A balance transfer credit card offers an introductory 0% APR for a certain amount of time during which your credit card balance accrues no interest. Most balance transfer credit cards charge a balance transfer fee for the service, usually 3% to 5% of the transferred amount.
While that fee is typically worth paying to move high-interest debt to another account, some balance transfer cards don’t charge a fee.
The trade-off? No-fee balance transfer credit cards usually provide a shorter promotional period than cards with a fee. Also, most no-fee balance transfer credit cards have unique qualifications or require you to be a member of a credit union.
If you go with any type of balance transfer card, make sure you have a plan to pay off the transferred balance within the fixed time frame. Otherwise, your outstanding credit card bill will start to earn interest at the card’s standard variable APR, which can increase your debt.
Wings Financial Credit Union is based in Minnesota, but you can join by making a $5 donation to the Wings Financial Foundation. After that, you can apply for the Wings Visa Platinum Credit Card*, which charges no annual or balance transfer fees and offers 12 months of 0% introductory APR on balance transfers and purchases (13.40% to 18.00% variable APR thereafter).
- Intro Balance Transfer APR
- 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on BTs
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases
- Regular APR
- 13.40% – 18.00% variable APR
- Balance Transfer Fee
- None
Wings Financial Credit Union is based in Minnesota, but you can join by making a $5 donation to the Wings Financial Foundation. After that, you can apply for the Wings Visa Platinum Credit Card*, which charges no annual or balance transfer fees and offers 12 months of 0% introductory APR on balance transfers and purchases (13.40% to 18.00% variable APR thereafter).
- Intro Balance Transfer APR
- 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on BTs
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases
- Regular APR
- 13.40% – 18.00% variable APR
- Balance Transfer Fee
- None
The Navy Federal Credit Union is for members of the armed forces, veterans and their immediate family members. If you qualify for this card, you can enjoy 12 months of 0% introductory APR on balance transfers with a 10.99% to 18% variable APR thereafter -- along with no balance transfer fees. But you’ll have to initiate the balance transfer within 60 days of opening your account in order to take advantage of this offer.
- Intro Balance Transfer APR
- 0% intro APR for 12 months on balance transfers
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Regular APR
- 10.99% – 18.00% Variable
- Balance Transfer Fee
- N/A
The Navy Federal Credit Union is for members of the armed forces, veterans and their immediate family members. If you qualify for this card, you can enjoy 12 months of 0% introductory APR on balance transfers with a 10.99% to 18% variable APR thereafter -- along with no balance transfer fees. But you’ll have to initiate the balance transfer within 60 days of opening your account in order to take advantage of this offer.
- Intro Balance Transfer APR
- 0% intro APR for 12 months on balance transfers
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Regular APR
- 10.99% – 18.00% Variable
- Balance Transfer Fee
- N/A
Pros and cons of a balance-transfer credit card with no transfer fee
Pros
You won’t have to pay extra to transfer your outstanding credit card debt
Cons
Shorter promotional periods than cards with balance transfer fees
Many have specific requirements that make them harder to qualify for
Mostly offered by credit unions
How to choose a card with no balance transfer fee
The main feature is the length of the balance transfer offer. You’ll want to make sure you have a strategy to pay down a transferred balance before it begins to accrue interest again.
To do so, divide the transferred balance by the number of months in the promotional period. That tells you how much you’ll have to pay each month to pay down your debt. If you can’t afford that monthly amount, consider a balance transfer card with a longer introductory period or another debt consolidation option while also strategizing how to cover upcoming expenses without taking on more credit card debt.
“Balance transfer cards may buy you some time if they have no-interest grace periods, which are great. But you still have to be able to pay it off before the grace period ends,” credit expert John Ulzheimer, formerly of FICO and Equifax, told CNET.
It’s also a good idea to make sure the balance transfer card doesn’t require an annual fee if the extra perks don’t justify the cost. That would just add another payment on top of your monthly payments.
And while avoiding a balance transfer fee may sound enticing, there are times where paying one could be worth it. Balance transfer credit cards that don’t have a fee often provide a shorter introductory APR period.
