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FULL LIST OF EDITORIAL PICKS: BEST BALANCE TRANSFER CREDIT CARDSBefore applying, confirm details on the issuer’s website. BankAmericard® credit cardOur pick for: Longest 0% period for transfers and purchases The BankAmericard® credit card isn't flashy, nor does it aim to be. You get one of the longest 0% introductory APR periods available anywhere, providing plenty of time to whittle down debt or finance a large purchase. And that's about it. Read our review. Wells Fargo Reflect® CardOur pick for: Longest 0% period for transfers and purchases The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card has one of the longest 0% intro APR periods on the market — potentially approaching almost two years, if you meet on-time minimum payment requirements. You'll be hard-pressed to find a longer interest-free promotion, and it applies to both purchases and balance transfers. Read our review. Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit cardOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers and purchases + flat-rate cash back The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card is one of many 1.5% flat-rate cash-back cards on the market. It comes with a decent sign-up bonus, a generous intro APR period, and the potential to supercharge your earnings through Bank of America®'s Preferred Rewards program. Read our review. Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit cardOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers and purchases + travel rewards One of the best no-annual-fee travel cards available, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card gives you a solid rewards rate on every purchase, with points that can be redeemed for any travel purchase, without the restrictions of branded airline and hotel cards. Bank of America® has an expansive definition of "travel," too, giving you additional flexibility in how you use your rewards. Read our review. Chase Slate Edge℠Our pick for: Long 0% period for transfers and purchases The $0-annual-fee Chase Slate Edge℠ is light on flash but features an excellent 0% intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers, plus some other potential incentives for paying on time. Read our review. U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum CardOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers and purchases A lengthy 0% introductory APR period for both purchases and balance transfers has made the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card a NerdWallet favorite. Read our review. Citi Simplicity® CardOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers + no late fees The Citi Simplicity® Card has an excellent 0% intro APR period on balance transfers, and an OK one on purchases. It doesn't charge an annual fee, late fees or penalty APRs either. Its balance transfer fee is on the high side, though. Read our review. Citi® Diamond Preferred® CardOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card offers a super-lengthy 0% intro APR period on balance transfers, and there's also a decent offer on purchases. But the balance transfer fee is pricey. It doesn't have the late-fee forgiveness of Citi's other balance-transfer card, but it's still a great option. Read our review. Discover it® Balance TransferOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers + bonus cash back What makes the Discover it® Balance Transfer stand out from other balance-transfer cards is its ongoing cash-back rewards, which give you a great reason to keep using the card regularly even after its introductory 0% APR period ends. Read our review. Citi® Double Cash CardOur pick for: Long 0% period for transfers + flat-rate cash back Year after year, the Citi® Double Cash Card has been a top choice among flat-rate cash-back cards. You earn 2% cash back on every purchase — 1% when you buy something and 1% when you pay it off. There's no 0% intro period for purchases or bonus categories, but the high rewards rate more than makes up for the lack of bells and whistles. Read our review. Wells Fargo Active Cash® CardOur pick for: 0% period for transfers and purchases + flat-rate cash back Among flat-rate cash-back cards, you'll be hard-pressed to beat the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. It earns an unlimited 2% back on all purchases, which is excellent. But in addition, the card offers a rich sign-up bonus and a generous 0% intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers. That's an impressive, hard-to-find combination of features on a card with a $0 annual fee. Read our review. Chase Freedom Unlimited®Our pick for: 0% period for transfers and purchases + bonus cash back The Chase Freedom Unlimited® was already a fine card when it offered 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Now it's even better, with bonus rewards on travel booked through Chase, as well as at restaurants and drugstores. On top of all that, new cardholders get a 0% introductory APR period and the opportunity to earn a sweet cash bonus. Read our review. Chase Freedom Flex℠Our pick for: 0% period for transfers and purchases + bonus cash back The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers bonus cash back in quarterly categories that you activate, as well as on travel booked through Chase, at restaurants and at drugstores. Category activation can be a hassle, but if your spending matches the categories — and for a lot of people, it will — you can rack up hundreds of dollars a year. There's a fantastic bonus offer for new cardholders and a 0% intro APR period, too. Read our review. • • • OTHER RESOURCESWhat is a 0% balance transfer?A balance transfer involves moving debt from a high-interest credit card to a new card with a lower interest rate, ideally one with an introductory 0% period. Essentially, you're using one card to pay off another, but because you aren't paying as much in interest, you have more money available to pay down your debt more quickly. How much can I save with a 0% balance transfer?A balance transfer makes financial sense only if the money you save on interest is more than any fee you'll pay to carry out the transfer. Interest savingsMoving debt to a card with an introductory 0% APR period for balance transfers will obviously save you money in interest. Those savings can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on how much you owe. According to NerdWallet's American Household Credit Card Debt Study, the average household with revolving credit card debt — that is, debt that was carried from one month to the next — had a total of $5,944 in such debt in June 2022. Let's say you had that much debt on a card with an APR of 17%, and you wanted to pay off the debt in equal amounts over 18 months:
Mind the balance transfer feeA balance transfer isn't always a slam-dunk solution to high-interest debt. Most cards with promotional 0% APR periods charge balance transfer fees, which typically range from 3% to 5% of the amount being transferred. Some cards don't charge these fees, or waive them for a period of time when you first open your account. Before pulling the trigger on a transfer, consider whether the amount you’ll save on interest will be enough to make up for any transfer fee. In the above example, a 3% fee on a $6,741 transfer comes out to a little over $200, while a 5% fee would be about $340. If you're saving $900 in interest, then the fee is worth paying. However, if you'd been planning to pay off the debt in six months rather than 18, then the transfer would have saved you only about $330 in interest — so a 3% fee would have eaten up most of your savings while a 5% fee would have ended up costing you money. Estimate your savings with our calculatorWhether a balance transfer will save you money depends mostly on four factors:
