Credit cards are a great luxury to have - and very convenient, too. We use them just about all the time to buy our gas, groceries, electronics, airline tickets, and just about everything else. But that may be the reason why so many are finding their credit cards maxed out. Here is a plan on how to reduce your credit card debt - by using a balance transfer credit card.

Any old cards that you have, if you have a balance on them - you are paying too much. The interest rates are too high. Why not start over? Get a new credit card with a balance transfer option and an introductory offer that lasts for a year or more. Select your card carefully, and make sure that there are no fees for making a transfer. Some credit card companies will charge you as much as 4% of the amount transferred to your new card.

You will also want to make sure that the balance transfer option lasts as long as a year, or more. Sometimes, it may only last up to 6 months, while the rest of the introductory offer lasts up to 15 months. This feature will give you 0% APR interest on your balances. This means that if you have a balance of $2,000, you could save about $300 each year - just in interest (estimated at 14.9%) - and that does not include any late fees.

Another item that you will want to review, in relation to balance transfers, is to know for how long you can make transfers to the new balance transfer credit card. Some cards only allow you to make transfers when you apply, others at any time during the introductory offer period.

Once you have reduced your future interest on the old debt, you now have more flexibility to pay down the credit card debt. During the introductory offer, you have that much time to make a big dent in your debt by paying off as much as you can. At the end of that time period, you will either have to start paying the interest rate on the card, or get a new balance transfer credit card.

While some will obviously look at this as an opportunity to max out their credit cards again, you should instead look at it as an opportunity to reduce your debt.

Choose the type of credit card offer carefully. It should be the kind of card that has cash back, or rebates. These rebates are a portion of your purchases paid back to you or credited as

points when you make certain purchases. Obtain the type of credit card that has features that

you would use the most.

Whether it gives you points for gas, or air travel, or a department store, you want it to give you more points than another card for the same purchases. This entitles you to a larger rebate for those things you use the most - meaning that it gives you the most cash back or rebates. You also want to make sure that the rebates come in a form that you can use. It needs to be for merchandise or services that you can really use. Get useable and meaningful rebates. For air miles, make sure that your points do not expire too quickly.

After you have made your balance transfers to the new card, don't max them out again. Just forget about them. Close most of them out with the credit card company and destroy them. Remember that that's what got you in financial difficulties in the first place. You are only getting a new credit card to reduce debt - not to have more credit to buy things you do not need.