Best Balance-Transfer Credit Cards

If you have high balances on your credit cards and you’re paying high interest rates, consider transferring those balances to another card with a lower interest rate. You could lower your payment and pay less interest overall.

Choosing which card to transfer your balances to can be tricky. First, you need to find one with a good interest rate, and then you want to look for one that doesn’t charge interest for balance transfers. To make it easier for you to do that, GOBankingRates has put together a list of the best balance-transfer cards available right now. Check out the best credit card that might suit your needs for transferring your balances:

• Amex EveryDay Credit Card
• Bank Americard Credit Card
• Barclaycard Ring Mastercard
• Chase Freedom
• Chase Slate
• Citi Diamond Preferred Card
• Citi Simplicity Card
• Discover it
• US Bank Visa Platinum Card

Amex EveryDay Credit Card

The American Express EveryDay card is a solid choice if you want to make balance transfers — you have 60 days from when you open your account to make them for free. You can also score 10,000 bonus rewards points for making $1,000 in purchases during the first three months.

Best for: People who are able to make purchases worth $1,000 in three months and make their balance transfers within 60 days of opening the account

Pros: Intro 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 2x points on U.S. supermarket purchases up to $6,000 per year — after $6,000, it’s 1x; use the card 20 or more times on purchases in a billing period and earn 20 percent more points; no annual fee

Cons: 2.7 percent foreign transaction fee; late or returned payment fees of up to $38; 26.99% APR for cash advances

Read: Best ‘No Annual Fee’ Credit Cards

BankAmericard Credit Card

You can make balance transfers and purchases interest-free for the first 15 months after you open your account. You will also get a 10 percent bonus when you redeem your cash back rewards into your Bank of America checking or savings account. Act now to open an account online and get $200.

Best for: Those who want to make balance transfers for free and don’t want a short time limit to do it

Pros: Interest-free balance transfers and purchases for the first 15 months; 10 percent bonus for redeeming rewards into your Bank of America checking or savings; rewards categories don’t change; no annual fee

Cons: 3 percent foreign transaction fee; limited to earning 3 percent and 2 percent rates on the first $2,500 in combined grocery, wholesale club, gas purchases each quarter

Barclaycard Ring Mastercard

Choose the Barclaycard Ring Mastercard from Barclays and you might not get much of a rewards program. You will, however, get a low, 13.74% APR starting rate and 0% APR for 12 months on any balance transfer that posts to the account within the first 45 days of opening the account.

Best for: People who want a no-frills credit card with a low interest rate starting at 13.74% APR and interest-free balance transfers for 45 days

Pros: No interest on balance transfers for 12 months but you have to make them within the first 45 days; no annual fee; variable, 13.74% APR starting rate; no foreign transaction fee

Cons: No traditional, spending-based rewards program

Chase Freedom

With no annual fee and 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, this Chase card is a solid choice if you want to consolidate your other card balances. Right now, earn $150 just for spending $500 on purchases in your first three months.

Best for: Those looking for a card to make interest-free balance transfers who also want a robust rewards program

Pros: Interest-free balance transfers for 15 months; no annual fee; 5 percent cash back for up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter and 1 percent on all other purchases

Cons: 26.99% APR for cash advances; 3 percent foreign transaction fee; relatively complicated rewards program

Chase Slate

The Chase Slate card offers a 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases. You can check your FICO score for free, plus you’ll get fraud and purchase protection.

Best for: People looking to make interest-free balance transfers and who might need longer to pay down their debt at 0% APR

Pros: Interest-free balance transfers and purchases for 15 months; no annual fee; no penalty APR for paying late; free access to your FICO score

Cons: 26.74% APR for cash advances; 3 percent foreign transaction fee

Related: Best Credit Cards for People With Good Credit

Citi Diamond Preferred Card

If you make your balance transfers within four months of opening the Citi Diamond Preferred card, you’ll pay 0% APR on them for 21 months. You’ll also get 0% APR on purchases for 12 months.

Best for: Those who need longer to pay down their balance transfers — you’ll have 21 months to do it at 0% APR

Pros: Long intro offer period for balance transfers; no annual fee; free FICO credit score access

Cons: No rewards program; 3 percent foreign transaction fee

Check Out: Best Travel Credit Cards

Citi Simplicity Card

You’ll get 0% APR on balance transfers made within four months of opening the Citi Simplicity card and purchases made within the first 18 months. You also won’t pay a fee for making a late payment.

