Ever since zero percent introductory annual percentage rate (intro APR) credit cards were introduced to the American market several years ago, they’ve been very popular. All types of consumers have been taking advantage of 0% offers. Most consumers use 0% deals to save money by avoiding interest charges on their credit card debt, while other money-savvy consumers use 0% offers to make money by playing the 0% credit card arbitrage game (also known as “stoozing.”) Many 0% card offers come with a catch: you have to pay a fee for transferring a balance. There are, however, a few select credit card products out there where you don’t have to pay a fee for the first or initial balance transfer.
Feeless, 0% intro APR balance transfer deals — perhaps the most sought-after 0% deals on the Internet — are a dying breed. Dying, but not dead. The pool of banks that offer feeless 0% deals has been shrinking. Why? Because the banks and card companies know that by eliminating the balance transfer transaction fee, a balance transfer “surfer” can transfer a card balance to a card, sit out the interest-free period, then transfer the balance out to a new 0% deal — thus denying the bank any opportunity to make money off the surfer. The balance transfer transaction fee gives a bank the opportunity to get at least something out of the deal.
The Discover More family of credit cards, offered by Discover Financial Services (DFS), has been exceedingly popular for transferring credit card balances. Why? Because, heretofore, with any Discover More card, you could transfer a card balance and pay no interest on the transferred funds for 12 months, with no balance transfer transaction fee. But that’s not all: with Discover More, you could (and still can) get a 0% rate on new credit card purchases for 12 months to boot. Its no wonder that the Discover More family of credit cards has been a top-ranked collection of cards at many top-rated websites.
But DFS recently made a change to the terms and conditions associated with the Discover More family of credit cards: you now have to pay a fee for transferring a balance; the minimum transfer fee is $10. The Discover More group of cards still offers great value, with a 0% intro APR rate on both balance transfers and new purchases for one year, but the nascent balance transfer transaction fee may turn off some folks out there in the market for a hot, 0% card deal.
OK, now for the good news: Bank of America, Washington Mutual (Wamu) and Pulaski Bank still offer consumer credit cards where you can transfer a balance at zero percent for 6 or 12 months (depending on the card) and pay no balance transfer fee. Furthermore, Capital One has business cards that provide an option to transfer balances without assessing a balance transfer transaction fee.
If you plan on hunting (or continuing your hunt) for an attractive 0% card deal after reading this article, remember two things:
In your search for “no transfer fee” 0% deals, you may find articles, blog posts or other website content with claims that feeless 0% deals no longer exist. Don’t buy it. Feeless 0% balance transfer offers can still be found today — even with certain business cards — if you know where to look. Credit card deals are constantly evolving, so if you’re planning on signing up for a specific 0% offer that you’ve had your eye on for a while, try not to drag your heels. The sexy, feeless balance transfer offer you find today may be gone tomorrow. Thankfully, the selection of “no fee” 0% deals is still quite healthy, so you don’t have to panic if the offer you wanted disappears.