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Managing debt can be a daily challenge if you’re deep in it. Keeping track of multiple payment dates, balances, and interest rates for each account can further complicate the issue.
Comparing The Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
A balance transfer credit card is one method of debt consolidation. It works by rolling your various consumer debts, such as credit cards and loans, onto one interest-free credit card. This debt repayment strategy can help you make your payments more efficient and also help you spend less money paying off your debt.
Compare Our Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
When withdrawing a balance, to find out how to transfer a credit card balance, you must first find the right credit card. When you’re looking for the best balance transfer credit cards, here are some card details to compare.
The best balance transfer credit cards are those that offer a promotional zero interest rate. This means that third-party debit balances transferred to your newly opened credit card will not be charged for a limited period. Some promotions only last a few months, while some 0% interest credit cards offer a promotional rate for up to 18 months.
Depending on the amount of debt you are consolidating, the interest savings over time could be hundreds or thousands of dollars. Remember, this timeline is temporary. After the promotional period ends, you will be charged interest on the remaining balance if it is not paid in full during the statement cycle.
While you can potentially save money with a 0% interest credit card, balance transfers are rarely free. A balance transfer card may charge a flat balance transfer fee based on a certain dollar amount transferred. Similarly, the card may charge a fee corresponding to a percentage of the transferred amount, for example 3% of the transferred balance.
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Some cards don’t charge balance transfer fees, but card issuers make a profit by shortening the promotional fee period. It is very important to calculate whether the balance transfer fee still makes financial sense in the end.
It is unlikely that your bank will allow you to transfer an unlimited balance to your new balance transfer credit card. The total debt you can transfer to your account usually cannot exceed your credit limit. Card issuers determine your credit card limit based on your credit score and income.
Another factor to consider when looking for a balance transfer credit card is the annual fee. Regardless of the promotional interest rate, cards with an annual fee will charge you this fee right from the start – there is no grace period or expiration for the annual fee.
Some annual fees can be as high as $30 per month and as high as $550 for premium credit cards. If your interest savings will absorb the cost of the annual fee during the equity interest rate period, this detail is a key factor to consider.
How Credit Card Balance Transfers Work
In the end, whether it’s worth using a balance transfer credit card really depends on how much you’re currently spending on interest on your other debts versus how much money a particular card can save you.
There are many online balance transfer calculators, like this one from Discover, that can help simplify these calculations.
Check out our favorite balance transfer credit cards or see which balance transfer cards you may pre-qualify for using our Card Match tool. Our ratings and reviews are not influenced by our advertising relationships, but we may receive a commission from our affiliate links. This content is created independently by the editors. Learn more.
We’ve all made mistakes. Financial debt, such as crippling credit card debt, is among the hardest to reverse. A powerful tool to get rid of high interest debt is a balance transfer credit card.
Credit Card Debt Statistics
You can save literally thousands of dollars if you find yourself in a situation where you can only make the minimum payment on a credit card with a 20% APR or higher by simply transferring that balance to a credit card that offers a 0% introductory APR .
Some of the best credit cards offer 0% introductory APR for up to 21 months. You’ll still be responsible for the minimum payment each month, but you won’t accrue any interest for a year or more, depending on which card you open. Below are the best balance transfer credit cards for almost every situation.
3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining, including eligible takeout and delivery services, 5% cash back on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Unlimited 1.5% cashback on all other purchases.
Our recommendations for the best balance transfer credit card for November 2023 Best for the longest introductory period: card_name
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Card_name has nothing to offer. The card does not earn rewards or offer valuable permanent benefits. All you’ll really find is free access to your FICO score (something many cards offer these days) and some fun perks like early access to sports and music tickets.
But for those looking for an absolute monster Balance_transfer_intro_apr, Balance_transfer_intro_duration, card_name offers. In fact, there is no more generous card in this capacity on the market. There is no interest on balance transfers for 21 months. You will need to make the transfers within four months of opening the account.
Also worth mentioning is that you get intro_apr_rate, intro_apr_duration. After closing this window, reg_apr, reg_apr_type APR will apply to you.
Card_name is surprisingly similar to its brother, card_name . It doesn’t get any rewards and its permanent benefits are lousy. But the APR intro is exactly the same: balance_transfer_intro_apr, balance_transfer_intro_duration (and intro_apr_rate, intro_apr_duration ). Transfers must be made within four months of account opening.
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After the initial APR window, the APR value reg_apr, reg_apr_type, slightly higher than card_name will appear on the card. However, Card_name has one big advantage: you will never pay a late fee or incur any late or chargeback penalties. Please note that you will pay a separate fee for returned payments.
On both purchases and balance transfers, you’ll get a solid 0% introductory APR for the first 18 months, after which you’ll be subject to reg_apr, reg_apr_type APR. But every year you spend $1,000 on purchases, Chase automatically considers your card for a 2% APR reduction.
Chase will also consider a higher credit limit if you make all your payments and spend at least $500 in the first six months of card membership.
You end up with unusually solid perks for such a low-level card. For example, you get secondary rental car insurance, purchase protection, three months of free DoorDash DashPass membership (activated until December 31, 2024) and three months of Instacart+ membership (activated until July 31, 2024) .
Balance Transfer Credit Card Vs. Personal Loan
Card_name is one of the most reliable and easiest cash back credit cards out there. It happens to have higher than average APR intro expressions: balance_transfer_intro_apr, balance_transfer_intro_duration , followed by reg_apr, reg_apr_type . By comparison, most rewards credit cards offer 15 months or less.
Card_name actually earns 2% back on all purchases: 1% back when you make a purchase and 1% back when you pay for that purchase. The rewards you earn are technically Citi ThankYou points that you can redeem for cash worth 1 cent each.
For most cardholders, this is trivial news. However, if you also have card_name or card_name (not available to new applicants), you can transfer rewards earned with card_name to over 15 airline and hotel loyalty programs and travel for free. It’s not hard to get well over 1 cent each.
Card_name includes a welcome bonus of 1.5% bonus cash back (added to regular card earnings) on all eligible purchases up to $20,000 spent during the first year of card membership. That equates to a $300 bonus, though you’ll have to spend a lot to get it all.
Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards With A 0% Apr In November 2023
The card also offers a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. Then you pay reg_apr, reg_apr_type , based on your creditworthiness.
Although the card is marketed as cash back, it actually earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, the most flexible points you can collect.
If card_name is the only Chase card you own, the best redemption options are cash back (at 1 cent per point) or gift cards (some provide as much as 1.1 cents per point). However, if you also have an annual Chase Ultimate Rewards card (such as card_name), you’ll unlock the ability to transfer points to valuable airline and hotel partners. You can also book travel through the Chase Travel portal for up to 1.5 cents per point, depending on which card you have.
Card_name offers intro_apr_rate, intro_apr_duration and balance_transfer_intro_apr, balance_transfer_intro_duration (followed by reg_apr, reg_apr_type – see rates and fees) after account opening. It also comes with a $200 credit when you spend $2,000
