Do balance transfers affect your credit score?

When opening a rewards credit card, it's important to understand how the actions you take now will affect your credit score for years to come. The same is true if you're in debt and are working to pay it off.

Balance transfers can help you pay off both personal and business debt. Instead of accruing interest charges each month, consider opening a card with an introductory 0% annual percentage rate offer and transfer your balances to that card.

Then, you can pay your debt off during the designated 0% APR period — typically between 12 and 21 months — without racking up any additional interest.

Here's what you need to know about leveraging a balance transfer and what that means for your credit score in the long run.

Related: How to do a balance transfer

What is a balance transfer?

A balance transfer is a type of transaction in which debt is moved from one credit card account to another. If approached correctly, it can save you money on interest payments if you transfer your balance from a high-interest card to a lower-interest card.

For example, debt moved from a credit card accruing interest to a balance transfer credit card with a 0% introductory APR could potentially be paid off interest-free.

Keep in mind, though, that balance transfers come with a few costs and limitations. You'll generally have to pay a balance transfer fee, which tends to be 3%-5% of the total amount transferred. Also, your card might have a balance transfer limit, preventing you from moving the entire balance of a card or loan.

Related: Balance transfer or personal loan: What's the difference?

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Do balance transfers hurt your credit score?

A balance transfer can both positively and negatively affect your credit score.

Five factors are used to calculate your credit score:

• Payment history
• Amount of debt (credit utilization ratio)
• Length of credit history
• Credit mix
• New credit (recent inquiries)

Payment history is by far the most important factor here. If your payments are made on time, balance transfer or not, your score will generally not be hurt.

The credit utilization ratio is a bit trickier, however. This factor refers to the total amount of debt you owe versus the total credit limits you have from various banks and issuers.

Opening a new card for a balance transfer would increase the total amount of credit you have, which should help your utilization ratio decrease. Assuming that a balance transfer card is incentivizing you to pay off more than your minimum balance — because of the difference you save in interest — a balance transfer can help your credit score in the long run.

The only problem is that having a high ratio on a single card after a balance transfer might be problematic. However, don't expect a significant effect on your credit score in this category.

When evaluating credit history, FICO takes three things into account:

• How long your credit accounts have been open, including:
• The age of your oldest account
• The age of your newest account
• The average age of all your accounts
• How long specific credit accounts have been open
• How long it has been since the account has been used

While opening a new card will bring the average age of your accounts down (negatively affecting your credit score), you can work to counteract this by keeping older accounts open and active.

Opening a transfer balance card can also improve your credit mix, which FICO defines as all types of credit you have to your name, including credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company and mortgage loans. Credit mix only accounts for 10% of your FICO score, however, so don't expect a significant bump.

As for new credit and recent inquiries, note that anytime you apply for a new credit card, you can expect a roughly five-point hit to your credit score from the new hard inquiry. Repeated balance transfers to new cards can hurt your credit due to the new inquiries.

Related: Credit utilization ratio: What is it?

Bottom line

Balance transfer cards can be a great strategy for paying off debt — whether for personal or business reasons. We recommend that you clear your debt during the 0% APR period. Otherwise, a high-interest variable rate will kick in on the unpaid balance, which could easily nullify the debt you've already managed to pay off.

If implemented correctly, taking advantage of a 0% APR balance transfer offer on a card won't affect your credit score too much and may help you reach your goal of becoming debt-free.

Related: How to consolidate and pay off credit card debt