Saving more on your Credit Card
This week, I thought we would focus on something very near and dear to my heart. Saving money is one of my passions, and there is no better way to do that than cutting costs. If you are paying a credit card bill each month, you already know how much of your payment is applied to interest. Imagine reducing that amount so more of your money is applied to the principal balance. You would pay your loan sooner and save lots of money in the process! How would you reduce that interest?
One way to go about reducing your rate is by performing a balance transfer. If you are like me, you probably have offers in the mail all the time, but be careful before accepting any of them! The big banks and credit card companies may make an offer that appears to be attractive, but upon further inspection, it isn’t quite as nice as it seems. The 0% APR often has strings attached. You will likely have to pay a fee for initiating a transfer – usually a percentage of the transfer, but it may also be a flat fee. Remember, this means if you have to perform five balance transfers, you’re paying five of those fees. It’s not looking as nice all of a sudden, is it? Even if you manage to avoid the fee, or if you have no qualms about paying one, you won’t have to look far to see that the rate will jump up quite a bit after that balance transfer promotional period has been exhausted. While that is not unexpected, what you might not realize is just how much that rate hike is. Many of the big banks are charging close to 30% interest as a standard rate; many are charging variable rates as well, which usually means that your rate will change throughout the life of the loan.
Before you run away from the idea of a balance transfer screaming, consider this. Big banks and credit card companies don’t want you to know that you have options. You don’t have to pay that balance transfer fee. There are plenty of lenders that do not charge a balance transfer fee, but you’re going to have to do your research. The good news is, I can save you that time and tell you that InFirst FCU does NOT charge a balance transfer fee. What’s more, we do not charge variable rates on our credit cards. Once your promotional period ends, you are going to enjoy a fixed rate that is much lower than most of the other places out there. Want to know why? Well, because we are awesome, of course, but also because credit unions cannot legally charge more than 18% APR on their loans.
As of the date of this post, we are still offering our popular Balance Transfer Promotion. You can transfer your high-rate cards to your InFirst VISA Rewards Credit Card and you’ll pay just 1.99% APR through 12/31/2023, but hurry – this promotion is ending soon. If you don’t request your transfer by 03/31/2022, you will miss out on this special rate. Sure, you’ll still be thrilled with your everyday low rate, but if you can save even more, why not? Click here to learn about our Balance Transfer promotion and our other VISA Rewards Credit Card benefits.
Have you taken advantage of a Balance Transfer before? I want to hear about your experience. Leave a comment below or email me.
Krista Kyte is a personal finance blogger and personal banker with over 18 years of experience in the financial industry. Krista is passionate about helping our members understand their financial situations. She writes tips that help consumers reach and maintain financial security and start living the life they’ve always wanted.
