According to Reserve Bank of Australia figures, Australia's national credit card balance was $40.4 billion at the end of 2009. That equates to an average of around $3,196 for every cardholder.

With most banks and credit card providers charging interest on credit card balances at anything between ten per cent and twenty per cent, many hundreds of thousands of you will be paying a large amount of interest to your card company. However, with dozens of instant approval balance transfer credit cards in the market, there are ways for you to save money.

Here are our four steps to saving yourself hundreds of dollars in interest charges by transferring your credit card balance online.

1.Pick a card

The first thing you should do is use an online comparison site in order to establish the right credit card for you. Using sites , you can establish which cards offer the best balance transfer deals for your specific circumstances. These deals typically include:

2.Get an instant approval

When you have established which credit card is right for you, you will generally be able to apply for the card online. Most banks offer a secure internet application process which typically takes around ten to fifteen minutes to complete.

Once you have submitted your application, the chances are you will receive an instant approval for your credit card. Most banks are able to access your credit report and underwrite your application electronically, providing you with the ability to obtain an instant approval credit card.Once you have received confirmation of your instant approval credit card, your actual card will be sent to you, along with your PIN. This generally takes about seven to ten days.

3.Provide your current card details

Once your instant approval credit card has been confirmed, you will need to provide all the details of the balance you wish to transfer. This includes your card provider, the amount of the balance and the amount you wish to transfer.

Sometimes, instant approval credit card applications will ask you to complete the details of any balance transfers you wish to conclude as part of the online application process. This means that once your instant approval credit card is confirmed, the balance transfer process begins immediately. This can really save you a lot of time and money.

If this is not the case, you should contact the new card provider straight away to provide them with the balance transfer details.

4.Benefit from lower repayments

The sooner that you transfer the balance to your new instant approval credit card, the sooner you will start to save money. Your interest will be charged at a lower rate which means that more of your monthly repayment will go towards clearing your credit card balance.

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Hi. I recently just got my first credit card ever and used it to make a $1600 purchase. The credit limit is $3000, so obviously I'm over 50% of the balance, and I just learned that's bad for credit scores. I expect to be able to pay off the purchase in the next two or three months. Will my credit score go back up immediately after I get the balance on my card down, or will it take a while? Thanks.

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