Credit card balance transfers can be quite handy if you’ve got a lot of debt that’s subject to finance charges. After all, why pay interest every month if you can move the debt to a new credit card with 0% APR?

The downside to credit card balance transfers are the associated fees, which generally range from $0 to 5% of the balance.

Generally there is a minimum amount you must pay to transfer a balance, such as $10, assuming it’s not a no fee balance transfer offer.

In the past, it was fairly common to see no fee balance transfer offers, but the financial collapse that occurred in late 2006 wiped out many of those deals.

During the boom years, many savvy consumers took advantage of no fee balance transfer offers, and moved credit card debt from one card to the next, all the while never paying a dime in interest, or any fees.

But credit card issuers quickly (well, not that quickly) caught wind of this so-called “balance transfer arbitrage” and started slapping fees on their balance transfer offers.

Not only did they add fees, but in many cases, they raised fees and removed maximum fees on balance transfers. A few years ago, most balance transfer fees were capped at a certain dollar amount, say $75.

Today, it’s not uncommon to see a balance transfer fee with no cap, meaning you could pay a hefty fee on a large balance.

However, there are still no fee balance transfer offers out there if you look hard enough, and even with the fees, balance transfers can save you some serious cash.

The key is to determine whether a balance transfer makes sense for you (fee and all) by looking at your current interest rate and the balance transfer interest rate.

Even with a 5% balance transfer fee, it could be the right move, especially if your current credit card has a high APR.

Most credit cards carry APR in the teens or higher, so moving a credit card balance to a credit card with an APR of 0% or something in the single digits could be a huge money saver.

Tip: Ask your credit card issuer to waive the balance transfer fee.