For example, the Wings Visa Platinum Credit Card provides a 12-month introductory 0% balance transfer APR (then 13.40% to 18.00% variable), while the Citi Simplicity® Card* charges an introductory balance transfer fee of 3% ($5 minimum) for the first four months, which jumps to 5% ($5 minimum) afterward, but offers a 21-month intro 0% APR for balance transfers (then 19.24% to 29.99% variable) so long as the transfer is made within four months of account opening.
Should you consider a low-fee balance transfer fee card?
If you can pay down a transferred balance quickly, opting for a card without a balance transfer fee -- like the Wings Visa Platinum Card -- could save you a bit of money. You’ll need to make sure you’re able to pay off the balance within the given time frame, of course. If you don’t, your balance will accrue interest at the card’s variable rate. In this case, 13.40% to 18.00%.
When experts think it’s worth it to pay a balance transfer fee
While a no-fee balance transfer is the easiest to calculate, you can still save money on your outstanding credit card debt if you’re required to pay a balance transfer fee. Generally, paying a one-time balance transfer fee will cost less than paying ongoing interest charges at a high interest rate.
In most cases, paying that one-time fee will still have you coming out ahead, Ulzheimer said.
“If you have a balance transfer card that has a zero-interest grace period, and you’re able to pay off the debt at zero interest before the grace period ends, then you’ve certainly made out better financially when you compare the balance transfer fee to the amount of interest you didn’t have to pay,” he said.
Another benefit to paying a balance transfer fee is that it would be paired with a card that gives you a longer time frame -- say, longer than 12 months -- to pay down a transferred balance.
Gerri Detweiler, a CNET Money credit card expert, said paying a balance transfer fee shouldn’t be an issue, so long as you make a plan to pay off the balance, including the transfer fee, within the promotional period offered by the card.
“My best tip is to stop charging on that card and add autopay for the amount that it would take to pay it off in that period of time,” she said. “In that case, the transfer fee is usually worth it. But I do recommend plugging it into an online APR calculator so you know exactly how much it’s costing.”
Credit expert and host of Geobreeze Travel podcast Julia Menez suggests doing the math to determine if a balance transfer card with a fee makes sense.
“To determine if it’s better to choose a card without a balance transfer fee, run the math with each option,” she said. “For example, if you opt for the no balance transfer fee option, which could result in higher payments each month, you might end up going into more credit card debt to cover other monthly expenses. In that case, it’s best to pay a small fee to stretch out your payments and avoid taking on more debt.”
What to do if you can’t qualify for a balance transfer credit card
Most balance transfer credit cards have steep credit score requirements in the good to excellent range. This means to get approved you need a credit score that’s 670 or higher. If you can’t qualify for a balance transfer card, there are still a few roads available to you.
The obvious -- yet not always simplest -- route would be to improve your credit score. However, building credit takes time. You likely won’t see any improvements until about six months. If you’re suffering from expensive interest charges on a credit card with a high APR, it’s not always a feasible option.
“It can take years to improve your credit to a point where you can qualify for a balance transfer card. Years spent paying credit card interest, which is expensive,” Ulzheimer said.
If you need to transfer a balance now because you’re struggling to make debt repayments, there are other lower-interest debt management solutions you can explore. A debt consolidation loan, for example, is generally easier to qualify for than a balance transfer card, has fixed-rate payments (so you don’t have to worry about interest rates increasing during your loan term) and typically has longer terms, up to about seven years. There are also personal loan options available if your credit is on the lower side.
“Installment debt [such as a debt consolidation loan or a personal loan] is generally less expensive than credit card debt. It’s also practically benign to your credit scores,” Ulzheimer said. “You’re likely to pay off the debt faster than if you just made the minimum payment on your credit cards.”
Another option is to put together a debt payoff plan, like the debt avalanche or debt snowball method. With the debt avalanche method, you’ll make the minimum payments on all of your credit accounts each month, and put extra payments toward the debt with the highest interest rate. Once that account is paid off, move onto the account with the next highest interest rate, and so forth. Tackling the highest interest accounts first can help you save money in interest while you focus on paying down your debt.
The debt snowball method is similar -- you still maintain minimum payments on all accounts, but you focus extra payments on your smallest debt. This can help you gain momentum as you work toward lowering your debt, which may be helpful if you’re more motivated by seeing progress than saving money on interest.
When is it worth it to pay a balance transfer fee?
