I've never found a balance transfer that would help my wife and I spend less and/or pay off quicker. Has anyone found a good way to do this that doesn't involve a balance transfer?

I managed to totally hose myself recently with this - I used to get those 0% things all the time...and used them. Free money for a while.

...so a couple months ago when my HSBC card sent me a 0% offer, I was like "sure, why not" and just plopped my current balances from the other 2 cards I actually use onto it.

...only to discover later that I didn't read the fine print. And didn't realize that this time, unlike previous times, there was no upper limit to the transfer fee. It was a flat 3% I think. Was a little owie. So much for "free money" for a while. I reckon that if I leave it there for the duration of the plan, though, I'll come out a bit ahead.

...but by all means, learn from my mistake.

@flyingember: One of the things I do with credit cards to spend less is to imagine a billing cycle as two weeks instead of one month. Leave the credit cards at home for two weeks and keep a little emergency cash on hand...and only use it for emergencies (lattes don't count). After two weeks, put the cards back in your wallet. It may take a little time, but you'll get used to not having them there. With some planning, you can move your regular grocery purchases to the earlier or latter part of the month and pay for small runs with cash.

There is a difference here, because everything you put on a credit card that already has a balance adds to the amount of interest you have to pay. Also, if people tend to stretch out their purchases, they forget about $10 here, $14 there. If you narrow all of it down to two weeks, then you're noticing how often you swipe and ma not do it as much.

@pecan 3.14159265:
actually, we have only used the cards we're paying off twice in the past year. I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to pay off the current balance faster.

I ran the numbers on one consolidation offer and a "Discover Personal Loan" offer that always comes in the mail and both had us paying more each month for longer.

@YouDidWhatNow?: Yes, you made a mistake. But your mistake was not your failure to read the fine print. Your mistake was carrying a balance in the first place.

I, like everyone else, put on my pants one leg at a time, every morning. I also finished school, and had to go to work for peanuts, and work my way up, over the years. I also had my first few beat up clunkers die and break down on me, resulting in unexpected repair bills. Yet, somehow, I managed to avoid carrying a credit card balance for almost twenty years now.

I don't particularly consider myself to be particularly skilled money-wise. I just follow a few simple rules. One rule, actually: if I don't have the money to pay for something, I don't buy it. That's all. You don't need to be a Warren Buffet to figure this out. It's that simple.

Yup - the good days seem over. Latest offer from Discover is 0% on balance transfers with a 5% transfer fee. Chase has stopped our balance transfer offers completely, and B of A charged a 3% fee on our last move. Prediction: Many families and small business owners join the side of "credit card revolt girl" from the video, and choose to walk away. "Take the house, and the pile of credit card bills on the counter too! I'm renting down the street for 25% of my old monthly bills!"

@mrsam:

Thanks, professor.

As a rule I try not to carry a balance. Sometimes, stuff happens. Like not getting a bonus check for a few months. And then I'm carrying a balance.

But thanks for the lecture about how I'm an irresponsible person. I hope some day I can grow up to be just like you!

@mrsam: Sanctimonious troll is sanctimonious.

Saw this coming months ago. I think there was even a post from an insider on Consumerist they were going away. As a pay in full person, I personally dont care, but its gonna force people to finally pay off their debts.

@YouDidWhatNow?: a bonus should b just that a bons and not an expectation. Live within your mEans and you won't have surprises. Sorry to sound cold but this is the hard truth.

@YouDidWhatNow?: Well, stuff happens to me too. I do not have a special divine exemption that protects stuff from happening to me, too.

Except that, after graduating I did not buy myself the traditional graduation gift: a new car. Instead, I started paying off my student loans as fast as I could. I didn't buy a new car either after they loans were paid off -- instead I continued to save. So, when stuff did happen to me, I was able to pay it.

I'm sure that there are folks who, through no fault of their own, wind up in debt over their head, due to things beyond their control, like unplanned medical centers. That does happen, it sucks, and there's nothing that you can do about it. Although you could be the one in the 10 where that's the case, in 9 times out of 10 the credit card debt is simply due to lack of self control, and discipline. Buy now, worry about paying for it later.

@joepa1:

Wow, thanks, I'd have never thought of that either.

12+ years of always getting every single bonus check, and then some...and then a dry run of about 9 months. Please allow me to beg your forgiveness for the inexcusable transgression I have committed.

...public service announcement: no one drink the water...the sanctimony seems to be contagious.

@YouDidWhatNow?: Forgivness granted. Learn from this transgression and we'll call it even.

