A zero-percent Introductory APR on balance transfers sounds like a great deal, right? Unfortunately, there is often a fee associated with making a balance transfer from one card to another. The most common fee is 3 percent of the transferred balance.
You should interpret this percentage-based fee as an additional APR above your Introductory APR.
If a card offers zero-percent balance transfer for the first year, and it has a 3 percent balance-transfer fee, then in reality you should read that as an introductory balance-transfer APR of 3 percent for the first year.
The balance-transfer fee is only assessed by the credit card company receiving the balance transfer, so it is very important that you consider any balance-transfer fees when considering which new credit card to apply for. It might not save you money in the long run, especially if you take this fee into consideration.
