The Daddy Of Balance Transfer Cards

February 16th, 2010

If you have the Mother of all debts weighing you down, then you should be looking at the Daddy of all balance transfer cards.

This is the balance transfer for life credit card, also known as the life-of-the-balance credit card. This latter description is perhaps a better one to go with, as it does not conjure up images of still paying off your debt when you can’t remember how it first managed to mount up.

The whole point of a life-of-the-balance credit card is to provide a relatively safe place to put your debt. It is safe because you are not suffering a high rate of interest any more, and because you have not chosen a transfer rate that will revert to a higher one after a certain period of time.

A balance transfer credit card of this type lends much-needed calm to the situation. One of the worst aspects of credit card debt is when it is accruing interest at such a frightening rate that your repayments are not able to stop it growing each month.

A life-of-the-balance credit card can put the brakes on this happening. It may not provide the 0% rate enjoyed by a six months deal, but it is the most realistic option when the debt is large.

The rate of interest on balance transfer cards of this sort will be around the 6% to 8% mark, although it is always worth comparing the market to see exactly what is on offer because deals come and go and rates are liable to change.

The only issue you may have with securing a life-of-the-balance credit card is that they are not too commonly found on standard credit cards, but are more often features of platinum cards. This will rule out certain individuals on the basis of income eligibility.

If you are approved for this special balance transfer cards like these, you must make 100% certain that you do not use your new card to make any

purchases or cash advances. For one thing, these will be subject to higher rates of interest; but the real killer is that these transactions will not be paid down by the repayments you are making to the card until your transferred balance has been paid off.

That means you will have a portion of your total debt that is getting bigger and bigger each month, and this will obviously impact the effectiveness of the card as a money-saving device.