Balance Transfer Calculator

5 Things You Must Know Before Committing to a Balance Transfer

• A late payment will cause any introductory offer to end automatically - including zero APR periods. If you pay late, the promotional APR will convert to the regular ongoing APR; maybe even a penalty APR. Never miss a payment due date!
• Transferring a balance will not close your current credit card account - and that's a good thing. Closing a credit card account is usually not a good idea; having less available credit can negatively impact your credit score, and closing old accounts will shorten your credit history.
• The Credit CARD Act requires banks to apply payments to the portion of your balance with the highest APR first - however, the law only applies to amounts over the calculated minimum payment. The minimum payment amount will still be applied to the part of your balance with the lowest APR first.
• If you pay only the minimum due each month after taking advantage of a zero percent balance transfer offer, but you have another balance on the card with a higher APR, you may be surprised to find that your balance doesn't go down as fast as you expected. That's because banks are permitted to apply your minimum payment to the balance with the lowest APR first, while the rest of the balance continues to accrue interest at the higher rate.
• In order to make the best use of your balance transfer credit card, don't use it to make purchases. Your payments will be applied toward your low-interest balance transfer first, while the purchases you made at a higher-rate APR accrue interest. This won't help you pay off your balance faster. It's a good idea to use two different credit cards - one for purchases, and one for the balance transfer.