Are you about to get a new balance transfer credit card? Did you just recently move a balance from one credit card to another? Then surely you know that balance transfer rates are limited time deals. Are you prepared to pay off your entire transferred balance before that introductory offer expires? You definitely should.

There are several reasons it’s important to stay on top of your transferred credit card balances so you don’t end up in a worse situation than you had with your old high interest credit card. Here are a few reasons:

1. Balance transfers stop you from using interest free days.

When you move an existing balance to a balance transfer credit card like the Virgin Flyer credit card, you lose interest free days on new purchases. Or at least you lose them until the balance transfer is paid off completely. That’s because offers of interest free days generally require that your entire balance be paid off in full every month.

That means if you transfer your balance, you can’t use your new card for purchases without immediately incurring interest. That somewhat defeats the point of getting rid of your original credit card due to high interest. Either pay off the balance transfer as quickly as possible, or use another card for interest free purchases.

2. The other option (another balance transfer) isn’t your best bet.

Some consumers don’t worry about paying off their balance transfers before the balance transfer rate expires because they figure they can just transfer the remaining balance again. In theory that can work. But the fact of the matter is that doing so can hurt your credit history.

You see, every time you apply for a new credit card an enquiry goes into your credit file. Those enquiries stay there for several years (whether or not you were approved). If you have regular enquiries from balance transfers you make yourself look less creditworthy to future lenders (the ones you’ll rely on for new balance transfer offers down the road). They have less interest in lending to people who bail as soon as special rates expire. After all, they’re in it for the money as much as you’re in it for the savings.

3. Your interest rate can drastically increase after the introductory period.

The biggest problem with waiting too long to pay off your transferred balances is that your low balance transfer rate will eventually expire. Then you pay a higher interest rate on the remaining balance if you leave it on that credit card.

Some credit cards revert your rate to the regular purchase rate. Others will charge you the cash advance rate if you don’t pay off balance transfers during the introductory period. In the end, if you’re not careful you might end up paying even more in interest on your new card than you did with your original credit card.

Don’t transfer balances only to pay the minimum amount due every month. Go into balance transfers with a realistic plan for paying off the entire balance during the special offer period. If you can’t pay it off in three months for example, don’t choose a new card offering only a three-month balance transfer offer. You have to stay on top of these balances like any other if you don’t want to get yourself into more trouble than you started out with.