You've got to stop paying 18% or more on credit card debt.

Using cash-out refinancing or a home equity loan to pay off those bills are two ways to save hundreds of dollars a year in interest costs.

But transferring your balance to a new credit card that charges 0% interest for six or more months is an even better alternative.

Every dollar you pay reduces the balance, making this the surest, quickest route to wiping out your credit card debt once and for all.

There's no doubt that credit card issuers have tightened the rules for balance transfers over the past few months. It's tough to find 0% finance offers for more than six months and interest rates are higher once the introductory period expires.

But transferring a balance from a high-interest card to a low- or no-interest card is worth looking into. We checked dozens of balance transfer cards and here are the three we liked best.

Our first choice:

The Discover More card offers 0% interest on balance transfers for six months and on purchases made until the last day of the billing period ending during March 2010.

There's no annual fee, and if your credit remains unblemished, the interest rate could be as low as 11.99% when it kicks in. It will be determined by a review of your application and credit history. It could be as high as 18.99% APR. Rates equal the prime rate (currently 3.25%) plus 8.74% and 15.74%. You need good credit to be accepted.

If your balance is made up of 90% or more of your balance transfer, your minimum payment is 4%. We like this because it forces you to maximize the 0% APR offer by paying off as much of your balance as possible during those interest-free six months.

Like most cards that accept balance transfers, there's a 3% fee added to the amount transferred. And to receive the 0% APR for six months, you must request the balance transfer when you apply for the card.

This offer is limited to new cardmembers only.

The Citi Platinum Select MasterCard offers 0% on your balance transfer for six months from the account opening date and on purchases as well.

Once the introductory period expires, your new rate will be a variable 11.99%, 15.99% or 19.99% (prime rate currently at 3.25% plus 8.74%, 12.74% or 16.74%), depending on your credit score and payment history. You will be charged 3% per balance transfer, but you need excellent-to-good credit to qualify.

Making on-time payments to reduce or eliminate the transferred balance should also improve your credit score. That would allow you to qualify for lower rates on future loans or credit cards.

The Capital One Platinum Prestige credit card offers 0% financing on balance transfers and purchases through the October 2010 billing period. The catch: You have to have excellent credit to qualify. You also have to pay a 3% balance transfer fee, but that's hard to avoid.

If you don't pay your entire balance by October 2010, the variable rate will increase to 11.9% APR. Currently the variable rate is determined by adding 8.65% to the prime rate (3.25%), but this rate may change quarterly.

There is one more place to look for good deals on 0% balance transfers, and that's in your mailbox. Applications for credit cards probably arrive every week telling you that, "You're Preapproved!" Before shredding them, take a look at the ones with the 0% transfer option. Some of these offers are made only through the mail, and some are very good. Just be sure you read the "terms and conditions" on any application before sending it back.

You may have noticed that we haven't mentioned the reward programs that come with these cards.

That's because they don't enhance the card's value for balance transfers, and they can tempt you to make new purchases -- something you should never, ever do.

First, the sole purpose of this card is to pay off your credit card balance, not add to it. And second, if you get a card that charges interest on new purchases, you will never pay off that balance. (None of the above-mentioned cards do -- at least for the first six to 12 months.)

Virtually every credit card assigns all payments to that portion of your bill being charged the lowest interest rate until that part of your debt is paid off.

Thanks to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that Congress passed this spring, this practice will be outlawed in February 2010. But if you choose a balance transfer card that does charge interest on purchases, beware.

Let's say you transfer $10,000 and then add $1,000 in new purchases. You'll immediately begin paying interest on the $1,000 until you've covered the entire $11,000 debt.

The more you charge, the more interest you pay. Before you know it, the first $30 or $40 of every payment is going to the bank and your transfer balance isn't shrinking as quickly as it would have. Then your year is up, and you're paying interest on the remaining balance.

Credit cards count on you to make this mistake. That's why they offer such great deals on balance transfers.

You're too smart to fall for that.

By Carolyn Siegel

Interest.com Associate Editor