Updated May 14 to reflect additional removal of the no-fee offers.
There was a time when credit card companies offered nice balance transfer offers, so savvy manipulators could earn interest on savings obtained from credit. While being charged a 0% introductory rate by the credit card, they’d be earning 5% or so in their savings account.
With savings interest rates lowering and credit card companies losing money as some customers default and backing banks lost money on subprime investments, good balance transfer offers are harder to find.
I’ve been working on assembling a list of all the balance transfer fees offered by credit cards. It’s a large project, considering the fee is often not disclosed on the application itself. I’ll begin with the CitiBank credit cards.
CitiBank Offer 1: There is no fee with this offer, otherwise 3.0% of the amount of each balance transfer, $5 minimum.
No cards currently are listed with this offer.
CitiBank Offer 2: 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, minimum $5, maximum $250.
No cards currently are listed with this offer.
CitiBank Offer 3: 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, minimum $5, maximum $75.
• Upromise® Card
CitiBank Offer 4: 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, minimum $5.
• Dividend Platinum Select® Card
• Hilton HHonors® Visa® Signature Card
• ProfessionalSM Cash Card
• ProfessionalSM Card With ThankYouSM Network
• Bronze® / AAdvantage® Card for College Students
• mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students
• Platinum Select® Card for College Students
• PremierPassSM Card – Elite Level
• PremierPassSM Card
• Dividend Platinum Select® Card for College Students
• Driver’s Edge® Card for College Students
• CitiBusiness® Card with ThankYouSM Network
• CitiBusiness® Card
• Bronze® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®
• Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®
• Gold/AAdvantage® World MasterCard®
• CashReturnsSM MasterCard®
• AT&T Universal Savings Platinum Card
• Diamond Preferred® Rewards Card
• Diamond Preferred® Card
• AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards Card
• Home Rebate Platinum Select® MasterCard®
Balance transfer offers are not for the faint of heart. They can be used to earn interest on a credit balance transfered to a bank account, but credit card issuers build traps into this process.
- Don’t send a payment late. If you do, you will owe back interest and late payment fees.
- Pay your entire transfered balance off before the term of the introductory offer has ended, otherwise you will owe back interest.
- Don’t use the card for purchases; payments you make will go to your balance with the lowest interest rate first, increasing the amount of interest you’ll owe.
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3:43 pm (reply)
What should be shocking to all of us is the number of 0% BT offers with no fees that are directly aimed at college students.
3:01 pm (reply)
I’m deeply unimpressed with Citibank in general. It took me over a month to set up a US dollar account (I’m based in UK) and then they wouldn’t send me any paying in slips till I phoned them twice. It’s like they didn’t want my money…