Transfer Your Credit Card Balances Successfully

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

A credit card system is a type of retail transaction settlement. It is named after the small plastic card issued to cardholders. A credit card differs from a debit card wherein, money is deducted from the users's account on every transaction. In the case of credit cards, the issuer offers a credit for a secified amount of time to the consumer.

Credit cards are also different from a charge card, which requires the balance to be paid in full each month. In contrast, credit card holders can 'revolve' their balance with an additional interest being charged on it. Most credit cards follow the ISO 7810 standard and are of the same shape and size.

Credit card transfer is an equitable way of managing one?s credit card debt. The transfer of balance of one credit card to another often helps with the ?Teaser Rates? or the introductory rates that are generally offered by major credit card companies a couple of times a year. Usually, teaser rates last for either 3 or 6 months once the card is received. An interest rate is levied depending upon the offer available on the card (which may vary from 0% to up to 9%). It relieves the cardholder of a substantial amount of debt in case he/she transfers the balance from a higher interest rate to a lower one.

Some salient points to be kept in mind for a successful credit card balance transfer are as follows:

1. Timely transfer of balance of credit card. It should not overlap the relevant period as that may result in interest charges being levied upon the cardholder.

2. Availability of zero credit card money transfer on time.

3. Make yourself aware of the offer available on the credit card. Read printings on the promo sheet to gauge its process.

4. Transfer all credit card balances to normal interest card as the store cards may have higher APR rate.

5. Be well informed about the comparison of the two cards against their interest rates and their credibility. A financial broker can help decide upon the choice of a good and interest free credit card, or a lender that offers zero introductory balance rates.

6. Be aware of the expiry date of the zero balance credit card so that it can be re-applied for well in time.

7. As soon as one receives the new credit card, make a call to the lender to improvise your plan of money transfer from the previous one.

8. Do not opt for offers or privileges that may not be of much immediate use (like insurance policies, etc.)

9. Once the transfer of balance from the previous credit card to the new account is completed, close the former account and destroy the card.

10. As the new account now has zero introductory rate, one would be required a minimum rate to repay every month during the stipulated period.

Ensuring all these tenets can help towards a successful transfer of your credit card balance. However, the best way of maintaining one?s inflow is to avoid exceeding expenditure with respect to what you earn.