How To Keep Your Credit Card Debt at 0% and never pay interest

If you have a debt on your credit card that you cannot pay off, one solution is to carry out a 0% balance transfer. You may want to consider becoming a tart. That’s not a second option, by the way – I don’t mean look at creating a highly dubious alternative income stream – I mean you could become what is known as a credit card tart.

Credit card tarts are people who look around to find other card issuers offering 0% balance transfer deals constantly transferring their card balance to a new card, and never paying a cent in interest!

Clearly, the easiest way to avoid interest charges is to take a sensible fiscal attitude, spend within your means, and pay off the outstanding balance within the interest-free period.

But back in the real world, debts do build up, and we need to find ways to mitigate them. By making a balance transfer to another card with a 0% introductory rate, you can avoid the interest penalties (the APR) that card issuers impose when you do not pay off the entire balance within the interest-free period, which can be up to 55 days.

Things to consider when looking to make a balance transfer:

You will want to go for the card that offers the longest 0% balance transfer period. This can be up to a year. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay anything back in that time – you still have to pay the minimum payment each month – but providing you do that, you will not be subject to any build-up of interest.

To play the balance transfer game, you need to have a good credit score in the first place. A poor credit history will show up when the card issuer makes their regular checks on you, and they will not want you on board with them. Also bear in mind that being a balance transfer tart will leave a certain imprint on your credit history, as it will be obvious what you are doing, which might actually lower your score in the long run.

Assuming you do carry out a balance transfer, remember to keep a note of when your 0% period ends. Write it on the calendar or schedule an email reminder. If you unwittingly go beyond this date and fail to pay off the entire debt, you will suddenly become liable for the card issuer’s standard APR, which can range from 10-20%. If this happens for a couple of months, the interest charges applied will wipe out any gains you may have made.

Initiating a 0% balance transfer is not for everyone. If it’s a lax attitude to financial matters that got you into debt in the first place, then, without a significant change in that attitude, you may find the balance transfer route is not the best way to proceed, as it requires a little discipline to make it work. Also, keep in mind that your goal should ideally be to pay off your debts, and 0% balance transfers are only there to make that process less expensive. The balance transfer option should not be seen as an excuse to continue spending beyond your means.

Choose the Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards:

			Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
	ANZ Low Rate MasterCard – Balance Transfer	An introductory balance transfer offer with a low annual fee	0% for 3 months (reverts to 13.24% )	0% for 3 months	$58	21.49%
	Citibank Clear Platinum Card	A balance transfer offer with an international travel insurance	11.99%	2.9% for 12 months	$99	21.74%

Check out today's featured offers:

Westpac Low Rate	Citibank Clear Platinum	Qantas AMEX Discovery	ANZ Platinum
0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers	2.9% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers	$0 annual fee Up to 10,000 Bonus QFF Points	0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers

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Popular Credit Card Offers

			Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
	Westpac Low Rate Card - 0% Offer	A credit card with a low rate offer on both balance transfers and purchases, plus a low annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 13.49% )	0% for 6 months	$45	21.49%
	Citibank Clear Platinum Card	Competitive interest rate on purchases and balance transfers offer.	11.99%	2.9% for 12 months	$99	21.74%
	St George Vertigo	Take advantage of this great offer from St.George with a low rate on purchases and a low balance transfer offer.	13.24%	0.99% for 12 months	$55	21.49%
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	An introductory interest rate offer on balance transfers and purchases, plus a $0 first year annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 19.24% )	0% for 6 months	$0 annual fee for the first year( $87 thereafter)	20.99%