New reports show pre-approved credit card offers have dropped to their lowest level in nearly 5 years.

Even so, more than a billion and a half consumers got offers in the second quarter, and many jumped on those low interest rates.

But some of you may have jumped too quickly.

Switching to a lower-interest credit card can be a great way to save money. That's what Jeanne Romano of Bellevue thought she was doing until she started getting her monthly statements.

Like most consumers who make the switch, Romano had a plan.

"Well, I had put in brand new windows in my house," she said.

She bought $11,000 worth of windows and paid on an existing credit card account. But she switched when she got an offer in the mail for 3.99-percent APR.

She took $11,000 from one card and moved it to the new card. Everything was going fine until she got her first bill.

The problem? That 3.99-percent APR was only for her balance transfer or cash advances.

Romano forgot that existing automatic payments she's arranged on her old card would automatically go on her new credit card.

"My car payment, my water bill, I donate to a church," she said.

But those are considered new purchases and the interest on new purchases is 11.99-percent APR, and Romano can't make any payments on that balance, which keeps going up, every month.

That's almost 12-percent interest on a balance she can't touch until she pays off the $11,000. She had misunderstood the fine print.

"It's gray on white! You can barely read it! It's a font the size of .2!" Romano said. "I knew I was going to have to pay off the other balance first - that's usually in bigger print somewhere - but to not be able to eliminate the previous balance? I know this sounds cliche, but really read the fine print."

Since Romano has a good payment history, she found a different credit card company that wanted her business bad enough to offer a better deal.

For a transfer fee of $190, she was able to transfer both balances from the new card to a competitor's card offering 0-percent APR on the balance transfer for the first 15 months.

She's transferred all her automatic payments to a separate card which she pays off every month, while paying down that $11,000 .

While that solves Romano's immediate problem, it very likely creates a new problem.

Remember, she canceled one account and opened another when she transferred her balance the first time. Then within two months, she canceled the new card and transferred the balances to another account.

All that activity will probably have a negative affect on her credit score.

So before you jump on a pre-approved credit card offer, get out your magnifying glass and read the fine print.

More information:

US credit card mail offers decline in Q2 2008 as issuers continue to reel in offers to high risk households

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Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and Email: Where to Go to "Just Say No"