0% APR Balance Transfer Credit Cards

(Updated August 2010) 0% balance transfer offers, if used correctly, can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in interest payments. Having taken advantage of multiple zero percent balance transfer credit cards from Citi, Chase, and Discover, I’ve learned how to tell the good 0% APR deals from those that aren’t so good. To help you in your search for the best offers, we’ve created this page.

Below you’ll first find our editor’s picks for the absolute best 0% balance transfer offers you’ll find anywhere. The editor’s picks include the Citi Select MasterCard, which leads the industry with its 0% balance transfer for up to 18 months. Then we list in tables the 0% balance transfer deals available from leading credit card issuers. It’s worth bookmarking this page, as we regularly update the page with new offers. Finally, you’ll find some tips and tricks to help you make the most of the balance transfer offers you take advantage of. So let’s get started.

Best 0% Balance Transfer Offers

In addition to our editor’s picks above, here we list what we believe to be the best 0% balance transfer credit cards currently available.

Card Name	0% Transfer Term (in months)	Transfer Fee	Links
Citi Platinum Select Longest 0% Balance Transfer	18	4%	Card Details
Discover More Card Up to 5% Cash Back	15	4%	Card Details
Chase Freedom® MasterCard Up to 5% Cashback	12	5%	Card Details

Citi 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Citi currently offers the longest available 0% balance transfer offer at up to 18 months. In addition, you’ll find balance transfer offers combined with excellent cash back and travel rewards. Citi also offers college students that qualify the option to transfer balances to student credit cards at zero percent.

Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard®
	0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months and 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 11.99%-19.99% based upon your creditworthiness. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate* Extra Cash from Citi: enjoy discounts on gift cards,travel, merchandise and more Citi® Identity Theft Solutions Secure, free online account management No annual fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 18 months on Balance Transfers* 11.99% – 19.99%* (Variable) None Yes Good

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® MasterCard®
	0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-20.99% based on your creditworthiness*. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. Earn 5% cash back at restaurants and on car rentals and hotels from 7/1/10 to 9/30/10. Enrollment required each quarter. Full 1% cash back on eligible purchases and cash advances. Earn extra cash back on popular, rotating categories each quarter. Average 5% additional cash back through Citi Bonus Cash Center® No Annual Fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 15 months* 12.99% – 20.99%* (Variable) None Yes Excellent

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
	0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 14.99%. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. Concierge service that caters to your needs 24/7 Citi® Identity Theft Solutions Secure, free online account management No annual fee*
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 12 months* 14.99%* (Variable) None Yes Good

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards Card
	$50 gift card – Redeem 6,000 bonus points after $300 in purchases within 3 months of account opening 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-20.99% based on creditworthiness*. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. 5 ThankYou® Points for every $1 spent on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations for 12 months, 1 ThankYou Point thereafter** Redeem ThankYou Points for merchandise, travel rewards, gift cards, cash and more No annual fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 12 months* 12.99% – 20.99%* (Variable) None Yes Good

Citi Forward® Card
	Earn up to 8,500 bonus points after you sign up for paperless statements and make $250 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. 5 ThankYou points for every $1 you spend on restaurants and entertainment. 1 reward point for every $1 you spend on other purchases. Up to a 2% purchase APR reduction when you make a purchase, stay under your credit line and pay on time 3 billing periods in a row. No annual fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% if you qualify* 12 months on Balance Transfers* 12.99% – 19.99%* (Variable) None Yes Good

Citi Forward® Card for College Students
	No Cosigner required APR reduction on purchases when using credit wisely 100 ThankYou Points each billing period that you pay on time and stay under your credit line Earn up to 8,500 bonus points after you sign up for paperless statements and make $250 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% if you qualify* 12 months on Balance Transfers* 12.99% – 19.99%* (Variable) None Yes Good

Chase 0% Balance Transfer Deals

Chase offers a great combination of no interest balance transfers and cash back rewards up to 5%. As noted above in our editor’s pick, the Chase Freedom® Visa is one of the most rewarding credit cards available today.

Chase Freedom® MasterCard
	0% Intro APR and No Annual Fee 5% cash back in quarterly bonus categories like gas, home improvement and department stores, subject to quarterly maximum. Signing up is free and easy! Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases with no spending tiers Up to an additional 20% cash back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 12 months on Balance Transfers* 12.99%-22.99% Variable* None Yes Excellent

Chase Freedom® Visa
	0% Intro APR and No Annual Fee 5% cash back in quarterly bonus categories like gas, home improvement and department stores, subject to quarterly maximum. Signing up is free and easy! Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases with no spending tiers Up to an additional 20% cash back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 12 months on Balance Transfers* 12.99%-22.99% Variable* None Yes Excellent

Discover 0% Balance Transfer Offers

Discover combines balance transfers for up to 15 months with cash back rewards up to 5%.

