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The banking crisis of 2008, the Great Recession, the Credit
Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 and
new
rules implemented by the Federal Reserve, have produced a credit environment
where banks have been charging a fee for just about everything they can,
including credit card balance transfers.
Fast forward to fall 2011: banks are doing a LOT better than they were
during the peak of the global financial quagmire of late 2008. Credit
card deals continue to improve, and are almost certain to continue doing
so into 2012.
- Discover More Card - No Balance Transfer Fee
Released for January only, so if you plan to take advantage of this
one, don't procrastinate. Offer is set to get pulled from the market
on January 31, 2012. Enjoy!
- Discover
More Card - 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer
As of May 2, 2011, the 24 Month Promotional Balance Transfer card from
Discover is no longer available, but Discover has just released a new
18 Promotional Balance Transfer card to take its place. You can find
this card at the #2 spot at the very top
of this page.
This card offers 0% intro APR on transferred balances for a full 18
months, with no annual fee. The introductory transfer fee with this
card has been lowered to 3%, but this is still a very hot
offer when you crunch the numbers.
Here's an example. You've got $3,000 of Christmas-shopping-related debt
on a non-Discover credit card. You transfer this debt to the new Discover
More 18 Month Promotional Card. The balance transfer fee is 3%, so:
3,000 x 0.03 = $90. And here's what I mean about crunching the numbers.
Let's convert the $90 to an annual percentage rate (APR).
- 3 (transfer fee) ÷ 18 (months) = 0.16666666666666666666666666666667
So the monthly interest rate is 0.16667% (I think 5 decimal places
is plenty.)
- 0.16667 (monthly rate) x 12 = 2% APR.
Not bad, right? How many 2.00% APR credit cards do you know about
in the American market?
- The transfer fee would be $90 ($3,000 x .03 = 90.) The
$90 transfer fee would be added to your account balance as soon
as your account is opened. So if you transferred $3,000 to this
card, your first statement would show a balance of $3,090.00. For
a monthly perspective, this particular transfer example would be
tantamount to paying about $5.00 per month in interest during the
introductory period.
- For more on converting a transfer fee to an annual percentage
rate, check out this
section of the credit
card balance transfer FAQ
- Discover
More Card - 15 Month Intro APR
Another extremely hot credit card right now is Discover's 15 Month Intro
APR card. This card offers a lot of value.
The above 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer card is great for anyone
who needs as much time as possible to pay down their debt without having
to pay interest. However, the 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer
card offers 0% intro APR on new purchases for 6 months.
Discover's new 15 Month Intro APR card offers a 0% introductory rate
for 15 months on both balance transfers and new credit
card purchases. And like the 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer card,
the balance transfer fee for introductory transfers has been lowered
from 4% to 3%. This new card is the third credit card listed at the
very top
of this page.
To convert the 3% transfer fee to an annual percentage rate (APR) with
this card:
- 3 (transfer fee) ÷ 15 (months) = 0.2.
So the monthly interest rate is 0.2%
- 0.2 (monthly rate) x 12 = 2.4% APR.
Not bad, right? Again, I pose the question: how many 2.4% APR credit
cards do you know about in the United States?
- Again, using $3,000-worth of debt as an example, the transfer
fee would be $90 ($3,000 x .03 = 90.) For a monthly perspective,
this particular transfer example would be tantamount to paying $6.00
per month in interest during the introductory period.
- For more on converting a transfer fee to an annual percentage
rate, check out this
section of the credit
card balance transfer FAQ
- Citi®
Diamond Preferred® Card
- Citi®
Platinum Select® Visa®
- Citi®
Platinum Select® MasterCard®
- Citi
Simplicity® Card
As of December 14, 2011, all of the above Citi® credit cards are
offering 0% Intro APR on both new purchases and transferred balances
for 21 months, with a 3% balance transfer fee. Though Discover
offers truly excellent rewards and peerless customer service with their
consumer-credit products, the above Citi 0% offers cannot be ignored;
they deserve to be listed on this page.
Let's play with some numbers one more time, to see what the annual percentage
rate (APR) works out to be with these Citi cards. We'll once again use
the example of a $3,000-worth of Christmas-shopping-related debt that
you want to transfer:
- 3 (transfer fee) ÷ 21 (months) = 0.14285714285714285714285714285714.
So the monthly interest rate is 0.142857%.
- 0.142857 (monthly rate) x 12 = 1.714284%
APR.
- Sticking with $3,000-worth of debt as an example, The transfer
fee would be $90 ($3,000 x .03 = 90.) For a monthly perspective,
this particular transfer example would be tantamount to paying around
$4.29 per month in interest during the introductory period.
- For more on converting a transfer fee to an annual percentage
rate, check out this
section of the credit
card balance transfer FAQ
- The Slate from Chase Card:
A Limited-Time No Balance Transfer Fee, 0% Deal - Chase is currently
offering a version of their Slate credit card with 0% intro APR on new
purchases and transferred balances for up to 12 months, with
no balance transfer fee. You need to have an excellent credit
history to enjoy the longest possible interest-free period with this
card. You can find this card at the top of this page.
NB: If you already have a different Chase card, like the Chase
Freedom card, you can still apply for the above Slate from Chase credit
card. Credit-card banks don't mind you having more than one of their
credit-card products in your wallet. However, if you plan on transferring
a balance, do not attempt to do so between two cards issued by the same
bank. Won't work (see Caveat
#5 here.) You'd have to transfer a balance from a competing credit-card
bank (i.e. a non-Chase bank.) Enjoy!
If you'd like to comment on the content of this page, please scroll down
to the comments
section below.
Currently, we are not aware of any "no fee balance transfer",
0% intro APR business credit cards in the American market.
Transferring a credit-card balance is a great way to avoid finance charges,
but before you take the leap, be sure to read the balance
transfer caveats here,
and we recommend that you review the Balance
Transfer FAQ here.
We will continue to monitor the latest credit products on offer from
America's most reputable banks and we'll continue to update this page
often.
NB: If the credit card offers above aren't to your liking, check
the credit unions in your area. These days, credit unions are much easier
to join than they were a generation ago. The application process is likely
to be much longer when compared to large banks, but the terms and conditions
associated with credit-union cards are generally quite favorable. If you
apply for a credit-union credit card, be prepared to prove your income
and, in some cases, submit copies of your income tax returns. Very few
credit unions offer an "instant" -- 60 seconds or less -- credit
decision.
For news about the latest and greatest 0% credit cards, stay tuned to
the zero
APR credit cards blog.
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