Our Wishful Travel has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Our Wishful Travel and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
It can be tempting to dive right into the points game, but if you’re carrying a balance on your credit cards you should shift your focus
If you’re currently carrying a credit card balance, shift your focus to paying that in full before chasing Sign Up Bonuses in the points game. Points don’t really benefit you until you’re in the position to never carry a balance again, because no amount of points is worth paying a 20+% interest rate. Plus, you’ll be more likely to damage your credit by taking out additional cards and adding to your debt.
With that said, there is one credit card tool we used for years while working our way out of debt – find a credit card that offers 0% APR on Balance Transfers. You simply take a card(s) you’re having trouble paying off, and transfer the balance to a new card offering you a special 0% APR intro rate. This will help you pay off your debt much faster by avoiding the interest.
Our baseline for what is considered a “good” balance transfer card has always been a one time 3% transfer fee, and 0% interest for at least 12+ months. The goal is to pay off the balance as soon as possible, because once you’re credit card debt free, you’ll see how credit cards can work for you!
Balance Transfer cards we love
We love both of these cards from TD because they offer a low one time transfer fee, at minimum one year of interest payment savings, and the card_name even offers a Cash Back Bonus. Note: we wouldn’t recommend opening a new card and adding to your debt just for a Sign Up Bonus. But if a 0% APR balance transfer card can also earn you a bonus on your normal monthly bills, we’re all for it!
card_name – 3% transfer fee, 0% interest for 15 months, plus a $200 cash back bonus
card_name – 3% transfer fee, 0% interest for 18 months
TD Cash Credit Card Image – place code for card art here and center align as needed
TD FlexPay Credit Card Image – place code for card art here and center align as needed
Not carrying a balance and ready to dive in? Head over to our next blog The Busy Mom’s Guide to Free Travel [Step by Step] where we’ll walk you through an easy beginner plan for which cards to apply for and when in year one.
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Our Wishful Travel has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Our Wishful Travel and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Ready for the next step? Get a list of the top cards we recommend in year one, with a step by step guide on when to apply.