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Many people have more than one credit card to their name and unfortunately this can lead to more risks of debt.

But there are times when it can be convenient to keep more than one card, so deciding whether or not you should transfer card balanced over can often require more than just a “yes” or “no” answer.

Someone who keeps a second credit card in case of emergencies, for example, will have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of getting rid of the card even if they are carrying a balance on more than one card. If it has worked well in the past and it is a card with no annual fee, then switching to a new card might not fit into their lifestyle as well.

Transferring a balance should not be a decision made in haste because the benefits and disadvantages will vary from person to person. There are, however, a number of times when it would be good to at least consider a balance transfer, including the following situations:

• When you can only see the benefits to one of your current cards
• When none of the current cards are convenient
• If interest on balances is being charged at a cash advance rate
• If you want to reduce the amount of cards you use
• If repayments are becoming an issue; or

Thinking about balance transfer options in any of these scenarios should help you to figure out the most convenient path to cutting down on credit card costs and stress, but it will also be important to think about how you would like to transfer your balances.

While most people are aware of the low interest balance transfer offers currently available for a range of new cards, there is also the option of transferring a balance to a current card.

Say someone was carrying a balance on a rewards card and a low interest card but did not want to get rid of the rewards option. They could transfer the balance from the low interest card over to the rewards card so that they only needed to make one repayment every month instead of two.

In this case they would also end up keeping any rewards or frequent flyer points that would have been lost if they’d switched to a completely new card.

From these examples it is clear that deciding to transfer credit card balances can be a complicated issue but by considering all the different factors it will be easier to make sure you have a credit card situation that works for you.

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