Jean Chatzky's New Debt Advice

They are out there, but the good ones, with low transfer fees and long 0 percent introductory periods, are few and far between.

"Card issuers know that everyone is at a greater risk of losing their job than they were last year, and so they're probably being a little more selective," Nessa says.
 
They are also charging higher transfer fees—sometimes up to 4 percent or 5 percent with no cap—and the introductory periods have been cut back from a year to nine or six months. That means if you're looking for one of these offers and a good one hits your mailbox, run the numbers to see if it's worth making a move (there's a calculator on BankRate.com  that can help).
 
If it is, snatch it up, because Nessa says she wouldn't be surprised if these offers disappear completely after the new Credit CARD Act of 2009 goes into effect in February 2010.