Monday, August 16, 2010

Make Credit Card Consolidation Work For You

If you owe money on several credit cards, then credit card consolidation can work for you. You may not be able to tackle all of your debt at once, but you could find that a significant portion of your credit card expense has been removed due to a credit card consolidation. Are you looking to get out of debt? If so, a credit card consolidation may be the most useful tool for you.

Owing money on credit cards is no fun, especially when those cards carry large balances and the interest being charged is too high. You may be able to make the minimum payments, but achieving a big dent in the dent can be almost impossible to bring about. Fortunately, a credit card consolidation can help reduce your costs and remove some debt. When shopping for a new card make certain that it offers the following for you:

Balance Transfers – Your goal is to transfer at least a portion of your debt from a high rate card to a new card offering a low, fixed rate. Look for a card that charges no annual fee, waives balance transfer costs, and offers you a fixed rate on your new balance until it is paid off.

Rewards Too – While seeking a card that offers a great balance transfer offer, why not get rewarded for making the switch? Find a card that offers free airline miles, hotel stays, travel discounts, and other incentives to help you get ahead of the game.

Trimming Back Remaining Balances – If your good fortune helps you find a card that will pay off all of your existing balances, and then you are in luck. If not, then start working on reducing your debt by paying off the smallest loan first, followed by the next largest, and the next largest one after that. You can take your time paying off the new card’s balance especially if you received a fixed, low rate for the life of the balance. Compare paying 4.9% to 15.9% or more and you’ll quickly see the value of working on your other debt first.

In some cases you may be able to get two new credit cards at the same time offering similar benefits. If that should be the case, then use both cards to attack your debt. Together, the new cards may offer good enough balance transfer options to help you completely erase the balances on your old cards.