- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.24% – 28.99% (Variable)
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
-
670 – 850
Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
Citi is an advertising partner.
The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card* features one of the longest introductory APR offers for balance transfers, but is marred by its higher-than-average balance transfer fee.
New cardholders will have 21 months to pay down a transferred balance at 0% introductory interest before the standard APR of 18.24% to 28.99% (variable) applies. Balance transfers must be completed with four months of account opening. And while the industry standard is a 3% balance transfer fee, the Citi Diamond Preferred asks for 5% ($5 minimum) of the transferred balance.
Like most balance transfer credit cards, there are no rewards to be earned with this card. Despite that, there is an intro 0% APR offer for new purchases for 12 months (18.24% to 28.99% variable APR thereafter) if you need to finance a planned, large purchase or finance an emergency expense.
Introductory APR
You can take advantage of the 21 months of 0% intro APR on transferred balances (and then the 18.24% to 28.99% variable APR), as long as you transfer your balance within four months of opening the account. We generally recommend initiating a balance transfer at least two weeks before the deadline to make sure it posts in time.
Be sure to make all the minimum payments on time during intro APR period -- but you may want to pay more than that each month to cover the entire balance before the promotion ends. Keep in mind that you’ll have that 5% balance transfer fee tacked onto your balance when you first make the transfer, with a $5 minimum fee. So, if you transfer $2,000 from another credit card, you’ll ultimately need to repay $2,100. While this fee is higher than most, the trade-off is the long balance transfer period. Alternatively, there are cards that don’t charge a balance transfer fee with shorter promotional periods.
If you aren’t interested in the balance transfer component, the Citi Diamond Preferred Card also offers a 0% introductory APR period on purchases for the first 12 months from account opening. After this period, your purchase APR will jump up to a 18.24% to 28.99% variable APR.
You’ll want to avoid commingling purchases and balance transfers, however, so that interest doesn’t accrue on your purchases after 12 months while the balance transfer offer is still active.
Other perks
While the power with this card mostly lies in the introductory APR, there are a few other novelties. For instance, you can personalize your due date for bills to better fit your financial schedule.
From your Citi Diamond Preferred Card account, you may also be able to generate virtual account numbers -- or virtual credit cards -- so that you can shop online more securely. This feature generates credit card numbers for single use online so that you don’t have to reveal your real credit card information to payees.
Alternative cards
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
The Wells Fargo Reflect Card offers a 0% introductory APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers alike -- then the APR jumps to 18.24%, 24.74%, or 29.99% variable.
Balance transfers must be made within 120 days from account opening to qualify for the introductory rate. Similar to the Citi Diamond Preferred Card, the balance transfer fee is 5% of each transfer, with a $5 minimum.
To find out how to enjoy the balance transfer introductory offer with this card, check out our full review of the Wells Fargo Reflect Card.
Citi Double Cash® Card
The Citi Double Cash Card has a shorter intro APR period -- and only focuses on balance transfers -- but you can earn cash back on your purchases, unlike with most balance transfer cards.
You’ll get 18 months of a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers, which jumps to 19.24% to 29.24% variable after that. Balance transfers must be completed within four months of account opening. On general purchases, you can earn up to 2% cash back. You’ll earn 1% upfront when you make the purchase, and then another 1% when you pay your balance.
For more details, check out our full review of the Citi Double Cash Card.
How Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card compares to other cards
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.24% – 28.99% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% for 12 months on Purchases
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
- Intro Offer
-
$200 cash rewards Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. Select “Apply Now” to take advantage of this specific offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
2% Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.24%, 24.74%, or 29.99% Variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening. Select “Apply Now” to take advantage of this specific offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
FAQs
Though balance transfer credit cards are technically credit cards, they’re more like a debt-financing tool. They’re better used to pay off existing credit card debt than as a payment method.
A balance transfer is when you take the debt, or balance, you owe on one card account and transfer it to another credit card account. Usually this is done with the goal of saving money by transferring debt from a high-interest account to one with lower or no interest.
While many credit cards allow balance transfers, those primarily designed for the purpose all share one main feature: an introductory 0% APR period on balances transferred to that account, typically applicable to transfers made within the first 60 to 120 days of card ownership. The introductory APR period generally lasts between 12 months and 21 months, giving you a significant period of time to pay off your balance interest-free.
While a few credit cards offer no-fee transfers, most balance transfer cards charge a fee to transfer your debt, usually between 3% and 5%. Broadly speaking, the longer the introductory 0% APR period, the higher the fee, and vice versa. So the best cards without a balance transfer fee have a shorter introductory APR period, and those with the longest introductory APR period have a 3% to 5% transfer fee.
Technically, yes. In some cases, transferring your balance two or three times might even be what’s necessary to finally pay off your debt. But unless you have a firm understanding of how you got into debt in the first place and a plan for getting out of debt, you won’t be working toward a solution.
While transferring your remaining debt to a second balance transfer card may allow you to pay off your balance without monthly interest or a fee, it’s important to note that there are too many variables for multiple balance transfers to be a failure-proof debt strategy.
For example, your card application could be denied, your credit limit could be much lower than you anticipated or your transfer request could be denied. Credit card offers could also change, making it difficult to plan ahead. For this reason I recommend selecting a card that allows you to pay off the full balance after one cycle if possible.
It may take anywhere between 10 days and six weeks to complete a balance transfer, after receiving your new card and cardholder agreement. It’s also important to note that some card issuers, such as Citi, make balance transfers available at their discretion, and could therefore decline a transfer request. And you should probably still pay the minimum on the old card’s balance until you’ve confirmed that the transfer was completed, so you don’t run the risk of fees or penalties.
Our approach
We review the cards that are in the highest demand and offer the best benefits. We scour the fine print so there aren’t any surprises when you open an account. We find the key factors that make a card stand out and compare them to other top cards. That way, readers can opt for a different card with similar features if our pick isn’t right for them. Our reviews are regularly checked and updated to incorporate new recommendations, as well as to reflect changes in offers and the market.
*All information about the Citi Diamond Preferred 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.
