One thing you should always be cognizant of, when it comes to credit cards, is your credit history report and your credit score. Those two things combined will dictate what offers you will receive in the mail and what cards you’ll be able to apply for and be accepted. See, the catch-22 when it comes to credit cards and lending in general is that the credit card companies will only lend you money when you don’t need it. Someone who is desperate for credit won’t get as good an offer as someone who isn’t looking for another card… it’s a paradox but it’s the truth.

So, how does your credit history factor in? The better your history, the better your score. The better your score, the better your offers. If you want to try your hand at 0% balance transfer arbitrage, you’ll definitely need a good to excellent credit history and score. Now, how do you do that? It takes good behavior and a bit of diligence, check your score three times a year via AnnualCreditReport.com. You will be able to check your history at the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once a year and so if you stagger your checks, you’ll be able to get a pretty good view of your report three times a year.