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Balance transfer credit cards

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CK Editors’ Tips††: Balance transfer credit cards allow you to move your existing credit card debt to a new card, where you can pay it off with a lower interest rate. If you develop a plan for repayment, these cards can be a great way to manage debt.

What to consider when choosing a balance transfer credit card
Balance transfer credit cards can be great for paying off your credit card debt, but they come with lots of potential risks. Try to look at options with long 0% APR intro periods that will give you the best chance to pay off your full balance — and make sure to take a close look at the terms and conditions of your offer before applying.

How we picked the best balance transfer credit cards
To find the best balance transfer credit cards, we focused on selecting cards with long 0% intro offers and other rare features that might simplify the process of repaying your debt. Our picks address a number of different needs for balance transfers, from the length of your repayment period to the nuances of the balance transfer process itself. Read more about our methodology for picking the best credit cards.

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Great for a long balance transfer offer††

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Citi Simplicity® Card

Great for a long balance transfer offer††

Citi Simplicity® Card

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Intro balance transfer APR
0% for 21 Months
Regular balance transfer APR
18.24% - 28.99%* Variable
Balance transfer fee
Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 min) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 min).
Annual fee
$0

Intro balance transfer APR

0% for 21 Months

Regular balance transfer APR

18.24% - 28.99%* Variable

Balance transfer fee

Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 min) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 min).

Annual fee

No Late Fees, No Penalty Rate, and No Annual Fee... Ever
0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months and on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening. After that the variable APR will be 18.24% - 28.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening.

There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
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This offer is no longer available on our site: BankAmericard® credit card

Hear from our editors: The best balance transfer cards of May 2025

Updated April 30, 2025

This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.

Editorial Note: Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Louis DeNicola is a personal finance writer and has written for American Express and Discover.

Written by: Louis DeNicola

Do you carry a balance on your credit cards? If you do, how much interest are you paying?

Rather than pay interest on your credit card debt or juggle multiple payments each month, you may be able to transfer high-interest debt to a single credit card by doing a balance transfer.

Here are our choices for the best balance transfer cards.

Best for long 0% intro APR: Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
Best for long 0% intro APR: BankAmericard® credit card
Best for people who might forget to pay back in time: Citi Simplicity® Card
Best for time to transfer your balances: Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
Best for simple cash back: Citi Double Cash® Card

Best for long 0% intro APR: Wells Fargo Reflect® Card

Here’s why: This card offers one of the longest 0% intro APR periods you’ll see for a balance transfer card.

The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card features a 0% introductory APR for 21 months on both purchases and balance transfers made within 120 days of account opening. After that, the purchase and balance transfer APRs rise to 17.24%, 23.74%, 28.99% Variable APR. There’s also a balance transfer fee of 5% (minimum $5).

Learn more about the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card.

Best for a long 0% intro APR: BankAmericard® credit card

Here’s why: This card offers a long 0% intro APR period, plus a relatively lower balance transfer fee.

The BankAmericard® credit card offers a 0% introductory APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers made within the first 60 days of opening your account. After the end of that period, both variable APRs rise to 15.24% – 25.24%. There’s also a 3% intro balance transfer fee during the first 60 days after your account opens — it rises to 4% when that period ends.

Read more about the BankAmericard® credit card.

Best for people who might forget to pay back in time: Citi Simplicity® Card

Here’s why: The Citi Simplicity® Card combines low intro APR offers with no late fees or penalty APR if you pay late.

While it’s a good idea to pay on time, this can be a helpful safety net for busy people who are prone to forget their due dates from time to time. Keep in mind that even though this card doesn’t have late fees or a penalty APR, you may still have a late payment reported on your credit if you’re 30 days or more late on your payments.

You’ll also get an intro 0% APR on balance transfers for 21 months, plus an intro 0% APR for purchases for the first 12 months from date of account opening (you may see different offers on Credit Karma). There are a few things to know before you apply for this card, though.

Once those two introductory windows are up, you’ll be charged a variable APR of 18.24% - 28.99% on both purchases and balance transfers.
To qualify for the low balance transfer rate, you must complete your transfers within four months of your account opening.
You’ll be charged to transfer a balance. The Citi Simplicity® Card has a balance transfer fee: Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum).

Learn more about the Citi Simplicity® Card.

Best for time to transfer your balances: Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

Here’s why: The no-frills Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card gives you more time to get all the paperwork in order for your balance transfers.

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card comes with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of account opening for balance transfers completed within the first four months of your account opening.

At the same time, you’ll receive a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months from date of account opening. After the intro APRs expire, you’ll be charged variable rates from 17.24% - 27.99% (note that your purchase APR and balance transfer APR may be different).

Keep in mind that there’s a balance transfer fee of 5% (minimum $5) per transfer.

Learn more about the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card.

Best for simple cash back: Citi Double Cash® Card

Here’s why: The Citi Double Cash® Card has a good 2% cash back rate for when you want to start using the card for purchases: 1% cash back on every purchase, and another 1% cash back when you pay the bill for those purchases.

It also has an introductory 0% APR for 18 months from the date of the first transfer for balance transfers that are completed within four months of your account opening. But there’s a balance transfer fee: Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum). And once the intro 0% APR window is up, there’s a variable APR of 18.24% - 28.24% on balance transfers.

Also, there’s no promotional rate for purchases, and your purchase balance may start to accrue interest right away if you’re still paying off balance transfers (the card’s variable APR for purchases is 18.24% - 28.24%). We generally recommend not using the card for new purchases until you pay off your balance transfers.

Learn more about the Citi Double Cash® Card.

