If you owe a balance on your credit card, or several credit cards, you may be able to get lower interest rates for a while that help you pay down your debt, thanks to cards that offer balance transfer for fair credit. Many credit cards offer great deals on balance transfers with low interest or no interest for a limited time, but it’s hard to find those great deals if you have made credit mistakes. Some cards, however, special in cards that offer balance transfer for fair credit.
Chances are your rate won’t be as low as it might have been if you had good credit, but as long as it’s lower than what you’re currently paying, you can make it work for you. While the idea of being able to convert those high-interest balances to a card that offers balance transfer for fair credit has its appeal, there are pitfalls you need to watch out for.
What will the interest rate be on the card that offers balance transfer for fair credit? Obviously it’s lower than your current rate or you wouldn’t even be considering it, but how much lower is it? When you figure in the extra you’ll pay in transfer fees (up to $75 per transfer) will you really be saving money?
Let’s say you’ve done the math and you will be saving money, even after transfer fees. Now you need to look at how long the introductory interest period is. You won’t get that lower interest rate forever–if you carefully read the agreement you’ll see exactly when it reverts to a “regular” interest rate. Is the time period of lower interest on the card a long enough period of time to make it worth the hassle?
If it is, then what will the interest rate be when that period runs out? Is it still lower than your current cards? You might be shocked at how quickly and how high the interest will go up on a card that offers balance transfer for fair credit, so be sure you have the facts before you sign up.
By: Jake Wilson
Posts Tagged ‘Time Period’
Balance Transfer For Fair Credit
April 7th, 2010First Steps to Credit Repair
January 1st, 2010
Having bad credit can make life difficult. When you have bad credit you are denied many of the things that other people enjoy and it often seems like you cannot get ahead. You can wait it out if you have the time or you can take steps to improve your credit.
In 1970 the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA for short was enacted by Congress to protect consumers against inaccuracies and inconsistencies on reported credit. This act allows consumers to dispute inaccurate and untruthful listings on their credit report. It also allows the consumers to receive a free copy of their own credit report one time per year. An amendment in 2003 made it so that the consumer could receive this report at no charge.
The very first step to improving and repairing your credit is to get this report. There are many places online that offer you the opportunity to get this report but just remember that one report per year is free and you should not be paying anybody to get your one free report each year.
After you get the report you need to verify the information and check for inconsistencies. It is estimated that up to 75% or more of all credit reports are inaccurate and have mistakes. This is actually a benefit to you because you can dispute those mistakes and if they are not verified within a certain time period they must be completely removed from your report.
You have the right to dispute your credit and do whatever you can to improve and repair your credit. You can do it on your own or you can hire a professional company to help you out. In no way are you required to hire someone to help you and you may find that you would prefer to do it on your own. However, the process can be frustrating and time-consuming and you may appreciate the fact that someone else can help you get it done. Hiring a professional credit repair service is not something that you need to do but it can be a benefit if you have too much on your plate as is and you could use the convenience of letting someone else handle it to get it done in a timely manner.
Whether you do it on your own or with a professional you need to be aware that it is not legal to get fair and honest reporting removed from your credit. If you really do have the bad credit you would probably be better off trying to improve the credit you have left and improving your financial situation all around.
Do your homework as you are trying to repair your credit because there are some things that may surprise you such as the fact that it may hurt you more to pay off an old charged-off debt than to leave it alone. The reason why is because the negative credit stays on your report from the date of the last activity and when you pay off an old charge-off the time it stays on your report starts anew.
There are many different things you can do to improve your credit including repairing old and inaccurate reporting and doing things that will raise your credit score. The FCRA gave consumers the right to know and participate in what is reported on their credit report so take advantage of that fact if you have credit problems.
By: Karen Lynch
