Finding a credit card that offers no fee balance transfer is not as easy as it once was. Two years ago, more than a dozen credit cards offered these deals. At the time of writing, only two credit card companies offer no fee balance transfers. Altogether, they offer only three credit cards.

If you are unfamiliar with balance transfers, let me begin by explaining the fee structure. With most offers, credit card companies charge three percent up to a maximum of seventy five dollars for every balance you transfer. (Some companies have even eliminated the maximum fee or raised it to as much as two hundred and fifty dollars.) For the purpose of this article, we’ll work with the average balance transfer card. Below are three balance transfer situations that illustrate the costliness of transfer fees.

Situation #1: You have three credit cards, each with a twenty five hundred dollar balance. Each balance you transfer will cost you three percent of twenty five hundred dollars, or seventy five dollars. This will bring your total fees to two hundred and twenty five dollars. While this is still substantially less than the one thousand or more you would pay in interest, it does reduce your savings by twenty five percent.

Situation #2: You have a balance of five thousand dollars on one card and twenty five hundred dollars on another. Each transfer will cost you seventy five dollars in fees, bringing your total balance transfer expense to one hundred and fifty dollars. While this is a slight savings from Situation #1, you still lose a decent portion of your overall savings.

Situation #3: You have one credit card with a balance of seventy five hundred dollars. Because of the seventy five dollar maximum, your total fee will only be seventy five dollars, or one percent of the amount you transfer. This does help reduce you balance transfer fees to a reasonable level. However, why not avoid the fees altogether.

The way to avoid the seventy five to two hundred and twenty five dollars in fees you would incur when transferring a balance, opt for a zero percent interest credit card that offers no fee balance transfers. As their name implies, this type of credit card will save you on the annoying fees attached to most balance transfer offers.

There are a few things one must keep in mind about no fee balance transfers. First of all, most of these offers only provide a zero percent interest rate on balance transfers, not on purchases. Thus, if you apply for one of these cards, be sure to avoid making new charges on it. Secondly, be sure to make your transfers when you apply, as most no fee balance transfers require you to transfer your balances when you submit your online application. Lastly, since you are not paying interest for a full year, don’t feel rushed to pay off your credit card. Stash your money in a high yield savings account and earn interest on your money until the zero percent interest rate is about to expire. This way, you not only save a few hundred or a few thousand with your 0% balance transfer, you can also earn another four to five percent on your money.

You may know that most people today are familiar with the credit or debit cards in their daily life. On the other hand, you must often find that the card cannot help you more when you need cash. For instance, perhaps you have to pay the medical bill of your dog or cats in the veterinarian. You see, the card is not use there. Thus, you have to think one more time about the right aid that you have to obtain in this case. Furthermore, you can see that the credit card companies also offer you with the cash advance option since the sudden need is an inevitable thing for consumers. The cash advance loans will allow you to convert some credit limit percentage to the cash money for sure. Thus I can say that the cash advance is really the best solution you can use if you need cash immediately. The cash advance is really the fastest way to cash, is not it? All kind of people are really entitled to take advantage of this kind of loan. On the other hand, you should know that everything has trade off to each other. With this convenience, the interest rates of cash advance are quite high.

Learning how to consolidate credit card debt is one of the best things cardholders can do. Consolidation is perfect for those who are looking to better their credit for the future. There are many advantages for cardholders that take advantage of credit card debt consolidation. If you are thinking about consolidation, then there are a few things you should consider before doing so. Use these tips as a guide while you consolidate your debt.

Why Consolidate?

There are several great reasons to consolidate credit card debt. One of the best reasons is to get better rates. If you can get a better rate on a consolidation than you currently have, then there is no reason not to consolidate. Consolidating credit card debt can add up to substantial savings.

Look up all of your interest rates from each card and write them on a list. Then note the new rate you would be given. If the new rate is lower than the average of the old rate, then to consolidating your credit card debts would make financial sense for you. If there are cards that have a lower rate, then you don’t have to include them in your consolidation.