How to make the most of balance transfer cards

As with rewards cards and low-interest cards, it’s a good idea to compare balance transfer cards to determine which is best for your particular circumstances. If you don’t think you can pay off the debt quickly, a longer promotional period could be best. Or, you may want to try to save as much money as possible by avoiding balance transfer fees.

The right balance transfer card could help you save money while you pay down your debt, but even then it’s not a magic solution. Here are a few things you’ll want to watch out for, plus some tips for getting the most out of your card.

Some balance transfer cards give you an introductory 0% interest rate on purchases, too, but this may not be the same length as the balance transfer intro period.
You usually have to pay a fee to transfer your balance to your new card — typically 3% or 5% of your balance.
Balance transfer cards may provide temporary relief from high interest rates, but they don’t make your debt disappear. If you’re approved for a transfer, you should make a plan for paying your debt down during the introductory APR period.
A balance transfer calculator can help you estimate how much a particular balance transfer offer could save you.
Depending on how much debt you’re carrying, you may not be able to transfer all of your debt, even if you’re approved for the card. How much you can transfer will probably be restricted to the credit limit you’re approved for. The card’s issuer may set a maximum transfer amount, too.
You may need to have good or even excellent credit scores to qualify for a balance transfer card. If you’re still working on your overall credit, a card that can help you build credit may be a better fit for you.

As long as you’re aware of the potential pitfalls and have a plan, a balance transfer card could be a good option for you to help you consolidate and pay down debt.

How we picked these cards

We looked for cards that could help people who are currently in debt and plan to use a new balance transfer card to help them consolidate and pay down their debt. The length of the balance transfer introductory APR period and the balance transfer fee are two essential components, as a longer intro period and lower fees could help you pay off the balance before it starts to accrue interest.

We also considered other card fees, like annual fees, as these expenses could make it more difficult to pay off your debt. In fact, none of our picks for the best balance transfer cards charge an annual fee.

We didn’t consider sign-up bonuses, which can be more common with rewards cards than balance transfer cards.

About the author: Louis DeNicola is a personal finance writer and has written for American Express, Discover and Nova Credit. In addition to being a contributing writer at Credit Karma, you can find his work on Business Insider, Cheapi… Read more.

FAQ: Editors’ answers

Editorial Note: Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors' opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. Read our Editorial Guidelines to learn more about our team.

A balance transfer is when you move some or all of your credit card debt onto a single card that’s offering a lower interest rate for balance transfers. And that lower rate should then allow you to save money on interest as you focus on paying down your debt.

Lots of credit cards offer introductory 0% APRs for balance transfers, which last for a set amount of time. For example, you may see an offer advertising an introductory 0% balance transfer for 15 months, before the interest rate rises to a variable percentage that’s based on your credit. These balance transfer cards give you a window of time — which varies by card — to pay down your debt without adding to it with interest charges. But the balance transfer APR will jump once that window is up, and you will start being charged interest again.

A balance transfer offer could be a good idea if you have high-interest credit card debt. So it can buy you some time to pay down that debt, and you might be able to avoid interest charges while you do it. But in order to save the most with a balance transfer, it’s a good idea to have a clear plan in place to pay down the debt during the introductory balance transfer APR offer, so you don’t get stuck paying interest and end up with more debt than what you started with.

A balance transfer could also be a good idea if you’re juggling high-interest debt across multiple cards. It may be possible to transfer several balances to a balance transfer card, depending on the card issuer’s rules and how much you’re allowed to transfer. Consolidating your credit card debt can help you streamline multiple payments into one manageable payment.

There are several potential downsides to balance transfers. For one, many cards charge a balance transfer fee, which is a percentage of the amount you transfer or a flat dollar amount — whichever is higher of the two. So before you choose a balance transfer, make sure that the amount you can save on interest is at least worth this cost.

Also, if you intend to use the balance transfer card for new purchases as well, you could end up adding to your debt and paying more in interest. So if you don’t have a plan to pay off these new purchases, you may end up creating more problems for your finances.

And you may not be able to transfer all of your debt either. Balance transfer cards frequently limit the amount you can transfer, and some credit card issuers may not allow you to make transfers from the other accounts you have with them.

So before you decide on a balance transfer, read the fine print on the offers to check for any restrictions and or other potential downsides.

As with any credit card, who qualifies for a balance transfer card is determined by the issuer. Several factors will likely be considered, but one major component are your credit scores. To be approved for a balance transfer card, you may need to have good or excellent credit.

But having higher credit scores doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get approved. If you’re a Credit Karma member, you can use our Credit Karma Approval Odds to get an idea of how likely you are to be approved for a certain card. The Approval Odds aren’t a guarantee, but they can be a helpful tool to determine whether you might be likely to get approved while you’re researching your options.

Balance transfers may have a negative impact on your credit scores. When you apply for a new credit card, the issuer will run a hard inquiry on your credit reports. A hard inquiry can stay on your credit reports for up to two years, although the hard inquiry itself may lower your credit scores only for a few months.

A new credit card can also lower the average age of your accounts, which can have a negative impact on your scores.

But getting a new balance transfer card can also have a positive impact on your credit scores by lowering your credit card utilization rate (as long as you don’t increase your spending). Your credit card utilization rate is the percentage of your revolving credit you’re using at any given time.

If you choose a balance transfer, consider keeping all of your cards open (including the cards you transfer from) to show your positive payment history, boost your average age of accounts and help you maintain a low credit card utilization rate.

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†† The opinions you read here come from our editorial team. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors' opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when it’s posted.