There are an awful lot of 0% offers out there now, and the interest free duration has been extending further and further. It is now possible to get 0% on balance transfers for 15 months. With these sort of offers on the table the credit card companies will be keen to differentiate themselves from the competition. Hopefully this will mean lower balance transfer rates.
Over the past couple of years we have seen the rates creep up gradually to what is pretty much an all time high. The average balance transfer rate is 2.4%. Depending on how much you are transferring this may or may not be significant. In terms of whether it is worth transferring a balance or not there is still no question it is better to pay the fee than carry a balance on a high APR card, but it makes “low APR for the life of the balance” cards seem a genuine alternative, depending on how quickly you can clear the balance.
Despite the increase in charges for transferring balances the number of people transferring a balance has risen once again, and the average amount being transferred is approaching £2000. This is presumably down the the credit crunch, as well as people getting more and more savvy to the benefits of exploiting 0% credit card deals.
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