A “0% balance transfer” is essentially the crème de la crème of balance transfers because you pay zero interest for a certain period of time.

The only thing better is a 0% APR balance transfer offer with no fee; but finding one of those is like spotting a panda in the wild.

You might see a credit card balance transfer that offers 0% APR for six months, 0% APR for 12 months, or even 0% APR for the life of the balance.

Of course, 0% APR balance transfer for the life of the balance will probably require that you make purchases every billing cycle or take out a cash advance.

After all, credit card issuers aren’t in the business of giving away everything for free, so don’t count on that type of offer.

If you do get a balance transfer offer with a fixed APR for the life of the balance, there’s a good chance it’ll be a low fixed rate, such as 4.99%.

The good news is 0% APR balance transfer credit cards are quite common, if not the norm, and often stay at zero percent for a fixed period, which may be just long enough for you to pay off your balance and avoid finance charges.

Let’s look at an example:

Credit card balance: $2,000
Balance transfer offer: 0% APR for 12 months
Balance transfer fee: 3% of balance, $10 minimum, no maximum
APR after balance transfer period: 12.99%

Assuming you accept this 0% APR balance transfer offer, you’ll be able to avoid paying finance charges for an entire year.

That means every payment made during the year, minus any balance transfer fees, would go to chipping away the balance.

In the above example, you’d be subject to a $60 balance transfer fee, so your full balance would be $2,060. If you paid about $175 each month for a year, you could clear that balance and avoid any finance charges.

If you were to keep the balance on your current credit card, you’d probably be subject to hundreds in finance charges over the course of the year (See is a balance transfer worth it?).

You do the math.

Tip: Look for a no fee balance transfer credit card to avoid paying any fees.