Back in the heydays of easy credit, anyone with decent credit could apply for a credit card online, and moments later, have a balance transfer of $5,000-10,000 heading their way.

Today, unfortunately, the rules of balance transfers have changed. Good balance transfer offers are harder to come by, and even if you can get one, there are more reasons than ever to think twice before taking advantage of it. Here are the new rules of balance transfers and how to best navigate them.

1. Similar offers, few deals.

Anyone searching online for credit card deals will still find a great selection of balance transfer offers. But look beyond the packaging, and you’ll find that good deals are hard to come by. Not only are the 0% or low APR periods shorter, but the balance transfer fees are higher, ranging from 3 to 5%, and few transfer fees are capped.

What to do: Read the fine print carefully. A 3-month $10,000 balance transfer with a 0% APR and a 3% balance transfer fee would cost you $300, the equivalent of a 12% on an annualized basis. That’s not really a good deal.

2. Finding the best deal got a lot more complicated

Choosing a 0% APR deal for twelve months with no fee is a no-brainer. But these days balance transfers come in many shapes and forms, and it can be hard to determine which is the better deal. For example, which of the following is the best offer?

a) a 0% APR transfer for three months with an uncapped 3% balance transfer fee,
b) a 1.99% APR balance transfer for six months with a 5% balance transfer fee capped at $150
c) a 4.99% APR balance transfer for twelve months with a 5% balance transfer fee capped at $150.

The answer: it depends. It depends on how much of a balance transfer you plan to make and how long a period you need the balance transfer for.

What to do: When planning to make a balance transfer, look through the offers available to you and calculate the actual cost and the real annualized percentage rate of each deal to get a basis for comparing balance transfer offers.

3. Applying online for balance transfer cards has become risky

Check the fine print carefully: many card issuers advertise 0% interest rates for up to twelve months. In practice, this means that you may only be approved for a 0% APR for three months, and you still pay the same balance transfer fee of 3-5%.

Similarly, the purchase APR that will apply to the card after the balance transfer expires may be listed as as low as. Again, this means that only consumers with the very best credit will get the low APR. When the credit card arrives in the mail, you could end up with an APR that’s twice as high as that advertised.

What to do: When applying for a credit card online, don’t make any balance transfers while applying, instead wait until the card arrives in the mail. Then study the terms carefully to see if that balance transfer offer is still worth it.

4. Less leniency, tougher punishment

In the current economic climate, card issuers are far less forgiving than they used to be. One late payment, and you could see that 0% APR jump to the purchase APR on the card, which could run as high as 22.99%. Use more than 90% of the credit limit on the card for a balance transfer, and you could see the minimum payment due jump to 4% a month instead of the typical 2 to 2.5%.

What to do: Pretend that you’re walking on egg shells, because you are. Don’t make a single late payment, not even by an hour, and keep short-term balance transfers well below 80% of the card limit.

5. Balance transfers could create a domino effect

Credit scores are more important than ever. Carrying high balances on your credit cards could hurt your score, in turn affecting other parts of your finances. The amount of credit you use of the overall amount of credit you have available makes up 30% of your credit score. To avoid affecting your credit score, keep that ratio low, preferably at around 10% and definitely below 30%.

What to do: Calculate how much total credit you have available over all your credit cards and make sure that all outstanding credit card debt, including the balance transfer you’re planning to make, will make up less than 30% of your total credit available.

Back in the heyday of easy credit, some savvy consumers found a way to make money on credit cards—instead of the other way around. They played a nice little game of musical chairs: Take out a new credit card with a 0% APR balance transfer offer, invest the money in a high-interest savings account at a 3-5% return. Then, when the 0% APR expires, transfer the balance to a new credit card with a 0% APR and keep the money earning a nice return in the savings account. Rinse and repeat.

This little game of credit card arbitrage had many followers; whole website communities sprang up with tips for finding the best credit card deals, pitfalls to watch for, guidelines on how to minimize hits to one’s credit rating when applying for new credit cards, and so on. Some people made a nice little side income by putting in a couple of hours a month playing this game. Serious players accumulated upwards of $200,000 or more in credit card debt in order to invest it in a money market account.

In the current credit environment, playing musical chairs with credit card balance transfers, however, is no longer such a great idea. People who try to game the system may find that the days of great balance transfer deals are over and the terms of credit card transfers are too onerous to provide any advantage.

Even card holders who simply want a balance transfer to shift their credit card debt to cards with a lower interest rate or 0% APR offer may find that playing the balance transfer game has become a dangerous proposition.

