This list of the best balance transfer credit cards includes offers that have no balance transfer fee and cards that offer 0% interest well into 2019.
Credit card debt is never fun. Developing a plan to get yourself out of the debt can be exhausting. Credit cards commonly charge interest rates of 20% or more. If you miss a few payments the default rate can be even worse.
Fortunately, if your credit is still decent, there is a way to make payments on your credit card without paying any interest interest. That’s through one or more of the best balance transfer credit cards available today.
Low and zero percent APR balance transfer offers are commonly provided by credit card issuers to attract new customers. Credit card issuers rightfully assume that if they can attract you to their product by offering to house your debt for no interest, you’re likely to generate new debt after you’ve paid off the old debt. The trick in taking advantage of a balance transfer offer is to pay off the entire debt during the 0% introductory offer, then pledging never again to get deep into credit card debt. It’s easier said than done for many.
Many top credit cards offers now have balance transfer fees, but even with a fee, you could save thousands of dollars of interest charges by taking advantage of low or zero percent APR balance transfer offers. Below you will find excellent choices for credit cards available for balance transfers. If you have a favorite balance transfer offer not included on this list, let me know and I’ll add it.
Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards of 2018
Chase Slate
One of the greatest balance transfer credit cards, the Chase Slate kicks off with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months. If you want to take advantage of the no-fee balance transfer offer, you must make the transfer within the first 60 days. If you make a transfer outside of that window, there will be a $5 or 5% balance transfer fee (whichever is greater).
When the intro APR expires on the Chase Slate, the standard APR becomes 16.49% – 25.24% variable. There is no annual fee to own the Chase Slate and every month, your free FICO credit score is included.
Imagine transferring a $10,000 balance onto any credit card with a 0% introductory offer. Most cards charge a 3% – 5% balance transfer fee, so even before beginning to pay down your debt, you’re adding a big chunk to it. Not here.
Learn how to apply HERE
The Amex Everyday® Credit Card from American Express
Our second no fee balance transfer credit card, the The Amex Everyday® Credit Card from American Express offers new cardholders A LOT. First, a 0% intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months is provided. There is no balance transfer fee if the transfer is made within the first 0 days of account ownership. When the intro APR expires, the APR becomes 14.49% – 25.49% variable.
In addition to the pricing details offer, this card also offers 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. You’ll also receive rewards points for every dollar spent in the following amounts:
- 2x points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 spent annually
- 1x points on all other purchases
And as a bonus, every month you use your card at least 20 times, you’ll receive a 20% bump in rewards points on those purchases. This means a 2.4 and 1.2 points per dollar spent respectively.
The The Amex Everyday® Credit Card from American Express has no annual fee
Learn how to apply HERE
Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card offers the shortest 0% balance transfer on our list at 9 months. We’ve included it however, because of the excellent cash back rewards–1.5% on every purchase + a $150 cash bonus when you spend $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. There is no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees to speak of.
There is a balance transfer fee of 3% and when the intro APR expires, the standard APR becomes 14.24% – 24.24% variable. As an added bonus, when you use your Quicksilver card to sign up for a Spotify premium subscription, you’ll earn 50% back in the form of a statement credit (Expires 4/2018),
Learn how to apply HERE.
Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Credit Card
The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card offers a 0% intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. The balance transfer fee is $5 or 3%, whichever is greater. When the intro 0% APR expires, the ongoing APR becomes 16.65% – 26.49% variable. There is no annual fee.
One interesting feature of this card is that you can get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Credit Card.
Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card also includes free access to your FICO credit score.
Learn how to apply HERE
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express opens up with a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. When the intro rate expires, the standard APR becomes 14.49% – 25.49% variable. Where this card really kicks butt is with it’s welcome bonus and ongoing rewards program.
New cardholders will earn a $200 statement credit after spending $1,000 in purchase within the first three months. And the killer rewards program reads as follows:
- 6% cash back at US Supermarkets on up to $6,000 spent annually
- 3% cash back at US gas stations and select department stores
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
I save hundreds of dollars every year just at the grocery store alone, and when the other cash back rates kick in, I can get it over $500 annually. The one negative is that there is a $95 fee associated with the card (the only card with an annual fee on our list)
This is my primary go-to credit card for all things grocery and gas related and it offers a solid balance transfer offer as well.
