sgosline, ExitRowAisle brings up some good points, but other than that, you don't have to worry about anything. I've done the "zero percent balance transfer" thing a couple of times and it's worked out well because it was for amounts that I was planning on paying off (or mostly paying off) during the same amount of time as the promotional period. The best deals I've gotten on balance transfers, though, have been no-fee transfers at 4.9 and 5.9 percent (I did this twice) for the LIFE of the debt... meaning the low APR is permanent until I pay that off, and recently, a transfer at zero percent from now until August of 2005, which "buys me time" (I can continue to pay off that balance without the added costs of interest fees) but again you need to keep in mind the points that ExitRowAisle brings up. I get "pre-approved" letters ALL the time (at least three per week) and toss just about all of them... I'm not big on juggling cards and it's not good for your credit record to switch often, but the truth is that once in a while it can be good to do so, especially since you'll get a better APR than you would even at a bank for a personal loan! And if you get miles in the process, all the better.

Now, one more question... my boyfriend and a couple of other people are really big fans of their 3% or 5% cash-back gas cards, saying they're a better value than miles-earning cards since miles are valued at about $.02/mile at best. I still think if you play your cards right (planning on using a domestic ticket, for example, for a long trip, such as coast-to-coast) earning miles is a better deal. Your thoughts?