While it might feel painful, paying a one-time balance transfer fee will typically cost much less than paying numerous interest charges at a high interest rate.
For example, according to our sister site Bankrate’s calculator, if you carry a credit card balance of $3,000 on a card with an APR of 18%, it would take you 94 months to pay it down if you’re only paying the minimum payment of $60 each month. By then, you’d have spent $2,586 in interest charges.
Paying a balance transfer fee could also get you a longer time frame to pay down a transferred balance.
Doing the math of a no-fee balance transfer
According to our sister site Bankrate’s calculator, if you carry a credit card balance of $3,000 on a card with an APR of 20%, and only pay the monthly minimum of $80, it would take you around 60 months, or five years, to pay it down completely. By then, you’d have spent $1,747 in interest charges.
If you use any of the credit cards above that offer 12 months at 0% APR, you’d save an entire years’ worth of interest. So let’s say you pay the same $80 monthly minimum on a no-fee balance transfer card with that zero-interest promotional period. Your remaining balance on the card after a year would be $2,040. If a variable APR of 20% then applies to that new balance, it would take you an additional 34 months to pay off, but the interest you’d now pay would be $638.
Even though it would take you almost four years to pay down your $3,000 debt, you’d save approximately $1,109 in interest by taking advantage of the 0% introductory APR for 12 months.
Experts generally recommend paying more than the minimum payment if you’re using a balance transfer card to pay down debt. Ideally, if you were able to pay $250 toward your balance each month during the promotional period, you could wipe out your entire credit card bill without paying any interest at all.
How to get the most from a balance-transfer credit card
The downside to balance transfer credit cards that don’t charge a transfer fee is that their promotional periods are on average shorter than with cards that do charge fees. For example, the ones on this list all cap out at 12 months, which means you should ideally make a plan to pay down that debt within a year if you want your balance to go down to zero.
The best way to use a balance transfer is to pay down the balance in full during the promotional period to avoid paying any interest. Divide the balance you’re transferring by the number of months at 0% APR to find your target monthly payment amount.
How to apply for a no balance transfer fee card
Follow these steps to apply for a credit card with no balance transfer fee:
- Choose the card that offers enough time to pay down a transferred balance.
- Follow the links above to be directed to the credit card issuer’s site.
- Fill out the application with the required financial and personal information.
- Make sure you initiate any transfers within the given time frame to qualify for the introductory balance transfer rate.
- Make all of your payments on time.
FAQs
Multiply the amount you’re looking to transfer by the fee. For example, if you transfer $3,000 and there’s a balance transfer fee of 3%, you would calculate 3,000 x 0.03. The balance transfer fee would be $90.
The industry standard balance transfer fee is 3%, but some cards have a higher 5% fee.
While there’s technically no limit to the balance you can transfer, you’re able to transfer only up to the available credit limit on your credit card.
While a balance transfer itself won’t affect your credit score significantly, your credit score can improve if you pay down your credit card debt.
A credit card with no balance transfer fee lets you transfer a balance from one account to another without paying an upfront transfer fee, generally between 3% and 5%. The trade-off is a shorter introductory APR period for balance transfers.
A credit card with no balance transfer fee and a 0% APR offers a way to pay off high-interest credit card debt without paying interest or fees, but only if you can pay off the balance within one year. If you need more time, it might be better to consider a card with a balance transfer fee that has a longer no-interest or low intro APR period.
Our methodology
CNET reviews credit cards by exhaustively comparing them across set criteria developed for each major category, including cash-back, welcome bonus, travel rewards and balance transfer. We take into consideration the typical spending behavior of a range of consumer profiles -- with the understanding that everyone’s financial situation is different -- and the designated function of a card.
For cash-back credit cards, for example, key factors include the annual fee, the “welcome bonus” and the cash-back rate (or rates, if they differ by spending category). For rewards and miles cards, we calculate and weigh the net monetary value of a card’s respective perks. And with balance transfer credit cards, we analyze specs such as the duration of the introductory 0% APR period and the balance transfer fee, while acknowledging secondary factors such as the standard APR and the length of time you have to make a balance transfer after you open the account.
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*All information about the Wings Visa Platinum Credit Card, the SunTrust Prime Rewards Credit Card and the Citi Simplicity Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