Learn how to apply HERE
Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Credit Card
The Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Credit Card combines a 0% balance transfer with excellent cash back rewards. The card offers an intro 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months with a 3% balance transfer fee. While that’s not the longest balance transfer offer on our list, the card also combines excellent cash back rewards:
- Earn a $150 cash bonus after spending $1,000 in net purchases in the first 3 months
- Up to $600 in cell phone purchase protection with a $25 deductible
- Earn 1.5% cash rewards on everyday net purchases
- Enjoy 1.8% cash rewards on Android Pay™ or Apple Pay™ mobile wallet net purchases during the first 12 months from account opening
Learn how to apply HERE
If you still haven’t found what you are looking for, check out this list of balance transfer credit cards.
For diligent credit card users, balance transfer cards can be efficient tools for keeping your bank account balance intact, making better use of your cash than spending your own money for a large purchase. In great economic environments, you could earn interest on your money while paying off your expenses with a low or zero percent interest rate. The proliferation of balance transfer fees makes this type of arbitrage more difficult, but with a few fee-free offers being available today, you might be able to earn interest on your card issuer’s money if you don’t fall into any traps.
Important Note! The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit or charge card prior to applying.
Updated May 4, 2018 and originally published April 26, 2018.
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BANK OF CHINA CC SCAM
Just returned from a trip from Hong Kong and China
In HK, all the charges are in HK $, thus avoiding the 3% Dynamic exchange fee. The only one that charge Dynamic exchange fee is Bank of China subsidiary that process Visa CC transactions.
In China, things gets really bad. Each time I ask to be charged in RMB, it came out to be in US$. After protest, it still come up with a statement saying that I was offer to reject the US$ option (which I did not). The bank say all I have to do is to cross out the option line and write RMB on the charge line, I will be fine. When I came home and check my statements, it all had the 3% Dynamic Exchange rated added onto my Schwab Credit card.
It is a big scam by Bank of China.. Be careful when you use credit card in China
“…then pledging never again to get deep into credit card debt. It’s easier said than done for many.” – hehehehe
I have a Citi Dividend MasterCard. I took out a 2500 balance transfer with 0 interest until October of next year. What Citi (and this website) DOESN’T tell you, is that if you use your credit card for purchases, even if you pay off the amount of the purchases on the card (ie if you spend 500, bringing your total balance to 3000, and pay 500 at the end of the month, leaving you with 2500 again)… You pay interest on your 2500 balance.
So I’ll be paying at least 13 bucks a month in interest until I’ve paid off the 2500 balance transfer, which I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to worry about until summer of next year, because money is very tight.
I spoke at great length with some supervisor gentleman who told me about the 0% APR balance transfer, and at NO time did he tell me I’d be unable to use my card. I feel so lied to.
I have a Citi platinum mastercard and recently completed a 0 APR balance transfer with a 6 month term. I never pay interest on credit card but was faced with an unusual home repair so it seemed a prudent way to manage the expense. Also, i already had the card and simply had to select the option. The 3 percent fee was fine as I pretty much washed it out by receiving a 2 percent cash back reward from the HSBC card i used for the purchase. So far so good, right? Nooooo! I then used the Citicard for some regular (standard) purchases figuring I pay those off in full plus the minimum amount due. To my surprise, the new standard purchases started accruing interest from the date of purchase! I called Citibank and they agreed to reimburse the interest charge. Now, I no longer use the Citibank card and continue to pay the minimum each month and avoid any interest. It seems they shoot themselves in the foot as not using the card at all deprives them of any additional revenue. Word of caution, ask questions before signing up, these can work for you as long as you understand their terms and can adjust accordingly.
That is terrible. Even though things are supposed to be becoming more transparent, things don’t seem to change. Citi really needs to focus on their customer service and not playing games.