Balance Transfers Pay Credit Card Bills

By: Ajeet Khurana

Credit card debt is a headache for all of us. It is all very well when we are going around buying things with our cards. However, we cannot afford to forget that we are running up a tab which will have to be taken care of sooner or later. Many people use their credit cards like this is their last chance to do so. They seem to hang on to the illusion that credit cards are like free money. We automatically associate this attitude with the younger group of credit card holders. However, older and supposedly more responsible people occasionally become guilty of this attitude. Of course, even those of us who use our credit cards sensibly occasionally do end up feeling overwhelmed by our credit card bills.

Thus, when the credit card bill does arrive, we do spend the day wondering how we should pay it off. It would be great if we could get a credit card to pay off a credit card bill. Well, one option that a lot of credit card holders go in for is the balance transfer credit card. This allows us to shift our credit burden from a more expensive card to a cheaper one. Thus, when a current card seems to have become rather unaffordable, we can start looking out for a credit card with lower rates of interest. Moreover, there are a number of zero percent balance transfer credit cards which may provide value for your money.

However, the problem with going in for a credit card balance transfer is that one tends to do this over and over again. As soon as the rates on our current card become too high to handle, we decide to make a shift. Do this a little too often and our chances of getting other credit cards in the near future may be adversely affected. In fact, too many balance transfers may hamper our chances of getting approved for even loans and mortgages later on.

Also, we should not apply for a balance transfer card thinking that it will certainly be the better bet. Some cards do offer zero percent interest rates. However, this usually pertains to the balance that has been transferred. Cards that charge lower rates may even charge the transferred balance and your other purchases at different rates of interest. Thus, do not go in for a balance transfer card without carrying out some preliminary studies. Read the fine print before finalizing a deal. Make sure you know about the pros and cons before making your final selection.

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