(Updated 5/1/2012) If you carry a balances on your credit cards, then you might want to consider signing up for a 0% balance transfer credit card offer and transferring that credit card debt to a zero percent interest rate. If you carry a balance, a 0% percent interest rate can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over the duration of the 0% balance transfer offer.
Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards
The following list represents the best consumer offers for transferring your credit card balance to a 0 percent credit card. You can click on each respective card for more details or see the following list for more balance transfer offers. We have the two Citibank cards rated number 1, since they offer by far, the longest balance transfer offer in the industry. However, Discover and Chase currently offer 12 month balance transfer cards without a transfer fee. If you need the longer time to pay off your debt, then Citi is a great opportunity. If you can pay off your debt within 12 months, then Discover or Chase may be a better card for you.
Best 0% balance transfer offer (18 months). The Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® offers a 0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers and 18 months on purchases. This makes it a great card for people who want the longest balance transfer term or wish to continue making purchases while paying off their current debt at a 0% interest rate. This card features a 3% balance transfer fee with a $5 minimum. Apply for Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard®.
(18 months). The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is also among the leaders for the longest balance transfer offers, with 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for 18 months. After that, the APR will be 11.99%-21.99% based upon your creditworthiness. This card also features 24/7 access to personalized concierge service, special access to unforgettable live entertainment experiences through Citi Private Pass®, $0 Liability on unauthorized purchases, Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, and no annual fee. Apply for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card.
(15 months – No Balance Transfer Fee!) Slate(SM) from Chase is an innovative credit card which offers consumers a receive 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and for a limited time, you can transfer your current credit card balance during the first 30 days and pay no balance transfer fee. In addition to the vertical design, Slate(SM) from Chase gives cardholders access to Blueprint(SM), which can help you pay down your balances faster and save on interest. Blueprint(SM) gives you the option to track individual purchases and decide how and when you want to pay them off, track spending limits at a glance, split purchases and pay off larger items on your own terms, and more. There is no annual fee for this card. Apply for the Slate(SM) from Chase.
(18 Months). Discover is next in line with an introductory 0% balance transfer for 18 months with a 3% transfer fee, and a 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months. This gives you a year and a half to repay your credit card balance, which is among the longest out there. The Discover® More® Card offers one of the best cash rewards programs in the industry, offering up to 5% cash back in rotating categories. In addition, Discover has been ranked #1 in customer loyalty for 16 years in row (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report). Apply for Discover® More® Card.
(15 months). The Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back offers 0% Intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases. For a limited time you can earn a $100 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months of card ownership. The Chase Freedom® Visa is also a great rewards credit card, featuring 5% cash back offers in popular categories like grocery stores, restaurants and even airlines, and an unlimited 1% Cash Back on everything else with no spending tiers or caps on how much you can earn. Learn more at the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back page.
How to evaluate 0% balance transfer credit card offers
0% balance transfer credit cards are a great way to save a lot of money on interest and repay your credit card debt more quickly. When used correctly, you can save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in interest payment. However, not all offers are created equally, as you will see below. You will want to evaluate each card individually and make sure you understand the credit card offer before applying for a balance transfer card. Some important things to look out for include:
- Duration of balance transfer offer. Most cards offer 12-18 months at 0%.
- Balance transfer fees. Most fees range from 0% – 3%, or a fixed price, such as $75. There is usually a minimum fee as well.
- Interest rate. This only matters if you plan on using the card after you pay off your balance, but it is something to keep in mind.
- Rewards and cash back. Depending on your needs, you may want to consider credit cards with sign up bonuses, rewards bonuses, cash back cards, points cards, or special features, such as travel cards or gas rebates.
Compare all features before applying. Just because one card has a longer balance transfer duration doesn’t automatically make it the best card. You should first evaluate how much debt you have,the interest rate, how much it will cost for you to transfer your balance, how much you will save with a particular card (including balance transfer fees), and an estimate of how much you will save over the duration of the balance transfer offer. Then consider additional benefits of the card, such as cash back, sign up bonuses, rewards programs, etc. As you can see, most of these cards offer some form of cash back or rewards, which makes them a nice option to use after you pay off your balance transfer.
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
you need to show the card(s) with a cap on transfer fees
Caps on balance transfer fees are becoming very rare nowadays.
The Discover More card is a great card of balance transfers. Of course, balance transfer card offers can change often so always be sure to read the fine print before applying.
i am interested in zero percent financing
If I already used citi and discover’s 0% offer, can I still apply for another 0% balance transfer with one of them? are there other cards available?
