Best Strategy for 0% Interest APR Balance Transfer credit cards

If you have a huge balance sitting on your credit card that you haven’t paid off in full or rotating a balance on your credit card, then getting a Balance Transfer Credit Card is a great option. However, you need to fully understand how Balance Transfer (BT) works and which cards to choose.

Credit Cards allow you to move the balance from one card to another. The best strategy is to transfer the balance to a card that offers 0% interest rate. Even though the interest rates are 0%, Banks do charge an upfront fee when you transfer a balance, anywhere from 3% to 5%. This fee is called the Balance Transfer Fee. Let’s say you transfer $5,000 and there’s a 3% balance transfer fee. You’ll end up paying a $150 transaction fee.

The 0% APR is offered for a period of 12 to 18 months depending on the card. You must choose a card with 0% on both Balance Transfers and purchases and with the lowest fees. If 0% is offered on both BT and purchases, then you can continue your spend on the new card, without earning interest for the same intro period. This way all of your future purchases are also interest-free for the same intro period.

We have done the research for you and categorized the 0% APR offering cards into 0% APR along with Sign-up Bonus, 0% for a longer period and 0% APR on purchases only & a $500 Bonus.

0% APR Balance Transfer and Purchase Cards with Sign-up Bonus

If you have the capacity to pay off the balance on the old card and are looking to save some money for the future, the best strategy is to get a 0% APR card and also to earn a sign-up bonus. This way, you don’t have to do Balance Transfer and pay the upfront fees. If you can’t pay in full, getting a card with a sign-up bonus will offset your Balance Transfer Fees.

Here are the Top 10 0% APR cards and cards offering a lucrative sign-up bonus.

0% APR Cards for more than 15 months, no Sign-up Bonus

0% APR Card on Purchase Only and $500 Sign-up Bonus

If you notice in the above table, there are cards that offer $500 or 50,000 Sign-up Bonus and offer 0% APR on purchases. The Ink Cash is one of the best cards that offer 0% APR for 12 months along with the sign-up bonus. Even though the Ink card is a small business card, you can still get that card if you follow the below strategy to be eligible. You can apply for an Ink card using your regular SSN just like a personal card and apply as a Sole Proprietor.

Follow our Step by Step Guide to apply for the Ink card.

https://www.intellioffers.com/2019/07/step-by-step-guide-to-ink-card-and-getting-approved/

There are some benefits too, by getting the Ink card. Ink (Small Business Card) doesn’t get reported to the personal credit reports. If you carry a higher balance it will not impact your score. If you know about the Chase 5/24 rule, your 5/24 count will not be impacted by getting the Ink card. You will still be at the same level after getting this. However, to get the Ink card, you need to be under 5/24.

What is the Chase 5/24 rule?

While most card issuers have some sort of rule for how many accounts you can have open with them before qualifying for a new card account, Chase is even more strict than most. The bank is known for squeezing applicants to meet the 5/24 rule, which means that if you’ve opened five or more credit cards with any issuer in the last 24 months, likely you won’t be approved for a new Chase card (even closed the cards).

Unfortunately, waiting for the required amount of time to fall under five open accounts in a 24-month period is the only best way before applying for a Chase card. This rule applies to all Chase Credit Cards, including personal and small business.

There are other Top 0% Balance Transfer and 0% Intro Purchase APR cards that you might consider too.