Balance transfer credit cards offers are undoubtedly one of the best short-term ways manage your credit card debts. They can probably help you save thousands of dollars on your interest payments and provide some breathing room to help you get out of debt if you take the opportunity to apply your interest savings to your outstanding balances.

Balance transfer offers are certainly harder to find these days, but some are still available in the market. One of the best places left to find them is with the cards that you already carry. With far fewer offers showing up in your mail box, you may find hidden opportunities by logging in to your card’s Web site or calling the customer service number and asking if any balance transfer offers are currently available to you. Credit card comparison sites like CreditCards.com can also help you find the best offers, though many require much higher credit scores than they used to.

What is Balance Transfer?

When you have outstanding balances on a number of credit cards with high interest rates, you can transfer all your balances to only one credit card that has a lower interest rate and pay them off. This method is known as balance transfer and is a valuable credit card debt consolidation technique to get out of debt.

Balance transfer credit cards enable you to pay off your credit card debts at a comparatively low rate over a fixed repayment term. 0% offers are increasingly rare right now, but very low rates like 1.9% can still be found. You just have to ensure that you make the repayment within the stipulated time otherwise credit card providers would ask for various fees and charges. For availing this service, you need to pay a balance transfer fee, which is now commonly as high as 3% of the entire transferred balance, a big increase from the good ol’ days of easy credit. It is always helpful to perform your balance transfer within one or two months of opening the new card account or else the offer might run out.

Your credit score is also a major determinant whether you’re eligible for a good balance transfer deal. If your credit rating is satisfactory, there is a high chance that you would be approved for the deal.

The Best Way To Utilize A Balance Transfer Deal To Reduce Your Credit Card Debts

The best way to utilize a balance transfer deal to minimize your credit card debts is to go for a 0% balance transfer credit card. There are many credit cards that come with 0% balance transfer offers. This means if you make the repayment within six months, you are not required to pay any interest. This period of six months is known as the introductory period. If possible, set up an auto payment arrangement with your bank. This minimizes the risk of missed payments. There are still some credit cards with 0% balance transfer offers for 12 months but they are very scarce.

Pay more than the minimum during the promotional rate period so you can get out of debt even faster since every dollar you pay will go directly towards your principal balance.

One final word – while following a 0% credit card balance transfer strategy, you must not charge other things to the card since it would pile up more credit card debt for you with increased interest.

This is a guest post by writer Robin Williams.