 TITLE: What Happens to Your Old Credit Card After a Balance Transfer? CONTENT: To initiate balance transfer, you'll need to get approved for a balance transfer credit card. You will typically need good to excellent credit to qualify, though criteria varies by issuer.\nIt's wise to compare options across multiple issuers in order to choose the right card to transfer balances since terms and fees can differ. As you shop around, compare these features:\n*   **The issuer**: Credit card companies generally don't allow you to transfer balances from one of their cards to another. This means you'll likely need to find a credit card with a different issuer than the one with the existing balance.\n*   **The introductory period**: When viewing balance transfer offers, pay attention to how long the introductory 0% APR period lasts. While 12 to 18 months is most common, you may find offers anywhere from six months to 20 months.\n*   **Balance transfer fee**: This is a fee issuers charge for the luxury of transferring a balance, and it's usually 3% or 5% of the transferred amount (though it may also be a flat fee, whichever is more).\n*   **The credit limit**: Try to find out the card's potential credit limit, since this can rule out cards that won't offer high enough limits to transfer your entire balance.\nShopping around can help you score the best deal on fees, terms and interest rates on credit cards. Experian's free CreditMatch™ tool allows you to compare balance transfer card offers that are personalized to your credit score.\nOnce you apply, you'll find out if you're approved and what your credit limit will be. If the issuer hasn't provided instructions for how to make the transfer, contact them and follow their process. The issuer may either pay off your old balance directly, or issue you a check to do it yourself. The transfer typically needs to be done within 60 days.\nWhat to Do After You Make a Balance Transfer\n--------------------------------------------\nOnce you've committed to transferring your balance, don't close the old account just yet. Keep making the minimum payment on the old account until both your old account and new account show that the transfer is complete. This ensures you don't accidentally miss any payments and hurt your credit score or incur any fees. You can monitor your credit score for free through Experian to see how the process affects your credit and to keep up on the information on your credit report going forward.\nAfter the balance transfer is complete, and assuming you were able to pay off the entire balance on the old card, you'll need to decide what to do with it. If you decide to keep the card open, consider putting a small recurring payment on the account, such as a membership or streaming service, to keep it active—and then put the card away in a drawer to avoid running up a new balance and defeating the purpose of the balance transfer.\nNo matter which balance transfer card you end up with, make sure you pay off the transferred debt during the introductory period. This will ensure faster progress on debt repayment and help make the effort and fees of a balance transfer worth your while. END