Here are some of the changing rules of balance transfers and what to watch out for:

1. Changing terms. Great 0% APR offers used to be like low-hanging fruit—there for the picking, if you had even a half-way decent credit rating. Not so anymore. Credit card companies still try to attract new customers with alluring 0% balance transfer offers. But the fine print tells a different tale. The 0% APR offers are generally much shorter, from three to six months. And, while offers without a balance transfer fee used to be the rule, balance transfer fees can now run as high as a 5% uncapped fee. A three-month 0% APR offer with a “low” 3% balance transfer fee loses its charm when the default APR, sometimes as high as 29.99%, kicks in during the fourth month.

2. Offers are harder to come by. There are fewer good 0% APR offers and it’s harder to get approved; the best offers are reserved for people with a stellar credit score of 750 or higher. If you need to transfer a balance because you have high credit card debt, chances are you won’t qualify for the few good balance transfer deals that remain.

3. Credit companies are more trigger happy. A 0% APR offer may not mean 0% anymore. Miss one payment by even a day and suddenly you might see that 0% interest rate jump to a default rate of 29.99% or higher. At the same time, your minimum payment will double. If you’re already in a precarious financial situation, this alone could be enough to tip the apple cart.

4. Your credit score is likely to take a hit. Each time you apply for a credit card your credit score takes a hit. Just as bad, keeping a high balance on your credit cards can hurt your score further. If your credit score drops, it could affect the terms on your existing credit cards, causing card issuers to slash credit limits and/or raise interest rates.

In short, balance transfer offers can still be a great deal, but in today’s economic environment they should be approached with caution. Don’t play the credit card transfer game unless you have the money to pay off the balance at a moment’s notice. Otherwise, you could find yourself stuck with some very onerous terms because you are unable to transfer the balance to another card.

If you’re finding that you have to rely on balance transfers to manage your credit card debt, that’s a big red light that indicates it’s time to take to take a close look at your finances. Borrowing from Jack to pay Jill is a well-known money management technique. Unfortunately, it has landed many very smart people in trouble. If you’re struggling with credit card debt, the earlier you take steps to pay it off, the better you’ll be.

If you’re a good negotiator, you can often get the very best deals on credit card transfers via telephone. For most credit card accounts in good standing, customer service representatives can access a list of offers available to the cardholder. Don’t just take the first balance transfer offer presented. With a little persistence, you can often get better terms.

Here is how to get the best rates when making a credit card transfer by phone. This scenario presumes that you have multiple credit cards, you owe nothing on the card to which you want to transfer a balance, your credit is good and you have no late payments on your accounts.

First, check all online credit card transfer offers available to you, so you know what your best options are. If you have received credit card transfer offers in the mail, also make a note of what these offers are.

Next, call the customer service representative from the credit card(s) you are considering making a credit card transfer from. Ask if there are any balance transfer offers available on your account. Typically, the representative will be able to give you one or two options, which differ in terms of duration and APR.

The first offers presented are rarely the final word, so this is where a little negotiation can be helpful. For example, if the credit card transfer offer is for six months, explain that you were looking for something longer, and ask if there are any options for a longer low APR credit card transfer.

Likewise, if you’re offered a 6.99% APR transfer, ask if that’s really the lowest APR that the rep can offer. It doesn’t hurt to hint that you’re comparing this to another credit card transfer deal and are trying to see which card issuer offers the best deal.

Lastly, if there is a transfer fee, ask if it’s possible to cap the fee. If there is a cap, see if the entire transfer can be deposited into your bank account, so that you can write checks to pay off a variety of loan balances and just pay one transfer fee.

If you don’t like the answers you’re getting, it doesn’t hurt to ask to speak to a supervisor. Supervisors often have more flexibility in what terms they can offer. Refer to your long history with the card issuer (if indeed you have one) and hint that you’d prefer not to take your business elsewhere.

Quick Tip. If you’d like to maximize the amount of the credit card transfer available to you, ask if your card is eligible for an automatic credit limit increase. Most credit cards are eligible for a credit limit increase about once a year-as long as the account is in good standing. An automatic credit limit is based on your history with the company, and it doesn’t involve pulling your credit report.

If your card isn’t eligible for an automatic credit limit increase, the customer service rep will offer to apply for one for you. Don’t do it! Applying for a credit line increase involves pulling your credit report, which will lower your credit score. It is also noted in the credit card issuer’s records, and could be taken as a sign of financial distress. Not worth it.

