Balance Transfer Rate Credit Card Offers for May

Credit Card	Purchase Rate	Balance Transfer	Interest Free Days	Reward Points	Card Fee
ANZ Platinum Credit Card	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 days		FREE (for first year)
CitiBusiness Gold Card	0% p.a (for first 4 months)	0% p.a (for first 4 months)	Up to 55 days		$74 (half price for first year)
Citibank Clear Platinum Credit Card	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$49 (for first year)
ANZ Low Rate Mastercard	0% p.a (for first 3 months)	0% p.a (for the first 3 months)	Up to 55 days		$58
BoQ Low Rate Credit Card	0% p.a (for first 3 months)	0% p.a (for first 3 months)	Up to 55 days		$27 (for first year)
HSBC Credit Card	17.99% p.a	0% p.a (for first 8 months)	Up to 55 days		FREE
HSBC Platinum Credit Card	19.99% p.a	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 day		FREE (For the first year)
Suncorp Clear Option Gold Card	20.5% p.a	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$60 (for first year then $120)
Citibank BP MasterCard	20.89% p.a	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 Days		$89
HSBC Qantas Frequent Flyer Credit Card	20.99% p.a	0% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$199
Emirates Citibank Platinum Card	20.99% p.a	0.9% p.a (for first 12 months)	Up to 55 days		FREE (For the first year)
St.George Vertigo MasterCard	13.24% p.a	0.99% p.a (for up to 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$55
BankSA Vertigo MasterCard	13.24% p.a	0.99% p.a (for up to 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$55
Bank of Melbourne Vertigo Credit Card	13.24% p.a	0.99% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$55
St.George Amplify Credit Card	18.74% p.a	0.99% p.a (for first 6 months)	Up to 55 days		$79

Balance Transfer Credit Cards Explained

IIn an effort to attract new customers, many credit card companies offer balance transfer deals, whereby a borrower can transfer existing debt from a current credit card to a new card issuer. Once the balance has been transferred to the new credit card, may card issuers offer either an interest free period for the debt or an introductory interest rate which is far lower than the interest rate charged by the borrower’s current card issuer. It is not unheard of for introductory rates to be as low as one or two per cent or even zero per cent. Often the interest free period or introductory rate lasts for as long as six months to one year.

For savvy borrowers, balance transfer credit cards are an excellent way of reducing their credit card debt by allowing them to pay down the balance on their credit card without incurring interest rate charges.

Despite balance transfers being a great way to reduce overall debt levels, some care is required, as often balance transfer deals come with fine print attached and hidden charges. Some card issuers charge a transfer fee that is a percentage of the balance that is transferred, which means transferring a few thousand dollars in debt can cost a few hundred dollars. Other card issuers charge annual or joining fees, which means before undertaking a balance transfer the borrower should be careful to conduct due diligence, and ensure that doing so makes financial sense.

Related Balance Transfer Credit Card News

NAB To Cease Credit Card Negative Payment Hierarchy

One of the worst features of credit cards is what is known as negative payment hierarchy. An example of this if the borrower undertakes a balance transfer to a zero balance account, the interest on the balance transfer is zero, whilst if the borrower uses the same card to make a new purchase, that purchase will attract interest.

Negative payment hierarchy is when credit card companies use any payment made to pay off debt which is accruing at low or zero interest, whilst the debt which carries higher interest continues to accrue charges at the higher rate.

Five Tips For Borrowing Using A Personal Loan

Personal loans can be amongst the cheapest way to borrow, but we can’t help but stress how important what the reason you are borrowing the money for.

If you are looking to finance a new flat screen television or go on holiday, or any other luxury, a personal loan is not your best option. Fortunately the financial crisis has made most people more aware of their finances and changed the way they think about borrowing.

Nine Credit Card Pitfalls

No matter how responsible you are when it comes to credit cards, they still come with a number of pitfalls. As soon as you navigate your way past one, yet another emerges. Here are 9 credit card pitfalls.

The Debt That Never Ends. The minimum payment on many credit cards barely meet the interest being incurred on your debt, which means if you only ever make the minimum, you’re debt will never reduce and seem to be endless. Occasionally a card will be offered with such a low minimum monthly payment, that your debt ends up actually growing.

Money For Nothing – The Chicks Aint Free

If you were to approach the manager of your local branch and ask him or her how to get free credit, the chances are not very high that they will fork over the information so easily.

Of course it is completely possible to borrow money interest free, and we will explain three methods of doing so.

Three Tips When Shopping For A Personal Loan

When used properly, personal loans are a great way to meet any funding shortfall that you may have. That is to say, forget about using them to pay for holidays or whatnot.

Funding luxuries are not the best way to use a personal loan. But if you have a genuine need to borrow $10,000, or an amount that a credit card is just not going to cover, then a personal loan is the product for you.

Here are three tips when shopping for a personal loan