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Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers (Updated!)
Tip It!Are you looking to reduce your high-interest credit card debt burden? Or maybe you’re looking for a ready source of cash at 0% APR? If so, then you’ve definitely come to the right place…
Below, I’ve compiled a list of current 0% balance transfer credit card offers from a variety of issuers. These cards are a great tool for killing off high-interest credit card debt. When combined with a high-yield online savings account these cards are also great for credit card arbitrage. All of these cards offer 0% APR and no annual fee, and some also offer rewards credit card and/or signup bonuses.
Zero Percent APR Balance Transfer Offers
Beyond these top 3, here are the most popular 0% balance transfer credit card offers from different issuers.
- Citi Platinum Select Mastercard has the longest 0% balance transfer offer at 21 months. Also 0% intro APR on purchases for 21 months. No annual fee.
- Citi Diamond Preferred 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 21 months and 0% on Balance Transfers for 21 months. After that, the APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. Both the rate and term of this offer will be based on your creditworthiness. No annual fee.
- Chase Freedom Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back + 0% Intro APR 0% APR & balance transfers for 12 months, no annual fee. 5% cash back offers in bonus categories like gas, home improvement and department stores, subject to quarterly enrollment and maximum. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases with no spending tiers or caps on how much you can earn.
- Discover More 0% intro APR on balance transfers for a full 15 months. 0% intro APR on purchases for a full 15 months. No annual fee. 5% cash back bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
- Pen Fed Promise Visa Absolutely no fees, including no fee on balances transferred. Introductory Purchase Rate 7.49% APR for the first 36 months. Afterwords, the APR will vary with the Prime Rate and is currently 9.99% APR. No annual fee.
- Slate(SM) from Chase with excellent or good credit this card offers 0% Intro APR for up to 15 months on both balance transfer and purchases. No annual fee.
Published on January 2nd, 2007 - 13 Comments
Filed under: Banking, Best of..., Carnivals, Credit Cards, Debt Reduction, Education, Frugality, Online
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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13 Responses to “Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers (Updated!)”
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus miles with your first purchase 10,000 of which count as Medallion(R) Qualification Miles. Earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when you add two additional cards to your account with initial application.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Earn $75 Statement Credit after you make $300 in purchases in your first 3 months. There is a 0% Intro APR for up to 15 months for purchases and balance transfers. This card has Blueprint free and customizable account features that help you avoid unnecessary interest and pay your balances down faster.
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
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January 2nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
How do you deal with the cards that have a balance transfer option and a bonus? Usually to get the bonus you have to make a purchase, but if you have already done a balance transfer, that puchase sits behind the balance transfer amount accruing interest.
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Steve, that’s a good question. The particulars of the offer will vary from card to card, but you’re right in that card issuers normally apply payments to the portion of the balance with the lowest interest rate. You could always buy a stick of gum, or something like that, in which case the interest charges would be (effectivelYy) non-existent.
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Some of the balance transfer options are also good as long as you do the transfer within a certain number of days of opening the account (say 90). What I’ve done in the past with cards like that is activate the card, go buy some gas, go home and immediately pay the bill online and then when the charge is off the card in a few days, request the balance transfer.
As nickel said above, the offers vary from card to card so carefully read the appropriate information, but this is a way I have used successfully to avoid even minor amounts of interest.
Norm
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I employ Norm’s strategy and make a purchase (small or large, it doesn’t matter) and then quickly pay it off. You probably want to setup Online BillPay anyway so making a small purchase and paying it off is a great to way ensure things are setup nicely anyway. Most of those cards have offers that are good for at least six months.
January 7th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
is there credit cards that will do a balance transfer from retail cards like best buy, home depot, etc? do you recommend any?
January 7th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I’m not sure about a direct transfer from store credit, but a number of card issuers will give you balance transfer checks. You can then use the checks to pay off the balance on the store charge card (or anything else). And if you don’t have any outstanding debt, can even deposit these checks in a high-interest bank account and make some money for the duration of the 0% period.
January 8th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Can you deposit Balance transfer checks from Discover to your checking account?
February 16th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Great list of cards! As long as you use balance transfer and 0% APR credit cards wisely, you can save a lot of money.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I rec’d a 14 month 0% offer from AAA that supposedly includes Cash Advances…can that be right? It seems too easy to take the cash, drop it into Emigrant or ING or somesuch. Anyone have experience with this?
March 27th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Well wanted to let you know that I applied for a new chase credit card and also signed up for a Balance transfer. I asked them to transfer the Balance of 4500$( no balance transfer fee ) to my Amex Blue card which has no dues on it. When I called the Amex to send me the 4500$ cheque as it was Credit Balance , they said that it is against their policy and they might close the account. They said you made a payment into an account which had no dues. I wanted to know is their a way I can get that 4500$ without making a purchase and still keep my Amex Account. Please advise.
April 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I have a 0% Lifetime on Discover Card. This is the second time I’ve done this. I’ll buy a car and transfer to a credit card. The first time there were no purchase requirements and I made a “car payment (~100.00/month)” until I paid it off. This time, I have to make a purchase every month to keep the 0% interest rate in effect. I’ve been accomplishing this by going to the gas station every month and buying a quick click of gas ($0.03). I’m doing this because they charge a finance charge on purchases or a minimum of $0.50 a month). I’ve been trying to find a place where I can automatically charge a penny on the first of every month. Any ideas?
May 1st, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Does anyone know if I can apply for two different Discover cards? I have a $25000 debt I’d like to transfer to 0% cards and was approved for a Discover card but for only $10,000. Also, will applying for more cards to reach this balance affect the aggreement and allow them to increase the interest rate. There is something in the T&C about them having the ability to end the offer if your credit is affected. Applying for additional cards might affect my credit?
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:48 pm
I have $46,000 in Home Equity Line of Credit debt. How can I get this credit card arbitrage ball rolling? Do any of these cards send you checks that I could use to pay down my HELOC? It’s the only debt I have that could be paid off at this time.