For example, if you’re looking for a short-term cash infusion, the best offer for credit card transfers are those with the lowest APR. On the other hand, if you’re trying to permanently lower the APR on outstanding credit card debt, you’re better off looking for a credit card transfer offer with a low APR for”the life of the balance.”

Checking for balance transfer offers online gives you a quick overview of every offer from all the companies you have credit cards with. Sometimes the very best credit card transfers are the ones offered online; although it varies from time to time and from card issuer to card issuer.

To find out which credit card transfer options are available to you online, you must first sign up for your card issuer’s online account services, if you haven’t already done so. Signing up for online account services provides you with a number of advantages, such as the ability to track your credit card balance online, download past statements automatically to your personal accounting software, and even pay your bills online.

Most online account services also feature a list of credit card transfer offers available. Balance transfer offers are usually listed under the pull-down menu for Customer Service or Tools and Services menus. In some cases, the website has a dedicated Balance Transfer option on the menu. If you have difficulty finding the section with balance transfer offers, simply do a search on “balance transfers” in the site’s search function.

Once you click the Transfer a Balance link, you’ll typically be taken to a page, which displays a list of any special credit card transfer offers for which you’re eligible. If one of the offers appeals to you, choose that offer, and then follow the online instructions to complete the balance transfer. Once you’ve requested the balance transfer online, you can check back regularly to monitor its progress online-most transfers take a couple of weeks to complete.

Quick Tip. Avoid credit card transfers with a low APR for only six months and without a cap on the transaction fee. Often you are charged a 3% or 4% transaction fee for a six-month credit card transfer. That cost has to be added to the APR you’re paying on the credit card transfer. In most cases, you’ll find that a six-month transfer with an uncapped fee really isn’t such a great deal.

• How to Make a Credit Card Transfer Using Convenience Checks
• How to Make a Credit Card Transfer By Phone

However, for cardholders with good credit, convenience checks often come with great credit card transfer offers. While a 0% APR balance transfer offer is rare, convenience checks with balance transfer offers of 1.99% to 4.99% are fairly common, if your credit rating is high.

Of course, to determine whether the credit card transfer offer is worth it, you also have to consider the cost of the transaction fee as well, which can be as high as 4%. For a $10,000 credit card transfer, that

Many people think that credit card transfer deals are hard to come by unless you apply for a new credit card or happen to receive a convenience check with a credit card transfer offer in the mail. However, applying for a new credit card each time you want to make a credit card transfer is not such a good idea. Each time you apply for a credit card, your credit report is pulled, and that lowers your credit score.

If you have multiple credit cards and some of them don’t have a balance, a credit card transfer using your existing credit cards is a great way to lower the average interest you pay on any outstanding balances on your credit cards, without hurting your credit rating.

There are three ways to make a balance transfer with the credit cards you already have. The terms for each method often vary, even for the same credit card. So, to get the best deal, it’s useful to research all three methods of credit card transfer. Of course, as always, to get the very best balance transfer offers, your account needs to be in good standing and your credit score high.

Quick Credit Card Transfer Tip. Once you’ve transferred a balance to your credit card at a low interest rate, remember to never use that credit card for regular purchases. New purchases would accrue interest at a higher APR, essentially wiping out the benefits of the credit card transfer.

• How to Make a Credit Card Transfer Using Convenience Checks
• How to Make a Credit Card Transfer Online
• How to Make a Credit Card Transfer By Phone

When Does the Introductory Rate Expire? Find out exactly when in the billing cycle the promotional rate expires. For example, if the rate expires in the beginning of June and your billing cycle goes till the end of the month, you need to pay off the balance in full when you get your May statement to avoid high interest rates.

You can find the details of when the introductory rate expires in your card agreement, or simply call a customer service representative to ask.

What Is the Balance Transfer Fee? Many cards charge a 3% to 5% transaction fee for balance transfers, typically capped at $50 or $75. If you make multiple balance transfers, the transaction fees can quickly undermine your savings. The best way to take advantage of a balance transfer offer is to make only one transfer.

What about Convenience Checks? Convenience checks can be a simple and easy way to make a balance transfer or give your bank account a cash infusion. However, the terms of the offer may be different from balance transfers made by phone, so read the fine print carefully. Similarly, if you use a convenience check for a purchase instead of a balance transfer, make sure that the low rate applies to purchases as well, or you could end up paying a high cash advance rate on your purchases.

