Among the major successes in credit cards during the last few years has been the 0% balance transfer package, where users could ward off paying interest charges on a credit card debt by shifting it on to a fresh credit card that billed no interest charges for a finite time span on balances moved on to it.

Not just was this greatly well-liked by potential customers, who were able to ward off paying interest charges on the cash they owed more or less indefinitely by moving the amount owed from card to card, it became a fiercely fought for marketing point for credit providers who sought to provide longer and longer promotions to entice brand new people. Of course, this situation couldn't last forever - it was just costing the credit card providers too much funds in lost interest, and so the appeal of balance transfers started to be constrained by additions similar to a balance transfer fee, where a flat percentage of the balance moved onto the credit card was incurred as an upfront fee.

These days, interest free balance transfers are still available, but the dwindling variety of credit card issuers means that it's very difficult to find a new company to move the balance to at a zero per cent rate. What can you do if you've kept a large account balance, and need to pay as little interest as possible? The solution is a life-of-balance transfer offer.

With these promotions, rather than paying 0% for a month or two on your debts, followed by the full standard APR of the account once the promotion offer has expired, you agree to pay a low interest rate of about 5% APR that is fixed until the debt has been totally repaid. Although you're still having to take care of interest charges, these packages are far better value than conventional debt on a credit card, and in most cases are also more affordable than other categories of borrowing such as usecured bank loans or overdrafts.

Ideally, you'd take the opportunity presented by this minimal interest rate to concentrate all your financial firepower on paying off the debt as rapidly as you can, and you certainly shouldn't shop with your balance transfer for life card if you want to get the most benefit from the low rate on offer.

Thus, for those who have a sizable credit card account balance and just want to start repaying it in the most efficient and economical way you can, a balance transfer for life offer is worthwhile taking into consideration.

Article provided by lifetime balance transfer deals.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 1:43 pm and is filed under Credit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.