How to do a 0% balance transferIf the math on a balance transfer works in your favor, here’s what to do next. 1. Apply for a 0% balance transfer cardIn many cases, cards with an introductory 0% APR offer for transfers give you only a short period of time after opening your account to take advantage of the offer — say, 60 days. So even if you already have a card with a 0% period in effect, it might be too late to use it for a transfer. In general, you'll need good credit to qualify for a balance transfer card. Most issuers won’t let you transfer debt from one of their cards to another. For example, you can’t transfer a balance from one Chase card to another. So make sure you aren’t applying for a card from the same bank that holds the debt you need to transfer. 2. Tell the new card’s issuer you want to do a transferWith some cards, you can do this from your online account dashboard or even the issuer’s mobile app. With others, you’ll need to call the customer service number on the back of the card. 3. Provide information requested by your issuerYou’ll need to know the account number of the debt you want to transfer and how much you want to move. Depending on the credit limit on your new card and the card issuer’s policies (which may limit the amount of a transfer), you may get approved to transfer the entire amount or just a part of it. 4. Continue making payments on the old cardThis is critical. The transfer doesn't happen as soon as you ask for it. It can take days or even a couple of weeks. Pay at least the minimum until your old card account shows that the debt has been moved. The last thing you want is to incur an expensive late fee (and possibly damage your credit scores). 5. Watch your accountsYou’ll see the debt paid off on the old card and show up on the new one. Now it’s time to pay it down. 6. Stash the old card, but keep it openIt may be tempting to cut up the old card and cancel the account for the sake of catharsis, but closing a paid-off credit card account can damage your credit scores. If the card doesn't charge an annual fee, keep it open. Should you get a 0% balance transfer card? Pros and consPros: Why it’s worth getting a balance transfer card
Cons: Why a balance transfer card might not be for you
How to compare 0% balance transfer cards1. Determine whether you qualifyIn most cases, 0% balance transfer credit cards require good or excellent credit. Generally, that means a credit score of about 690 or better. (You can get your credit score for free on NerdWallet.) 2. Look at the issuer that holds your current debtIn most cases, you can't transfer balances among cards from the same bank — from one Chase card to another Chase card, for example. This is important to know because it will save you from getting a card you can’t use. Be especially careful with store-branded credit cards, which often do not clearly identify the issuing bank. (Stores don't typically issue and manage their own credit cards; they partner with a bank to do it.) 3. Compare 0% APR periods for balance transfersThe longer the 0% period, the better, since you’ll have more time to pay down your debt without interest. But know that longer periods might mean higher transfer fees 4. Compare balance transfer feesTransfer fees on most credit cards range from 3% to 5%. That’s equivalent to $30 to $50 for each $1,000 you transfer. A handful of cards do not charge transfer fees or waive them for an introductory period. But those cards are few and far between, and most of them require excellent credit. Also, cards that don’t charge a transfer fee generally have shorter 0% APR periods than balance transfer cards that do. 5. Say no to annual feesA good balance transfer card will not charge an annual fee. Some rewards cards with annual fees do offer 0% introductory periods, but they're a bad choice for getting out of debt. (The rewards and sign-up bonuses on such cards encourage spending, and the annual fee eats up money that could be going to pay down debt.) Making the most of your 0% balance transfer credit card
Alternatives to a 0% balance transferMaybe a balance transfer card isn’t right for you. There are other ways to get a handle on your debt. 1. Pay more than the minimum dueYour minimum monthly payment due is the absolute least you can pay without incurring a penalty. It won't get you very far toward paying off your debt. To see real interest savings, you need to pay interest on less money, and that means reducing the principal by paying more than the minimum. 2. Use a debt payment calculatorDebt payment calculators show you how much you could save in interest by paying down your credit card balance without a transfer. Enter your balance and choose an interest rate, then see your savings if you reduced the balance by 5% to 50%. See the calculator here. 3. Ask if you qualify for a lower rateIf your credit score has improved since you opened the account, it could pay off to ask your issuer to lower your interest rate. You might get some points knocked off your rate, or possibly get your account moved to a card with a lower rate. You may also be told it’s not possible, but it’s worth a phone call to ask. 5. Consider a personal loanA personal loan can be a solid option to get a handle on your high-interest debt. Personal loans can be issued by banks, credit unions and online lenders. Some loans designed for debt consolidation can even be paid directly to your creditors, streamlining the process. Keep in mind that a personal loan makes sense only if the interest rate on the loan is the less than the interest rate you were paying on your credit card debt. Shop around to find the most favorable terms and know that credit unions typically offer some of the best rates but you typically have to become a member to apply. Some online lenders charge origination fees, similar to when a balance transfer card charges a balance transfer fee. Be sure to do the math before committing to a card's terms. Does Bank of America have a balance transfer fee?A 3% fee (min $10) applies to all balance transfers. This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page, if you visit a Bank of America financial center or call the bank. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Can you do a 0 balance transfer with the same Bank?You should be able to transfer any existing credit card balances on to your new credit card. But it isn't usually possible to transfer a card balance between two cards issued by the same bank or banking group.
What does 0% balance transfer for 12 months mean?What is a balance transfer card? With a 0% balance transfer you get a new card to pay off debt on old credit and store cards, so you owe it instead, but at 0% interest. A card will have a 0% period, during which you pay no interest – for example, 28 months – and sometimes you'll pay a small fee.
Do balance transfers hurt your score?Negative credit score impact: repeatedly opening cards and transferring balances. Balance transfers will hurt your credit score if you make a habit of opening new credit cards and repeatedly transferring balances between them.
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