By Megg Mueller

If you're going to rob Peter to pay Paul, why would you want to pay a fee? The whole idea is to save some money, stave off debt … why incur more charges? Balance transfer fees are pretty standard across credit cards; move your balance to a new card and you're usually going to pay 3 percent to 5 percent of your transfer amount. While that often still makes better sense, as long as you're dropping your interest rate on that money dramatically, it's still a drag to get dinged for giving your business to another credit card.

A number of cards offer zero percent interest on balance transfers for a specific time frame (12 months for instance) but right now Discover More Card has a zero percent balance transfer promotion that is offering that plus no balance transfer fee. Discover's website lists a few of the perks associated with this offer:

Find the right credit card for you

Select card type

How much do you charge per month?

• More than $2,500
• Less than $2,500

Do you carry a balance?

• Always
• Sometimes
• Never

Related Articles 0% Balance Transfer Cash Back Credit Cards Free Airline Credit Card Miles

 

• Limited Time Offer - $0 Balance Transfer Fee!
• 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% - 19.99%
• 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply
• Up to 20% Cashback Bonus at popular retailers when you shop online through Discover.com. Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty -- 15 years in a row! (2011 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
• 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
• Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
• *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information

As ever, there are some restrictions and requirements, too. I've been reading blog posts about folks who have a Discover More card already but are calling up and getting a new one, transferring the old balance (most, but not all) to the new card in order to get the zero percent interest period. Apparently, Discover is cool about that. Slate from Chase also has a zero balance transfer fee offer right now, but Chase doesn't allow you to transfer balances from one Chase card to another. That could make the Discover offer a little more attractive to existing Discover cardholders. I haven't seen anything official on the Discover Card site, but if it's worth a phone call if you want to make a Discover to Discover transfer. Make sure you read all the terms before signing on the dotted line.

I opted out on last year's Balance Transfer Day, which from the stories I've read, most people did as well. But I do periodically transfer a balance here and there, and many times the balance transfer fee stinks, but when the offer is good enough I'm still coming out ahead.

If I hadn't just done this in the last few months, I'd be inclined to jump on this because I like Discover … as much as one can like a credit card. The 5 percent Cashback Rewards the card offers on certain categories is cool, as long as you understand how it works. Right now, I'm signed up for the current gas and entertainment promotion, but found out the gas station I go to isn't categorized as "gas" on my bill so I don't earn the 5 percent. Gas stations that do categorize correctly have to be stand-alones, meaning not a convenience store or attached to a grocery store. Good luck finding one of those, but if you do, hey, you'll get 5 percent back. I think I'll fare better in the next quarter when restaurants are the category … providing they actually categorize themselves that way.