What Triggers Higher Rates? Low-interest balance transfer offers reward good financial discipline. If you default on the credit card agreement, it may trigger higher rates. Even one late payment can be sufficient to jack up a 0% APR offer to, for example, a 28.99% default rate.

Read the terms of the offer to determine what would cause you to default on the card agreement, or call a customer service representative to ask.

Some of the most common higher-rate triggers are:

1. Failing to pay the minimum payment by the due date and time
2. Exceeding the credit limit on the account
3. Failing to have a check with your payment honored by your bank
4. Failing to make payments to another creditor on time, if the record of this shows up on your credit report.

How to Not Get Trapped with Higher-Interest Balances: Credit card companies apply payments to balances with a lower APR before balances with higher rates. So when you use a card to make a low-interest balance transfer, pay off any outstanding balances before making balance transfers and use another credit card for new charges. Otherwise you will end up with a balance accumulating interest at standard rates, which could be 19.99% or higher, in addition to the balance with the low-rate interest.

These cards can give your finances a boost in several ways:

Consolidate High-Interest Debt: Use the money from a 0% or low-interest balance transfer to pay off debts with higher interest rates. You will save money on interest and may lower your total monthly debt payments as well.

Give Your Budget a Temporary Cash Infusion: If you are faced with higher than usual expenditures or need extra cash, a 0% balance transfer can give your budget a temporary cash infusion to tide you over until your economic situation improves. Many cards will transfer the money to your bank account so you can pay off bills and other expenses, or they may send you a check that you can deposit directly into your bank account.

Make Large Purchases Earlier: A card with a 0% APR gives you the option to make a large planned purchase earlier than you would otherwise be able to. It can also help you save money on interest, if the purchase is something you would usually finance, such as a car. Just be sure you have alternative financing lined up when the promotional rate expires.

If you pay the balance off in full before the introductory rate expires, these cards offer many benefits. Pay careful attention to the terms and conditions of the card, however, so you know exactly when the introductory rate expires and what would put you at risk for triggering higher rates.

Click Here to Compare and Select
the Right Balance Transfer Card for You

A great way to save money is to transfer high interest credit card balances to 0% balance transfer credit cards. Let’s say that your current credit cards are at a 15 to 21% APR. That means that for every $1,000 you owe on your credit cards, a 0% APR credit card would let you save between $150 to $210 a year. That adds up to great savings!

When choosing among several 0% APR offers, the general rule of thumb is to choose the card with the longest 0% APR balance transfer offer and the lowest balance transfer fees. Of course, to get the best 0% APR deals, you have to have excellent credit rating. Still, balance transfer offers are so common these days that people with a good or average credit rating still have plenty of 0% credit card offers to choose among.

Most credit card issuers charge a 3% fee to do the balance transfer. This makes a 0% balance transfer offer that lasts for 12 months effectively an offer for a 3% APR. If the 0% APR only lasts for 6 months, the effective interest rate on the balance transfer is 6% APR. Keep this in mind when you look through the different credit card offers. There are still a few credit cards which will cap the balance transfer fee at, for example, $75 or $99. If you are doing a large, one-time balance transfer, this can save a lot of money.

Many 0% balance transfer credit cards also offer 0% APR on purchases. This is a great added benefit, if the duration of the 0% APR offer is the same for both balance transfers and purchases. If the 0% purchase APR expires before the 0% balance transfer rate, it is best not to use the card for purchases. Credit card payments are applied first to pay down the balances with the lowest interest. Once the 0% APR for the purchase portion of your charges expires, the purchases would accumulate interest at standard rates, which could be 19.99% or higher. You wouldn’t be able to pay this balance down until the remainder of the 0% APR balance transfer is paid in full.

For some balance transfer offers, the 0% APR is offered both for balance transfers and for direct deposits into your checking account. This gives you the option of using the 0% APR offer for other things, including paying down other loan balances. In other cases, you need to make the balance transfer when you open the account to get the best balance transfer deals, so be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully.

Last but not least, be sure to have an exit strategy in place before transferring balances to 0% APR credit cards. Otherwise, you could end up paying high interest rates at the end of the 0% APR period, which could quickly undermine your savings. For more information on this and about how to get the most out of 0% balance transfer offers, see this article on How to Maximize the Benefits of Balance Transfer Cards.

For some of the best 0% balance transfer offers, look through the card offerings of some of the major banks, including Advanta, Discover Card, Bank of America, Citicard, American Express, and Capital One.