A credit card balance transfer is a Band-aid for people who are heavily in debt, and can drastically reduce debt expenses. But for many chronic overspenders, it often ends up being a temporary stop to financial bleeding.

In the board game of Monopoly, one of the most celebrated moments is when a person receives a "Get out of jail free" card. Credit cards companies like to portray their balance transfer offers in a similar light. A word of caution to anyone in debt who's considering one of these deals: Carefully review the offer-otherwise, you may be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Steal of a zero percent deal

The flagship offer from credit card companies is the zero percent transfer deal. The basic concept stipulates that when you transfer your credit card balance onto a new card, you'll be charged zero percent on your balance for an introductory period of six to nine months. Some cards even offer the special rate for a year.

New purchases, new sensations

You may also want to check out the low introductory purchase rates now being offered by credit cards when you initiate a balance transfer. The deal will vary by credit card, but most offer an extremely low interest rate on new purchases for a fixed period of time. These low purchase rates are paired with extremely low rates on your balance transfers-a nice one-two punch.

Potential landmines await

Most of these deals are excellent ways to reduce your interest payments, provided that you make all those payments on time. But credit card companies are masters of the numbers game, and they find ways to make consumers pay.

Many balance transfer fees include a "transaction fee," for example. The fee is based on a percentage of the balance transferred, and can be as high as 5 percent per $1,000. This can add up to a significant chunk of change if your transferred balance is high.

The credit card companies make most of their money on the interest rate charged once the balance adjusts. Take a close look at it; it may be higher than your current rate. If this is the case, the deal will only work if you pay off the entire balance before the introductory period ends.

Cardholders can be their own worst enemy in these deals. Many begin charging again on their old card after their balance is transferred. Instead of returning to your old ways, it's better to reign in spending and concentrate on paying off the balance on the new card.

Credit card companies have been offering the balance transfer rate as a convenient fix for years. People who chronically mismanage their funds see these deals as a pain-free solution. But in real life, there's no free lunch, and these offers have plenty of fees and interest rate spikes. Be careful if you pursue a balance transfer; otherwise, you may wind up right back where you started.