If you're in revolving credit card debt, you may want to consider getting a balance-transfer card, which allows you to transfer a balance from a card with a high interest rate to one with a low interest rate. That gives you an opportunity to pay off debt faster and at a lower cost. Considering how much they can save you in interest payments, CompareCards.com Senior Industry Analyst Matt Schulz calls them a "godsend." But most Americans who could benefit from a balance-transfer card have never used one, according to a survey for CompareCards.com by Lending Tree. In fact, "49 percent of U.S. adults don't even realize balance transfer cards exist," says industry analyst Ted Rossman, citing a recent CreditCards.com survey.

How balance-transfer credit cards work

The average American borrower had a credit card balance of $5,644 last year. If you maintain that balance and pay interest on it at an annual percentage rate of 15 percent, you'd pay about $850 in interest every year. If you started paying off the card at $200 per month, it would take 36 months and cost $1,360 in interest payments to wipe out the debt. Now, let's say you transfer the balance to the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card, which has an introductory offer of 0 percent APR for 20 months on any balance you transfer to the card. Assuming you transfer the entire balance of $5,644 to this card and pay it off at the same rate, it will take 30 months and cost you only $265 on top of the principal to pay it off. That's accounting for the balance transfer fee, too, which tacks on an additional 3 percent of your balance, or $170 in this case, to your debt. It's also assuming your variable APR after the introduction period is 11.99 percent, the lowest the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum offers. The American Express EveryDay requires no balance transfer fee and has 12 months of no interest. Assuming you qualify for a 14.99 percent APR, it would take you 31 months to pay off the balance and cost you $405 on top of the principal.

Credit card Total interest you'll pay Months to pay it off Current card with no introduction offer $1,360 36 months US Bank Visa Platinum $265 30 months American Express EveryDay $405 31 months

How payments are structured