Compare Life Of Balance Transfer Credit Cards

If you have a credit card debt that is attracting a high rate of interest and you know it is too large to work with a 0% balance transfer deal for six months, or even a 2% to 5% balance transfer deal for a year or so, then you should to be looking to compare life of balance transfer credit cards.

Featured Life Of Balance Transfer Credit Card

If you have a large credit card debt and want to pay it off over the life of your card without the added pressure of a limited
time period then the Suncorp Clear Options Platinum Credit Card is a good pick as it features a special 3.9% p.a for life balance transfer offer. You will also enjoy generous credit limits of up to $30,000.

• $205 annual fee
• 19.99% p.a. on purchases
• 3.9% p.a. for life on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 19.99%
• Minimum Income Requirement of $50,000 p.a.
• Minimum income requirement of $50,000 for approval

Click here to read the Suncorp Clear Options Platinum terms and conditions

These cards offer the chance to shift your debt to a rate that may range from around 5% to 9% for as long as the debt lasts. This avoids any nasty rate rises when a specific time frame expires, and allows for a more long-term budget plan to be put in place. Once you stop panicking about high rates of interest or balance transfer deadlines, it become far easier to calmly assess the extent of the problem and how you can most effectively put it right.

What should I look for?

The main point to look out for when you compare life of balance transfer credit cards is the interest rate (APR). If your debt is going to last for perhaps a couple of years or more, the applicable interest rate will be a very telling factor, so you should be aiming to keep it as low as possible.

The annual fee on the credit card may be a factor to consider, but a few dollars more on the annual fee for a lower rate of interest is a fair trade-off, given the unlimited length of time you are being allowed to repay your debt. Any slightly higher annual fee will be more than recouped over that time by the savings you make by having a lower APR.

The worst thing to do with a life of balance transfer credit card is use it for any new purchases. Your purchases will be at the regular rate of interest, and on a card of this sort that rate is usually higher than average, heading towards the 20% mark. The real killer is how your repayments will be applied to your balance, once any purchases or cash transactions have been added in.

What should I avoid?

The answer is that they will be applied in exactly the same way as before you made those purchases, i.e. towards the transferred balance. This is the way the system works. It’s called the adverse order of payments, or the allocation of payments. It means that your cheapest debts will always be paid off first, and not until they are paid off will your other debts be reduced. Thus, if you have a balance transfer at 5% and it takes three years to pay it off in full, any purchases made at 18% will keep accruing interest that whole time, untouched by a single cent of your repayments. That rather defeats the whole purpose of having made the low-rate transfer in the first place.

The main point here is that you actually do bother to compare life of balance transfer credit cards. According to a recent survey, 60% of Australians only apply to their own bank for a credit card. How they expect to find the best deal is anyone’s guess.

• Comparison of Top 10 Credit Card Offers

Editor's Choice: Our Top Credit Cards

Credit Card	Card Details	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Interest free days (up to)
HSBC Credit Card	Editor's Choice: 0% for 6 months Balance Transfer & No Annual Fee Featuring a $0 annual fee for life, and 0% p.a. balance transfer for 6 months, the HSBC Credit Card was voted the Best Transactor Credit Card for 2010.	16.99%	20.75%	0% for 6 months	$0	55
Suncorp Clear Options Standard Visa Card	A great 12 month balance transfer offer, combined with a low annual fee and a good interest rate on purchases.	12.24%	17.99%	1.9% for 12 months	$39	0