Free balance transfer credit cards making a comeback

Consumers now have a chance to rejoice as some of the leading credit card lenders in the country are bringing back their credit cards that offer free balance transfers. Prior to the implementation of the CARD Act these cards were in high demand. But the move to curtail the revenue of the banks through the CARD Act made banks withdraw these cards from the market.

Until a couple of months ago, the credit cards that offer free balance transfers had virtually disappeared into oblivion. Before the implementation of the CARD act, banks had the authority to increase the interest rates on balance transfer credit cards at the drop of a pin. But now, this is not a possibility. This has made many people wonder as to what made banks reintroduce these cards into the market. Well, for starters, banks may have taken this move to increase their share of customers in the market. With many banks fighting tooth and nail to regain their lost market share, this reason seems to be valid.

Irrespective of why banks have reintroduced credit cards that offer free balance transfers, consumers have a lot of benefits in store. These credit cards are the ideal options for customers to sign up for if they are looking to clear off their outstanding dues and not add more to their existing debt. Though these cards have a lot in store for customers, banks do not have large profit margins. Therefore, a few of them even pulled out of the market after having burnt their hand issuing these cards.

One of the credit cards that offered the best balance transfer deals was the Discover More Card which offered zero percent interest for the first 12 months. In addition to this, customers did not have pay any extra charges in the form of balance transfer fees. Though customers signed for these cards in large numbers, the bank withdrew it from the market within two months for lack of profitability.

However, there are banks like JP Morgan Chase that continue to offer lucrative deals for balance transfer on their cards. The bank does not charge the 3 percent balance transfer fee that all other banks do. Also, in addition to this, customers can enjoy zero percent interest for up to 15 months which given them significant amount of time to clear off their debts. These cards are mostly issued to customers who have a good to excellent credit history.