Something else you absolutely MUST notice when reading the fine print: "Your new card's limit may be less than the total amount of your requested balance transfers. In this case we will transfer a portion of your requested balance transfers."

I was approved for a 0% balance transfer offer then had to wait over two weeks to learn that due to my new card's limit, they transferred less than half of what I requested. I was even told by customer service that my limit was probably for new purchases and the balance transfer dept. can usually "accomadate you". That of course made no sense. Your limit is your limit.

This recent (2 days ago) event has left a terrible impression. It makes no sense to me how during the application process you may request a balance transfer, then get instant approval, then find out it wasn't for what you applied for. The requested balance transfers should be considered as part of a firm application for credit, not as a throwaway detail to be dealt with later.

Thank you Discover for my maxed out low limit card. Like being approved for a kick to the groin.

It used to be you could sometimes get a 0% transfer that also didn't charge the currently requisite 3% up front transfer fee. If credit card companies would drop the up front 3% fee I would more likely transfer some balances. Lock me in at 1.99% and forego the up front fee and you'll have my business.

@Danj3ris: What they meant by "the balance transfer department may be able to help you" is if you call, and say you want a higher limit so you can max it out with a transfer, they will do it.

When I worked at CompUSA, we had a number we could call to get credit limit increases for customers who wanted to make large purchases on the spot. I never did this becasue I thought it was rediculous to set people up for failure that way, but I knew sales people who did.

I predict 3 years after the economy is on all 8 cylinders the zero - zero offers will return....

@imdgonz:

Yep, I have a 0% offer from Discover right now, but that 5% fee - uh, no thanks! I think BoFA's now charging 4%.

@flyingember: My wife and I generally carry a balance on our equity line of credit, so from time to time I've transferred that balance to a credit card in response to a promotional offer -- and then back to the equity line at the end of promtional period. Before making a transfer, I'll play around with the numbers in an Excel spreadsheet to try to get an idea as to how much interest I might save (yes, I know I need a life). My experience has been that zero percent offers with a transaction fee are not as "sweet" as they first seem. Usually the savings is only marginal or break even at best, becuause with our equity line I also have to take into account the loss of the tax deduction on interest. I've found that the best offers are those with a low rate, such as 1.99%, and no transaction fee. We have actually achieved signficant interest savings with those. Very rarely I have received zero percent, no fee offers, but the period is usually too short, such as three months, to make it worthwhile.

@SlappyWhite: I used the balance transfer game to pay off a $5k debt from way back. It was the last balance I ever carried.

Ohh...the old irresponsible days. They were so much fun...

Charging for discounts?

USAA was offering me balance transfers every few months, though lately I haven't seen one. I did actually use one from them to pay off nearly $8,000 in debt in the last year.

I've had my accounts with Citibank for years - I was offered a 0% balance transfer for a year with the 3% fee. Bank of America was the same - 0% for a year, 3% balance fee.

If your interest rate is high enough on your other cards, and you can pay off the rest of the balance before it 0% rate expires, it will save you money, which is exactly what I did. But your existing rate has to be high enough - Chase had upped me from 10% to 19%, so taking the 3% was a good idea.

It's all about being aware of your rates, current balances, and being realistic about how long it's going to take you to pay off the damage - be an informed consumer.

My balances came from living expenses in college. It wasn't Starbucks and DVD rentals going on my credit cards - between student loans and grants, and 2-3 jobs while maintaining a 3.0+ - credit cards were my only other option for necessities.

I'm sure there will be some people who are caught out by this, because they've been playing the transfer game for years and never getting ahead of it. Those cases will be unfortunate.

For the overall situation, though, I think this is good. One SHOULD see a debt as a long-term obligation that has to be paid on or ahead of schedule, and these sorts of offers enticed people to juggle. My paper shredder is going to last longer than I thought now that I'm not getting one or two of these offers a week!

Sometimes good medicine is bitter.

@GearheadGeek: When is the government going to give some of that medicine to the banks, who have enjoyed 0% balance transfers for the past year while squeezing their customers even more

@morlo: Not soon enough, obviously. That similar adjustments are needed for the industry does not mean it's not good for consumers to have the easy-money faucet turned off. It's been a pernicious temptation.

@YouDidWhatNow?: I enjoyed your original post & thought it had some good points. Everyone makes mistakes - and it's even easier to get tripped up when we think we're just repeating something familiar. I think it was a worthwhile head's up.

(I did the 0% balance transfer thing for a few years in school also - it felt like a good 'cheat' to make ends meet, but I soon realized all the problems with it.)