Do your own balancing act with the right balance transfer

	Typical APR Variable	Max Int Free
	14.9%	56 days
	14.9%	56 days
	14.9%	56 days
	14.9%	56 days
	15.9%	56 days
* Based on Lowest Standard Rates and is not a full search of the whole market

Good credit card balance transfers are becoming increasingly hard to find, as lenders tighten the reins on their lending. Balance transfers let you move your debt from one card operator to another, usually in return for a fee that is a percentage of the debt.

It all started back in December 2000, when Egg launched the first 0% fee-free balance transfer deal in a bid to win customers over to its cards, unleashing a deluge of cheap credit on to cash hungry customers.

Other banks soon followed Egg's lead, starting a carousel of debt transfer as people switched from one card to another, never having to repay what they owed because they simply moved the debt from their existing card to another lender.

0% Balance Transfer Cards

The result was revealed in a recent report by independent market analyst Datamonitor, which found that British consumers have more plastic cards in their wallets than in any other country in Western Europe.

Each Briton now carries an average of 2.8 cards in his wallet, up from 2.4 in 2002, and the number is expected to exceed three per adult by 2011.

Andrew Fabricius, a financial services analyst and author of the report, said, "In the UK, consumers are increasingly using credit cards as borrowing tools, applying for new credit cards to transfer an outstanding balance and to take advantage of interest-free offers."

In their heyday some balance transfer cards even allowed you to make cash withdrawals - and then you could transfer the debt to a fee- and interest-free card. That meant that if you didn't spend the cash on goods, you could deposit it in a high-interest account and profit from it.

Madness!

But such was the competitive frenzy among the banks that they went to absurd lengths to attract customers. One might have guessed it would end in tears, and as the credit crunch bites, indeed it has.

Over the past few months good balance transfer deals have been drying up more quickly than a net curtain in a tumble drier. Free balance transfers are long gone, fee transfers are in, and fees have gone up - standing typically now at around 2.5% to 3% of the amount transferred.

However, competition is still rife in the credit card market and interest-free periods seem to be increasing, albeit at a cost.

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Samantha Owens, head of personal finance at data provider Moneyfacts.co.uk, says, "Over the last few years we have seen the length of balance transfer deals increase. Two years ago cards offering 0% for 12 months were top of the best buy tables, with the majority trying to tempt us with 0% for 9 months. Now the top card offers 0% for 15 months, with many other best buys offering 13 months' interest-free."

But what sounds like good news may not be, says Owens, as credit limits are down on what they were a year or two ago, and credit scoring criteria are tight.

"While this increase in the length of balance transfer offer appears good news for financially-stretched consumers, the reality is somewhat different than a few years ago," she says.

"The downside is that balance transfer fees have increased, with many being uncapped, and lenders have tightened up their credit-scoring criteria, so you need an almost spotless credit history to get your hands on one of these deals. If you do, the interest-free limits will be far smaller than they used to be."

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Owens does, however, highlight one or two good offers. She says, "Capital One Bank has bucked the trend and recently launched a credit card offering balance transfers without a balance transfer fee.

"But, as with everything, there is a downside: the credit card offers 0% until 1 August 08, meaning that the length of the 0% term is nine months shorter than the market-leading card from Virgin Money. That said, the lack of fee will make this a good option for anyone who can afford to repay the debt over the short term of six months.

Compare your existing credit card with the best on the market see what you could save!