You have a high balance at a high rate and you absolutely must find the best balance transfer credit cards out there so you don't suddenly drown in your debt. Hold your horses my friend. Jumping into the wrong balance transfer is going to cost you in the long run. There are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Teaser Trouble

First and foremost, you have to understand the basics of teaser rates before you can even hope to find the best balance transfer credit cards and filter them from the bad ones. A 0% credit card may seem like a great transfer option, until you learn that the 0% rate jumps to 20% or even 30% after six months. Suddenly you're not feeling too perky, are ya?

Remember, just because a card has a blazing 0% sprawled across the front of its advertising doesn't mean it's one of the best balance transfer credit cards available. All it means is that the company is temporarily charging 0% and they're good at marketing. It's your job to find out what that rate goes up to after the intro period is over.

Rewards Are Not the Prize

When looking for the best balance transfer credit cards, don't start looking for great rewards. Instead, you need to be looking for the lowest interest rates you can find. Rock-bottom interest rates and top-notch perks don't usually go hand in hand. If you want to pay your balance off as quickly as possible, it means foregoing some perks to get a lower monthly finance charge.

Don't Use It

Once you start paying that balance down, don't be tempted to charge to the card. The idea behind finding the best balance transfer credit cards is to get out of debt. If you start racking up more charges, that's not going to happen.

I don't care how cute the purse was or how bad you needed a latte, don't charge to the card. Do yourself a favor. Put the actual card through a shredder as soon as it arrives and pay off your existing balance as quickly as you can.

Keep on Top of It

Of course, the most important factor when transferring a balance to one of the best balance transfer credit cards is paying that bill on time each and every month. Otherwise, you might end up with a default rate and penalties that are far from ideal.