You may be attracted by the idea of getting your credit card balance transferred to a card that charges no fee for the transfer. However, the zero balance transfer option is not always available and it is not always the best choice for every situation. Many card holders object to the transfer fee because it will offset any savings they might get by transferring their balance to another card. It has become more difficult to find cards that charge zero balance transfer fees and sometimes the good introductory fees expire in just a few months instead of lasting for a year.
To qualify for 0 balance transfer no fee with a new card company you will have to have an extremely good credit rating. If you have a bad credit score, you may need to get help with debt management and fix your credit score first.
The recent economic conditions have adversely affected the consumer’s ability to find favorable balance transfer offers. When being offered introductory rates that are low, the consumer must remember that the company is making this offer because they want to make a profit. The company is not in the business of doing a financial favor for the consumer. When a zero balance transfer offer is being made, the company is assuming they will make more money from you in the long run. Therefore you must always read the fine print with such offers and do your math to see if this transfer will help you or hurt you based on your own situation and your spending patterns.
Sometimes a card that charges a low fee for balance transfers will save you money in the long run.
Even though paying a balance transfer fee may be something you do not want to do because you feel it will eat up any savings you would get from the transfer, in some cases it will actually be more beneficial for you to pay a transfer fee than to get a card with a zero balance transfer.