Using credit cards to earn a bunch of miles and points is usually only worthwhile if you can pay off your balances in full every month. Carrying big balances on your cards is generally not a good idea because you’ll pay more in interest than the miles and points you earn are worth. Travel points earning cards have the highest interest rates in the industry!
There’s a great option for people who have balances on their credit cards and want to save money on interest. Balance transfer cards let you transfer balances from other credit cards and have a 0% APR (annual percentage rate) for a specified amount of months. Most Balance transfer cards don’t have annual fees which provides more savings.
Here is what you should know before getting a balance transfer card:
You Should Pay Your Card Off in Full Each Month
It’s important to make sure you can pay your bills on time and in full every month. Otherwise, Points Banking may not be right for you. That’s because rewards cards often charge high interest rates.
Paying interest on a credit card could negate any benefits you earn from your miles. Even worse, find yourself in debt. Remember, credit cards are just tools to earn you massive amounts of points and miles for free travel.
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Be Aware of Balance Transfer Fees
Most balance transfer cards charge a ~3% balance transfer fee. For example, if you transfer a balance of $10,000, you’ll pay $300. Make sure you add the numbers to make sure its worth it.
High Interest Rates Will Eventually Kick-in
The 0% interest is usually only for a promotional period of ~12 to ~18 months. When the period ends, you’ll have to start paying very high interest rates. If you miss a payment, the high interest rates will start early. Plan to pay off your debt by the time your promotional period of 0% interest ends.
What Is the Best Balance Transfer Card?
Link: Chase Slate
If you know what you’re doing, transferring your balance to a 0% APR card can be useful, especially for people who have experienced job loss or unexpected life events.
If you decide to sign-up for a 0% interest card, the Chase Slate offers NO balance transfer fees for the first 60 days (after intro period, 16.24% to 24.99% variable applies).
The Chase Slate alo offers:
- No sign-up bonus or rewards for spending
- $0 annual fee
- 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on purchases & balance transfers.
- $0 introductory balance transfer fee for transfers made during the 1st 60 days. (No other credit card offers this)
- Purchase protection, price protection, and extended warranty protection
So if you want to transfer your card balance and avoid paying interest for over a year, the Chase Slate card is an excellent choice. But remember, please pay your bills on time!
Also, only sign-up if you’re certain you’ll pay the full balance within 15 months. Otherwise you could find yourself paying up to 24% interest!
Bottom Line
Transferring a balance to a 0% APR card is risky if you’re not certain you can pay it back! Be very careful to read the fine print and know what you’re getting into.
While cards advertise 0% interest, they may still charge balance transfer fees and interest on balance transfers or purchases.
The Chase Slate card lets you transfer balances from higher rate credit cards for NO fee in the 1st 60 days of having the card. And you’ll pay 0% interest on balance transfers and purchases for the 1st 15 months. Plus, there’s no annual fee.
If you’re carrying balances on other credit cards, this card could be a very good deal, because you’ll save money on interest. But if you don’t need to transfer a balance, this is probably not a good card for you, because it doesn’t earn miles and points.
What is your experience with balance transfer credit cards?
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This site is absolutely fabulous!
So the other balance transfer cards charge a fee to transfer?