One drawback to credit card balance transfers is that they can take a while to execute.

Unfortunately, once you accept a balance transfer offer, it could take several weeks for your new account to be setup and the payment to be processed.

If you’re opening a new credit card and executing a balance transfer at the same time, it’ll probably take a good two weeks for the payment to be made, although some issuers say three weeks or more.

If you ordered a balance transfer check, it’ll probably take a week or so to get the check, and additional time to deposit the check and have it clear.

Because of the delay, it’s imperative that you continue to make minimum payments on your original credit card to avoid any late fees or credit score dings.

Let’s look at an example:

Balance transfer offer: 0% APR for 12 months, 13.99% thereafter
Current credit card balance: $2,500
Old credit card due date: January 15th
Balance transfer amount: $2,500
Date balance transfer application completed: January 2nd
Date balance transfer payment applied: January 20th

In this example, your balance transfer request was completed on January 2nd for the full $2,500 credit card balance tied to your old credit card.

The new credit card issuer will not make the balance transfer payment until January 20th, five days after your old credit card payment due date.

To avoid any penalties, you must make a minimum payment, despite the fact that the entire balance is expected to be paid off on January 20th.

One way you can prevent overpayment is to leave part of the credit card balance with the original issuer. So instead of requesting the full $2,500, request something like $2,450.

That way you make the $50 payment with the original credit card issuer if the due date comes before the balance transfer is completed.

Keep in mind that a balance transfer using an existing credit card (or a balance transfer check) will probably be executed faster than a balance transfer tied to a new account.

But any type of balance transfer could take some time, so always keep track of your payment due date.