers a bonus of $100 if you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months of activating the account. Discover It: This credit card is an excellent choice for those who wish to make big purchases or transfer a huge balance. With free balance transfers, no annual fees, the longest zero percent APR introductory rate of 18 months, and great perks, this card takes the top slot. It offers 1 percent cash back on every purchase made. It offers 5 percent cash back on rotating categories. The cash can be redeemed any time you’d like to make a statement credit, deposit, or a payment on Amazon.com. It also doubles every cash back you’d earned after the first year of you getting the card. It gives free access to your FICO score. It does not have a late fee for your first late payment. It does not have a foreign transaction fee. It also has a $0 fraud liability. With free balance transfer credit cards, you cannot always easily figure what kind of debts can be transferred. Credit card issuers clarify that the kind of debts you can transfer include credit card debts where you go for a balance transfer to pay off debts from another card that has high interest. Credit card debts take about a week to be transferred, so endure you make minimum payments on the debt on the existing card; non-credit card debts, like in the case of Capital One which allows you to transfer any debt you possibly can. Discover allows you to transfer any debt not linked to your checking account. Barclaycard allows you to transfer debts from Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express. Anything apart from these will have to be discussed with them. Chase does not allow a balance transfer to pay secured or unsecured loans issued by it or its affiliates, debit cards, government agencies, individuals and secured lines of credit or consumer loans which include auto loans, student loans or home equity loans. American Express allows you to transfer only credit card debts.
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