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Balance transfer credit cards offer you the opportunity to take a break from interest charges while you pay down your existing balances. How do they do that? These cards offer 0% APR promotional financing for a limited period on balances transferred from other accounts. By law, this financing period must be at least six months long, but the most competitive offers will last at least 15 months to as long as 20. The largest drawback to these offers is the balance transfer fee that’s added to your new account, typically 3% of the amount transferred. Most of the major credit card issuers offer at least one card with 0% APR promotional financing on balance transfer, but they aren’t all created equal. Not only does the length of the promotional financing period vary, but some of these cards also include interest-free promotional financing for new purchases as well. How We Chose the Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
To find the best balance transfer credit cards, we first divided the market into the following six subcategories. - The longest duration balance transfer offers
- Competitive balance transfer cards with strong cash back offers
- Balance transfer offers on cards that also feature travel rewards
- Balance transfer cards that also offer 0% APR on new purchases
- Balance transfer cards with very low standard interest rates
- Balance transfer cards for small business owners
We then looked at more than a dozen major credit card issuers and credit unions to find the cards that best fit each of these subcategories. We included only cards that are offered to all applicants, which excludes any products offered by credit unions that not everyone can join.For each subcategory, we looked at the factors that were likely to be most important to someone choosing a card from that group. For example, when looking for a card with the longest duration balance transfer offer, the number of months of 0% APR financing was the most important factor, while any rewards offered weren’t considered. But when looking for the best competitive balance transfer cards with strong cash back offers, we had to balance both the length of the promotional financing and the value of the cash back offered. Naturally, credit card terms may change from time to time, but the following rankings reflect information that was accurate in May 2022.Best Longest Duration Balance Transfer Offers
Having as much time as possible to pay down credit card debt without accruing additional interest can save you a lot of money. That is why having the card that offers the longest duration for balance transfers can be such a huge value. When we were looking at cards with the longest duration balance transfer offers, the most important factor was the number of months of 0% APR financing. We also looked for cards with no annual fee. If You Want a Long Duration Balance Transfer Offer: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
With the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card, an applicant can get 18 billing cycles of 0% APR financing on both balance transfers and new purchases. Note that the 0% APR for balance transfers applies only to balances transferred within 30 days of opening the account. There’s also a 3% balance transfer fee, with a $5 minimum balance transfer.Taking advantage of the 18 billing cycles of 0% APR promotional financing offer could help buy enough time to pay off most or all of your existing balances. After the introductory APR offer ends, the variable APR rate between 18.99% and 28.99% will apply, depending on your creditworthiness when you applied. There is no annual fee for this card, but it also doesn’t offer a new account bonus or rewards for spending (updated as of Feb. 3, 2023).Best Competitive Balance Transfer Cards With Strong Cash Back Offers
Credit card applicants shouldn’t have to choose between a card that includes a great balance transfer offer and a card that earns good cash back rewards. When looking at competitive balance transfer cards with strong cash back offers, we balanced the length of the promotional financing with the value of the cash back offered. We also looked for cards with no annual fee and valuable benefits. If You Want a Competitive Balance Transfer Card With a Strong Cash Back Offer: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® not only features a competitive balance transfer and strong cash back options, but it also features added benefits like purchase protection and trip insurance.The card offers new applicants 15 months of 0% APR financing on both balance transfers and new purchases, while also earning cash back on those new purchases. There is a transfer fee of the greater of $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer made within 60 days of account opening. After that, the transfer fee will be $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. The total amount of the transfer balance, including interest and fees, cannot exceed the available credit limit or $15,000, whichever is lower. Transferring balances from another Chase account is not allowed. After the introductory 0% APR offer ends, the variable APR rate between 19.49% and 28.24% will apply, depending on your creditworthiness (updated as of March 6, 2023).As for the cash back component of the card, the introductory offer is $200 bonus cash after spending $500 within three months, plus 5% cash back on up to $6,000 spent at gas stations during the account’s first year. Cardholders receive 5% cash back on Chase travel, 3% cash back on drugstore and restaurant charges, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.This card even comes with purchase protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and an auto rental collision damage waiver benefit. The cash back rewards don’t expire as long as the account is open, and there is no minimum for redeeming cash back.Award travel enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that this card's cash back rewards come in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. When these points are combined with those from cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, they can offer even more value when redeemed for travel reservations or transferred to airline and hotel programs. There is no annual fee for this card.Best Balance Transfer Offers on Cards That Also Feature Travel Rewards
Although they’re rare, some cards do offer both 0% APR balance transfers and competitive travel rewards for spending. For people who love to travel, saving money on interest while earning travel rewards might sound like a dream combination, so those are the two factors that carried the most weight with us as we evaluated cards in this subcategory. If You Want a Balance Transfer Offer on a Card That Also Features Travel Rewards: Frontier Airlines Mastercard