Discover® More Card
	0% intro APR on balance transfers for a full 15 months, then the Regular APR 0% intro APR on purchases for a full 6 months, then the Regular APR 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants, home improvement stores and more Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases No Annual Fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0%* 15 Months* 11.99% – 20.99% (Variable)* None Yes Excellent

Discover® More Card – $75 Cashback Bonus
	0% intro APR on balance transfers for a full 12 months, then the Regular APR 0% intro APR on purchases for a full 6 months, then the Regular APR Get $75 Cashback Bonus when you make $500 in purchases within 3 months 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants, home improvement stores and more Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases No Annual Fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0%* 12 months* 11.99% – 20.99% (Variable)* None Yes Excellent

Discover® More Card- Black
	0% intro APR on balance transfers for a full 12 months, then the Regular APR 0% intro APR on purchases for a full 9 months, then the Regular APR 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants, home improvement stores and more Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases No Annual Fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0%* 12 months* 11.99% – 20.99% (Variable)* None Yes Excellent

Discover® More® Card – Platinum
	0% APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for a FULL 12 months 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants and more Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases automatically Turn your Cashback Bonus into bigger rewards by redeeming for gift cards from over 100 brand-name Partners Instant Response within 60 seconds No Annual Fee
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0%* 12 months* as low as 15.99% Variable* None Yes Excellent

Discover® MotivaCard
	Cash rewards for your good credit management Each time you make 6 on-time payments in a row, you’ll get a Pay-On-Time Bonus equal to a full month’s interest added to your Cashback Bonus account 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at over 150 top retailers through our online shopping mall Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases 3.99% intro APR on balance transfers for a full 15 months, then the Regular APR 3.99% intro APR on purchases for a full 12 months, then the Regular APR
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 3.99%* 15 Months* 11.99% – 20.99% (Variable)* None Yes Good

Balance Transfers Tips and Tricks

1. The length of the offer: To state the obvious, the longer the 0% offer lasts, the better. Today, the longest offer is a 15-month deal on the Citi Platinum Select MasterCard (see above). There are some 12-month offers, 6-month, and even one 7-month (Citi Forward Card). While this is not the only factor to consider when choosing a card, it’s obviously one of the most important.
2. Watch the balance transfer fees: All 0% balance transfer credit cards charge a fee for the balance transfer. We get a lot of folks asking us for no fee balance transfers, but they no longer exist. So make sure you read the fine print so that you know what fees you’ll be charged. I’ve seen some balance transfer offers that charge such a high fee that it turns a 0% offer into something more like six or eight percent. All of the credit cards we list here charge a reasonable fee, typically between 3% and 5% of the amount transferred. Not also that these fees are not capped. There use to be offers that limited the balance transfer fee to about $75, but those offers haven’t been available for more than a year.
3. Never use a 0% balance transfer offer to increase the total amount of your debt: I’ve seen some folks transfer debt to a 0% credit card, only to charge up additional debt on their other credit cards. This in turn just leads to more debt. And when the 0% offer expires and you start paying interest on the remaining balance, the situation only gets worse.
4. Have a plan for when the 0% introductory rate expires: Did you ever wonder why credit card companies are willing to offer 0% interest for sometimes as long as a year? The reason is that they know many people will leave the balance on the credit card after the introductory rate expires. Therefore, it is critical that you know what you’ll do with the remaining balance when introductory rate expires. For us, it usually means transferring the balance to a new 0% credit card or to our home equity line of credit that charges a very reasonable and tax-deductible rate. If you plan to leave the balance on the card, check out the next tip.
5. Always know the interest rate you’ll be charged once the 0% introductory rate expires: If you plan to leave the remaining balance on the card after the introductory rate expires, you should know what the adjusted rate will be before transferring the balance in the first place.
6. Don’t use 0% offers to overspend: When we recently purchased furniture for our living room, a furniture company offered 0% interest for 12 months. We turned down the offer. I knew that with a 0% offer, we would be inclined to purchase more furniture than we needed. So instead, we paid cash. This goes to another principle that we follow–never borrower to buy consumer goods if you can help it.
7. Shop around for the best 0% balance transfer option: Not all 0% credit card offers are alike. Some charge different balance transfer fees. And for others, the introductory 0% rate lasts for varying periods of time. I’ve seen some lasts for as short as three months, while others have lasted for 15 months. And that’s why we’ve created this page! A one-stop place to find the best bt offers available.
8. Understand the difference between a 0% interest rate on balance transfers and on purchases: Some credit cards offer a 0% introductory rate on purchases only, not balance transfers. Other cards offer a 0% rate on both balance transfers and purchases. As you are shopping for the best 0% credit card for your needs, make sure you understand this difference.
9. Look for cards that also offer rewards: Several credit cards with 0% introductory rates also offer excellent rewards packages. Depending on whether you travel a lot or want cash back from purchases, you’ll find credit cards that offer a vast array of rewards. But you need to keep in mind that for many of these cards, the balance transfers that you make will not qualify for the reward.
10. Always remember that even at 0% interest, it’s still debt: While I have taken advantage of 0% credit cards and saved a lot of money as a result, it doesn’t change the fact that we still have debt. Credit cards can be an awfully tempting and destructive privilege, so use even 0% credit cards with care.