Best for: Those who want a simple card that they can make interest-free balance transfers with and those who don’t require rewards programs

Pros: 0% APR intro rate on balance transfers and purchases; $0 liability on unauthorized charges; identity theft protection; flexible payment due date

Cons: No rewards program; 3 percent foreign transaction fee

Discover it

You’ll get a 0% APR for 14 months on balance transfers and purchases with the Discover it card. It does not come with an annual fee, and you’ll earn 5 percent cash back in different categories each quarter.

Best for: People who want a low intro rate for balance transfers and purchases and who want an automatic match for all the cash back they earned at the end of their first year

Pros: Long intro APR offer; no annual fee; cash back rewards match from Discover at the end of the first year; no late payment fee the first time a payment is late

Cons: Complicated rewards program; 5 percent cash back is only for the first $1,500 worth of purchases in the bonus categories each quarter; Discover not accepted everywhere

See: Discover Bank Review — So Much More Than Just a Credit Card

US Bank Visa Platinum Credit Card

You’ll get 20 months of interest-free APR on balance transfers and purchases with the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card. In addition, you might qualify for the low, variable standard starting at 11.74% APR once the 20 months is over, depending on your creditworthiness.

Best for: Those who need a long period to pay off balance transfers and who don’t mind the card that does not offer rewards

Pros: Long intro offer for balance transfers and purchases; fraud protection; no annual fee

Cons: No rewards program; 3 percent foreign transaction fee

Best Credit Cards for Transferring Balances

Now that you’ve reviewed the details about the best credit cards for transferring balances, use this handy chart as a quick reference for comparing credit card features. Then, choose one that can work well for your financial situation.

Best Credit Cards for Transferring Balances
Credit Card		Balance Transfer Fee	Intro APR	Purchase APR	Annual Fee
	Amex EveryDay Credit Card	$0	0% APR for first 20 billing cycles	14.74% to 25.74%	$0
	BankAmericard Credit Card	3% ($10 min.)	0% APR first 15 billing cycles for purchases and balance transfers made within 60 days of opening account	14.74% to 24.74%	$0
	Barclaycard Ring Mastercard	Greater of $5 or 3%	Intro 0% APR for 12 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening	13.74%	$0
	Chase Freedom	Greater of $5 or 5%	Intro 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers	16.74% to 25.49%	$0
	Chase Slate	Greater of $5 or 5%	Intro 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers	16.74% to 25.49%	$0
	Citi Diamond Preferred Card	Greater of $5 or 5%	0% APR for 21 months on balance transfers	14.74% to 24.74%	$0
	Citi Double Cash Card	Greater of $5 or 3%	0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers	15.24% to 25.24%	$0
	Citi Simplicity Card	Greater of $5 or 5%	Intro 0% APR for 18 months on purchases and intro 0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers	15.74% to 25.74%	$0
	Discover it	3%	Intro 0% APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers	13.74% to 24.74%	$0
	U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Credit Card	Greater of $5 or 3%	Intro 0% APR for the first 20 billing cycles	11.74% to 23.74%	$0
Information accurate as of Sept. 5, 2018.

Up Next: How Your Monthly Credit Card Minimum Payment Affects Your Credit Score

More on Credit Cards

• How to Transfer a Credit Card Balance
• 10 Things You Need to Know About Credit Card Expiration Dates
• How Credit Card Balance Transfers Work

Methodology: GOBankingRates.com identified the best balance-transfer credit cards by evaluating the following factors: balance transfer fee, intro APR, purchase APR, annual fee and perks. All fees and rates are subject to change at the credit card issuers’ discretion. Some offers might not be available on the credit card issuers’ websites, depending on how you access the web page.

GOBankingRates is a personal finance and consumer interest rate website owned by ConsumerTrack, Inc., an online marketing company serving top-tier banks, credit unions, and other financial services organizations. Some companies mentioned in this article might be clients of ConsumerTrack, Inc., which serves more than 100 national, local and online financial institutions. Rankings and roundups are completely objective, and no institution, client or otherwise, paid for inclusion or specific placement. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of GOBankingRates alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the companies included in the article.