Hello ph, yes, you can apply with other cards and may get approved as long as your credit score supports adding another line of credit. This varies from person to person, so I can’t tell you if you will be approved or not. You can also check out the Chase Freedom(SM) rewards credit card, which has great benefits and a $50 bonus on the first purchase.
A while back American Express Clear offered 3.9% balance transfer for the life of the trasfered balance. This was perfect for me to pay off my 10k plus in other credit card debt. The only downside I’ve seen is that they will not allow you any additional balance transfer options on any of their cards until you pay off the current loan. Unfortunately I didn’t learn the first time and need a new balance transfer option for a Chase Visa that has jumped from 17.99 percent to 39.9 percent in the last 12 months and there are very few companies these days making any comparable offers. Those that are look very carefully at your history and often times closing accounts with an existing balance like I’ve had to do looks horrible. It took my credit score from a 720 down to a 600 flat. To add insult to injury many companies are lowering credit limits to match your current balance just to keep themselves protected. This also looks bad as it appears you’ve extended or at least closed in on your max credit limit for all cards. A double whammy if you will. Not sure the answer but I hope with this legislation new oversight all americans will begin to tell these companies where to go and begin to operate on cash only. THats the only thing we can truely do to begin to hurt these companies who pray off the consumer.
Hi Michael, very interesting story. Could you do a story for people in Canada, as I can’t apply for US credit cards mentioned in your story.
TIA (thanks in advance).
Gerald, I don’t know much about the credit card companies or offers in Canada. I recommend reading some of the Canadian personal finance blogs out there, such as Million Dollar Journey, Canadian Money Advisor, Canadian Capitalist, or visiting the Canadian Money Forum for more information about Canadian credit card offers.
Be careful with these balance transfer cards – if you make new purchases on your card then you will be paying 0% interest on your previous balance while the juice is running on your new charges. You will continue to accrue interest on the higher interest rate while all of your payments are going to your old balances at 0%. If you get one of these 5% balance transfer cards then be sure not to use it again until you pay off the balance.
Scott, that was true under the old credit card rules, but the Credit CARD ACT created a new law that makes credit card payments pay off the higher balances first. But it’s still a good idea to avoid using your new credit card until you pay off the balance. And even then you should only use it if you can pay off the balance in full. You should only use these balance transfer credit cards as a tool – you shouldn’t use them as an excuse to rack up more high interest credit card debt.
I have several cards with balances. One is at 15.99% and two are at 19.99 and 21.99%. can you transfer the balances from more than one card? I have over $15000 in credit card balances and want to start over at 0% credit card interest with a new credit card. Please help with information.
Hi Alan,
The answer to your question is yes, you can transfer from more than 1 card. If you get the 0% interest Citi card, they give you the option of sending checks to your other credit cards. You just have to watch your credit limit. For us, we have a $25k credit limit with Citi, which Citi is probably the easiest credit card to ask for increases on your limits. Ive never been turned down, every 6 months I ask for an increase and have always gotten it.
Be sure to watch out for the transaction fees. I think its 3%, but that’s normal on every card. I haven’t seen a credit card transfer option that didn’t have at least 3% fee attached to it. You also need pretty good credit to get these 0% balance transfer options. If you have decent credit you could probably get at least 6 months or 12 months no interest. The better your credit score the better the deals they will give you.
I’d also watch out and not max my limits on any of my cards. Any balance over 30% of the total credit limit will cause your credit score to drop some. The higher the balance the more it will affect your score. (ie. – you have a $10k credit limit, anything over $3k charged on that card will start to affect your score).
We just took advantage of the Citi deal of 21 months no interest! That’s the best deal on the market right now. It’s helping us to pay down our debts while not paying interest on them. Back with the credit card crunch, they raised our interest rate to 29.99% even though we have 760+ credit scores. So be careful if you use their cards, watch out for their interest rates.
I need to find a card with a higher transfer amount. I need to transfer 9000.o0 do you know any card like that with a longer period say 21 months. It is a Chase card that I need to transfer.
Anna, there is a 21 month balance transfer card from Citi. You can transfer a credit card balance from a different company – in fact, one of the primary reasons the credit card companies offer these deals is to attract new customers. And if they come from competitors, then all the better in the eyes of the gaining company. So far as I know, the 21 month offer from Citi is currently the longest on the market out of the major card issuers.
I saw one card – I think from Citi – which was “0″ % interest on transfers for 18 months with the 3% transfer fee, but it had no late fees or penalties. I have never had a late pay or a penalty, but I feel uncomfortable enuf to give up 21 months for 18 months if there is no chance one of my checks will arrive late or a statement fails to arrive and results in a late payment and causes my interest rate to go from 0% to 12-20% for the remaining balance. Am I understanding this benefit correctly?