Not long ago, 0% balance-transfer promotions abounded. Those days, however, are long gone. Indeed, many of my 0% offers have been replaced by a slew of 2.99% offers — and higher. Likewise, balance-transfer fees have risen as well. If you are swimming in a sea of debt, and thinking about doing a balance transfer so that you can get some breathing room, make sure that the offers make sense to your bottom line. What’s more, make sure that you read the fine print closely. From the Wall Street Journal: But as credit-card issuers themselves flail in stormier economic seas, some are making such offers more restrictive and expensive. That means consumers must make sure that transferring their debt makes prudent financial sense.Fees have changed. Before, a balance-transfer fee was typically 3% of the amount transferred — up to a maximum of about $50 or $75, depending on the offer. These days, the fee is still usually 3%, but the cap is gone. The more you transfer, the more you pay. For instance, transferring a $5,000 balance is likely to cost you $150 today, twice as much as in past years.Another change: Though some credit-card issuers still offer 0% balance-transfer rates for 12 months or more, others are hiking the introductory interest rate and shortening the length of time it’s offered. “They used to be almost always 12 months. Now they can be as short as three months,” says Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of LowCards.com in Birmingham, Ala.Now, more than ever, it makes sense to get your debt paid off as quickly as possible. The cost of borrowing has risen sharply during the past four months. Gone are the days when you could cheaply move debt from one card to another.
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