You've got to stop paying 15% or more on your credit card debt.

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

But transferring your balance to a new credit card that charges 0% interest for a year 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.

We checked dozens of cards offering balance transfers. Here are the three we liked best.

Our first choice:

The Discover More card offers 0% interest on balance transfers until April 2009 and on purchases made until the last day of the billing period in October 2008. This one-year window for 0% transfers is exceptional because many other cards now offer "up to" 12 months on transfers.

There's no annual fee, and if your credit remains unblemished, the interest rate could be as low as 10.99% when it kicks in. The rate will be determined by a review of your application and credit history. You need "excellent" 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 allows you to maximize the 0% APR offer by paying off as much of your balance as possible during those 12 months.

Capping the 3% transfer fee at $75 also is a plus; other cards charge a straight 3%, which can add up. But Discover More's use of the "two-cycle" method of computing finance charges is not a plus.

Discover More calculates how much interest you owe based on the average daily balance over the last two months, not the last 30 days. That allows them to keep charging interest on debt you paid off the previous month.

We tell consumers to avoid cards using two-cycle billing. But in this case we hope the threat of this type of billing will be an extra incentive to get that transfer paid off before the finance charges kick in.

The Citi Platinum Select Mastercard offers 0% interest for up to 12 months on balance transfers and an APR as low as 7.24% on both transfers and purchases after that. Higher risk applicants may get 0% transfers for only six months.

Citi Platinum imposes a 3% transfer fee with a $5 minimum but no cap. That means a $3,000 transfer would cost $90. But at least there's no annual fee.

The HSBC Platinum MasterCard with Cash Back offers 0% on your balance transfer for 12 months and on purchases as well. Once the introductory period expires, your credit will be reviewed and your new rate will be between 8.99% and 17.99%.

Making a year's worth of on-time payments to reduce or eliminate your balance transfer should also improve your credit score. That would allow you to qualify for a lower rate when the time comes.

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 0% transfer. 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 in.

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

That's because they don't enhance the card's value for balance transfers and can tempt you to make new purchases -- something you should never, ever do. First, because this card is meant to pay off your credit card balance, not add to it. And second, because if you get a card that charges interest on new purchases, you will never pay off that balance.

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.

So 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 do that.

By Carolyn Siegel

Interest.com Associate Editor

Have a question about your finances? Ask us at editors@interest.com.