Another reason people love to consolidate credit card debt is to make their lives simple. By paying one bill, they can cut out a lot of stress and bill paying time. You should probably not consolidate your debt for this reason alone however. You don’t want to pay more in the long run just to cut out a few pieces of mail monthly. Consolidation also gives those in a credit card mess a chance to get out of it. By consolidating, they may be making lower monthly payments than they would be if they did nothing. By closing out the other accounts, their credit may also be improved.

Who To Turn To?

When considering credit card debt consolidation, you should turn to professionals for a consultation. There are many credit card companies and banks that would like to help you with your request. Make sure you do your research so that when you consolidate credit card debt, you are certain you are making a decision that is profitable to you. Make sure there are no hidden fees that come with different consolidation plans. Doing your research can help you save money for the future.

Making The Choice

If you want to consolidate credit card debt, you should first look at all of your debt in detail. Once you know what you have, it will be easier to contact professionals to help you with your consolidation. Don’t be afraid to tell them you are shopping for the best deal. You should do yourself the honor of getting the best deal out there to making your consolidation as worthwhile as possible.

I recently had the privilege of discussing credit card counseling with a local banker. Among the things he mentioned one of them stood out in the report. After review it became know that people in debt are seeking credit counseling programs to seek debt relief.

The problem however is the long time frame associated with the programs. The monthly payments remain the same as well causing the same issue to arise being the strain of the monthly payments on household budgets. Many people have even enrolled in CCCS programs paid the fees and then dropped out. This is where the problem lies.

Ethics should come into play in this scenario. When dealing with an indebted consumer many credit card counseling companies act like debt collecting sharks to gain enrollments. Pushing the consumer by pointing out the non-profit status of the company to enroll in the program. After this shaky enrollment process they deduct the first monthly payment that goes entirely to fees for the service.

If the next month the client fails to make a payment there is no follow up done to see why. The reason being that the credit counseling company is paid for and sponsored by the credit card companies themselves. The IRS has done much research into the non-profit CCCS programs but have had little success with completely eradicating predatory credit counselors. Additionally the credit counseling firm is paid a “fair share” usually between 7-12% of the debt directly back to the credit counseling agency.

Consult with a banker or an attorney to see if credit counseling or debt settlement is best for your financial needs.

Credit counseling agencies offer debt management programs that can you get back on track. They exist to help people when they are at their most desperate in their financial situations. Their purpose is to negotiate with your credit card companies to get a lower interest rate on your credit cards. This will ultimately allow you to pay a lesser amount each month and can help you get back on your feet. They can also negotiate options where late payment fees and over-limit fees are wiped off your record. This last item usually happens after you have been making consistent payments for 6 months or more.

To have a successful experience with a debt management program, you need to have enough income to pay your bills and not miss a payment to the credit counseling service. This is another form of debt consolidation as it consolidates all your credit cards into one payment which is then paid to the credit agency helping you, who in turn makes your payments to your outstanding credit card companies.

If you make it through the program successfully, you will find that all of your debt is paid off and your creditors will appreciate the fact that you have paid off your accounts. You will be required to close your credit card accounts; however, this may be a wise decision. After a period of time has passed, you will be able to get a new credit card – just remember the warnings.

If you have ever made late payments or had over-limit fees, your credit card companies have probably raised your interest rate as high as they are allowed to. They now consider you to be a credit risk. This means that your rates could be as high as 28-32%. If you are in a debt management program, you will be able to have those high rates lowered substantially – probably in the 6-8% category. This is a reasonable expectation when working with a debt management program.

Be advised that it can take a long time to pay off all your debt through a debt management program. There are faster options, such as bankruptcy or debt negotiation, but joining a program can be more emotionally heartening and you will get the results you seek.

Another important factor in using a debt management program is the effect it will have on your credit report. It will show as a negative mark and will stay there for up to 10 years. As you start making steady payments, you will be slowly rebuilding your credit and your score will start to rise. This, however, takes time.

A final note, make sure before joining any type of program, that it offers the services you need.