Spring cleaning for your wallet

Transferring high-interest balances to rewards or zero balance cards

By Jeremy M. Simon

Spring offers us a chance to throw open the windows, let in some fresh air and get down to some serious cleaning. While many Americans may be opening closets and attics as they work to get organized, it's important not to neglect our wallets.

Consumers' wallets can get filled with all sorts of odds and ends throughout the year.  Much of what we could toss into the trash are old business cards and membership cards. At the same time, we may want to update the credit cards we have been carrying around.

Spring may be the perfect season to remove those high-interest or nonreward credit cards from our wallets. Whether or not we decide to cancel the accounts, we can replace these cards with shiny new plastic that offers better terms.

Consumers that revolve a balance may want to switch from a credit card whose low introductory APR has expired to a balance transfer credit card offering a lower interest rate.  With one of these new cards in their wallet, revolvers can avoid paying interest for as much as a year or more.

Meanwhile, consumers that put new charges on their plastic may want to outfit their wallet with a rewards credit card that provides better perks than the card the currently carry.  Transactors will appreciate getting better credit card rewards for using their plastic.

Time to get cleaning!

Published: June 5, 2007

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