Every year, you plan to avoid the credit card mess and try your hardest to pay cash for all of your holiday gifts. If you're reading this, you probably used your credit cards more than you had planned. Don't worry, though; there are some tried-and-true things you can do right away to get out of your holiday credit card slump. Here are some ways to get out of the holiday credit card rut and help you pay off your purchases quickly so you won't still be paying for them when next year's holidays come around.
Make the most of introductory offers
Many credit card companies offer special introductory rates after the holidays to get new customers to sign up for their cards. If you can find one that lets you transfer your balance for a year with no interest, you're in! You can pay off your holiday debt without paying high interest rates by moving it from one card to another. Another benefit of this method is that even if you used several credit cards for holiday shopping, you'll only have to make one payment. When you put all of them on the new credit card with a 0% balance transfer fee, you only have to make one payment each month. (You might want to think about getting rid of some of your other credit cards.)
If you can't find a balance transfer offer with 0% interest for a year, you might be able to find one with 0% interest for the first six months. Still, it's worth your time and effort to move your balances because you can work to pay them off before the six months are up (or move the balance to a new card with a 0% balance transfer offer at the end of the six months).
Checks for a credit card
If you don't qualify for an introductory balance transfer offer with 0% interest, you could use the checks that come with most credit cards. (Sometimes you have to ask your credit card company for a copy.) Even though the interest rate might not be zero, and it might not be lower than the card that gives you credit card checks, if you have balances on more than one credit card, you would only have to make one monthly payment if you wrote a check to pay off each card. If you only had one account, you would save a lot of money on interest and fees over time. Also, if you only pay on one account instead of three, four, or even more, you'll be able to pay off the balance much faster.
Ask for lower prices
Some credit card companies can lower your interest rate just because you ask them to. Calling your credit card company's customer service number to ask for a lower interest rate won't hurt you in any way. When you spend too much on holiday gifts, a lower interest rate can really help you save on the total amount you have to pay back.
Obtain a new card.
You should try to get a card that lets you move all of your other credit card balances to it and has a 0% balance transfer fee. Sometimes you can't get approved for the best offers, or you have more debt than the offer lets you transfer.
If this happens to you, you might want to get a new credit card that lets you transfer your entire debt from all of your other cards and has a reasonable interest rate on transferred balances so you can start making one monthly payment instead of several.
