 TITLE: What Happens After a Balance Transfer? CONTENT: Develop Good Credit Habits\n--------------------------\nUsing a balance transfer to attack debt is a smart way to work toward better credit, but it's not the only one. So if you're trying to increase your credit scores, there are a number of tips to keep in mind, including:\n*   **Pay your bills on time.** This is the single most important factor affecting your credit score. If you have trouble remembering when bills are due, consider using calendar reminders, scheduled automatic payments and other digital tools to help keep your payments timely.\n*   **Maintain low (or no) balances on your credit cards.** When possible, pay your credit balances in full each month, which spares you interest charges and also promotes higher credit scores. Also, try to keep your card balances at or below about 30% of your borrowing limit to avoid pulling your credit score downward.\n*   **Keep older credit card accounts open.** Unless they carry expensive fees, keeping these cards open will preserve your amount of available credit and lengthen your credit history, both of which help your credit scores.\n*   **Consider enrolling in the** **Experian Boost™† program.** This allows your timely payments on utility and cellphone bills to be reflected favorably in your Experian credit score.\nA balance transfer card can be a great vehicle for reducing overall debt and helping improve your credit scores. Making the most of a low or 0% introductory rate can save you big on interest charges, as long as you avoid the lure of taking on additional debt while paying down your transfer balance. END