The Frontier Airlines Mastercard from Barclays is a great card for earning travel rewards and elite status through spending, while still receiving a zero balance transfer offer. This card offers new applicants 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers, though to be eligible the transfers must be completed within the first 45 days after the account opening. There’s a fee for balance transfers, which is $5 or 3% of each transfer, whichever is greater. After the introductory APR offer ends, the variable APR rate of 16.74%, 20.74%, or 25.74% will apply.New applicants can also earn 50,000 bonus Frontier Airlines miles after spending just $500 on new purchases within 90 days of opening the account. The card earns 5x miles on Frontier Airlines purchases and 3x miles at restaurants. Furthermore, cardholders can earn one qualifying mile towards elite status for every dollar spent on all purchases. Frontier has three levels of elite status, and they come with perks like free seat assignments and free bag carry-ons, both of which usually cost extra on Frontier. You can also earn a $100 flight voucher each cardmember year after spending $2,500 on any purchases within one year. That may more than make up for this card’s $89 annual fee, which is waived the first year.Recommended: Best Travel Credit CardsBest Balance Transfer Cards That Also Offer 0% APR on New Purchases
Incurring interest charges on new purchases while trying to pay off a balance transfer just doesn’t make sense. For someone who has a lot of upcoming purchases but also wants to pay down existing debt, a card that offers 0% APR on both new purchases and balance transfers may be the way to go. In this subcategory, we looked for cards that provided both options.If You Want a Balance Transfer Card That Also Offers 0% APR on New Purchases: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
Not only does the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card offer a relatively long duration for balance transfers, it also offers an equally long promotional financing offer for new purchases. New applicants can get 18 billing cycles of 0% APR financing on both balance transfers and new purchases. Just remember that the 0% APR for balance transfers only applies to balances transferred within 30 days from account opening, and that there’s also a 3% balance transfer fee.If anything, the biggest drawback of this offer is that it could encourage cardholders to incur more debt than they can pay off within 18 billing cycles. Don’t forget that after the introductory APR offer ends, a variable APR rate of between 18.99% and 28.99% will apply to any remaining balances. There is no annual fee for this card. And unsurprisingly, this card doesn’t offer a new account bonus or rewards for spending (updated as of Feb. 3, 2023).Best Balance Transfer Cards With Very Low Standard Interest Rates
Zero interest rate financing periods don’t last forever. After the introductory period ends, many cards go back to charging high interest rates. A balance transfer card that has a very low standard interest rate may be appealing for those who are looking to pay off existing debt and incur interest charges at a lower rate if they need to carry a balance in the future. So that was our primary consideration as we evaluated balance transfer cards in this subcategory.If You Want a Balance Transfer Card With a Very Low Standard Interest Rate: PenFed Gold Visa
Although offered by PenFed Credit Union, the PenFed Gold Visa card is open to anyone within or outside the armed forces. The card offers a 0% promotional rate for 15 months on balance transfers. While most cards charge interest rates up to 25% after the introductory period, this card offers a standard interest rate of 7.49% to 17.99% APR for new purchases, depending on your creditworthiness. For applicants with excellent credit, that’s likely to be well below the national average of about 15% APR. Note that this standard interest rate applies only to new purchases. Any remaining balance transferred will incur interest at 17.99% APR after the promotional financing period ends. There’s also a 3% balance transfer fee for each transaction.PenFed is the nation’s second largest credit union. While it was created to provide financial services to members of the military and their families, you can join with no military service required. And while this card isn’t a rewards card, it currently offers a $100 statement credit after you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days of account opening. There is no annual fee for this card.Best Balance Transfer Cards for Small Business Owners
Individuals are not the only ones who could benefit from balance transfer cards. Small business owners may want to take advantage of these offers as well. There are a few balance transfer cards for small businesses owners, and we looked for the one with the longest promotional financing period.If You Want a Balance Transfer Card for Small Business Owners: U.S. Bank Business Platinum
The U.S. Bank Business Platinum card is a relatively simple small business credit card that offers zero balance transfer for small business owners. The card offers 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 20 billing cycles. This includes 0% APR for the first 20 billing cycles for new purchases, as well as 0% APR for the first 20 billing cycles for balances transferred within 30 days of account opening. This is one of the shorter transfer windows of the cards on this list, so make sure to transfer balances right away. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater. After the introductory APR offer ends, the variable APR rate of 14.24% to 23.24% will apply. There is no annual fee for this card, but there are also no rewards currently available.Recommended: Best Small Business Credit CardsThe Takeaway
When you have outstanding debt on one or more of your credit card accounts, the interest charges can add up very quickly. But by opening a new account and taking advantage of one of the top balance transfer offers, you could obtain relief from accruing interest. And when you have 0% APR interest financing, 100% of your credit card payments will go to paying down your balance, and you may be able to get out of debt sooner than you might have imagined.If you’re shopping for a credit card but your credit isn’t great or you just haven’t had time to build up a credit history yet, there may still be options. Lantern by SoFi can help you find the right credit card option for you from one of our network lenders.
Photo credit: iStock/Deepak Sethi
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About the Author
Jason Steele
Jason Steele has been writing about credit cards and award travel since 2008. One of the nation's leading experts in this field, he has contributed to dozens of personal finance and travel outlets and has been widely quoted in the mainstream media. 
