- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.74% – 29.49% (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.
Balance transfer credit cards can be a great way to mitigate debt. If you have a balance on another card that’s costing you money due to interest charges, you can transfer it over and pay it down while avoiding interest, usually for 15 to 21 months.
With the Citi Simplicity Card*, you get 0% introductory APR for 21 months from the date of first transfer, then 18.74% to 29.49% variable APR (balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening).
The card also features an introductory 0% APR for purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening (then 18.74% to 29.49% variable), which you could use to finance a large purchase. But considering the card offers no rewards, you’d be better off using this card for a balance transfer and then using another card to generate a return on your spending.
The Simplicity does not have an annual fee, so consider pairing it with a rewards credit card. That way, you could use the Simplicity to knock out some credit card debt while still earning rewards via another card.
Introductory APR on balance transfers
The main feature of the Citi Simplicity is its introductory 0% balance transfer APR for 21 months from the date of first transfer (then 18.74% to 29.49% variable).
If you transfer a balance and then continue to make purchases with the card, it could take longer to pay off. 21 months is a good amount of time for the intro balance transfer promotion, but you don’t want to get comfortable and forget how much time you have left, adding new purchases all the while, and then end up not being able to pay it down in time.
To avoid interest entirely, you’ll want to make sure to make all of your minimum payments on time and pay off the whole balance before the promotion ends.
It’s important to note that you must transfer your balance within four months of opening your account to take advantage of the introductory APR, so your application must be timely. Citi also doesn’t allow balance transfers from one Citi credit card to another.
Another factor to consider is the Citi Simplicity’s balance transfer fee. When you transfer over a balance from another card, you’ll pay a portion of that balance. In this case, there is an introductory balance transfer fee: You’ll pay the standard 3% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum) if you complete your balance transfer within the first four months of account opening, otherwise you’ll pay 5% ($5 minimum).
Why use a balance transfer?
A balance transfer is a great tool against debt. If you’re accruing interest on a credit card balance, you can move it to a card like the Citi Simplicity and pay it down faster while avoiding interest charges.
Cardholders can allocate the money they would normally be spending on interest charges toward the balance in order to get rid of it quicker.
Just be sure you’re paying more than the minimum each month to ensure you can pay down the balance within the given time period. A good way to figure out how much you should pay is to divide the credit card balance by the number of months you have for the intro APR offer.
For example, if you have a balance of $3,000 with 21 months to pay it down, you should pay at least $143 each month. But just to be safe -- and if your finances allow it -- pay a little extra just to really be sure you can get the balance down in time.
Is a balance transfer fee worth it?
More often than not, a balance transfer fee pales in comparison to the cost of the interest charges from the other credit card. With the Simplicity, if you have a balance of $3,000 on another card, you’d need to pay $90 to move it over if you complete the balance transfer in the first four months of account ownership ($150 if you transfer after that time).
There are cards that have no balance transfer fee, but they may also come with a shorter offer period. With a shorter offer period, you’d need to pay more each month to pay off your debt entirely before interest starts accruing.
This is fine if your finances allow you to allocate more money toward the balance, but if you’re not able to do that, paying the balance transfer fee to get a longer promotion might be the better choice. There are a handful of balance transfer cards without balance transfer fees available if you can pay down your debt in the time allotted.
Introductory APR on purchases
The Citi Simplicity Card introductory APR covers purchases as well, meaning you can prevent interest charges on your new purchases rather than on transferred balances. But this option gives you much less time to pay off your balance: The introductory 0% APR on purchases lasts for 12 months, and then you will be subject to an 18.74% to 29.49% variable APR after that. But because the Citi Simplicity doesn’t feature any rewards, it’d be best to use another card for purchases.
Instead, consider pairing this card with a flat-rate rewards card with no annual fee, like the Citi® Double Cash Card or Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card.
You can use the Simplicity to help eliminate some credit card debt, and then use either of those cards to earn a return on necessary purchases like gas or groceries. The Active Cash even features an introductory 0% APR for purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 15 months from account opening (then 19.74%, 24.74% or 29.74% variable APR), so you’d be able to avoid interest charges on both the Simplicity and the Active Cash.
Other card benefits
The Citi Simplicity doesn’t offer much outside of the opportunity to utilize a balance transfer or finance a large, planned purchase (though another card would be the better choice for the latter).
There isn’t a welcome bonus or any rewards, and few other perks outside of the standard fraud protection. It’s an incredibly simple card best used to help alleviate the pressure you might be feeling from credit card debt.
Citi markets the card as having fewer fees than other cards, but it still has balance transfer fees, foreign transaction fees, penalty fees and cash advance fees to be aware of. However, so long as cardholders are making their payments on time, there shouldn’t be any issues.
Comparable cards
Consider these alternative cards to the Citi Simplicity. Each one brings something useful to the table, in addition to featuring balance transfer opportunities.
U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is a competitive balance transfer card. Similar to the Simplicity, U.S. Bank Visa Platinum has no annual fee and gives cardholders the opportunity to transfer a balance from another card and then pay it down at 0% introductory interest over 18 billing cycles (then 19.24% to 29.24% variable). It also features the same introductory APR offer for new purchases.
The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum’s balance transfer fee is 3% of the transfer or $5 minimum, which remains consistent regardless of when you transfer your balance, unlike with the Simplicity.
Cardholders will get a few extra perks with the U.S. Bank card, including cell phone insurance (so long as they pay their phone bill with the card) that protects against damage and theft, and the ability to check their VantageScore credit score from TransUnion.
For more details, see our full review of the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card.
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
The Wells Fargo Reflect Card is another good choice if you’re in the market for a balance transfer card. Cardholders get an intro 0% APR for purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 18 months from account opening (then 17.74% to 29.74% variable). However, you can extend that period by an additional three months -- for a total of up to 21 months from account opening -- if you make your minimum payments on time during the first 18 months.
It has an introductory balance transfer fee of 3% ($5 minimum) for 120 days from account opening before increasing to up to 5% ($5 minimum). Considering you need to initiate any transfers within the first 120 days from account opening, you’ll want to wait to apply for this card until you’re ready to make the balance transfer..
The Wells Fargo Reflect comes with cell phone protection against damage or theft (you’ll need to pay your phone bill with the card to qualify) and roadside dispatch, giving it a little more utility than the Simplicity. Other than that it’s pretty similar. So if you’re looking for a card that offers a few extra perks with a low introductory balance transfer fee, consider this card over the Simplicity.
How Citi Simplicity® Card compares to other cards
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.74% – 29.49% (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
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 19.24% – 29.24% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles 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
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 17.74% – 29.74% variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for up to 21 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
-
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
FAQs
It depends on the size of your balance and how high the APR is on the card you’re looking to transfer the balance from. In most cases, paying a balance transfer fee will likely be the best course of action as opposed to dealing with the cost of interest charges month after month.
According to Citi, it takes anywhere from two to 21 days to process a balance transfer. During that time, be sure you’re still paying the minimum monthly payment on the card you’re transferring the balance from to be sure there’s no lapse in payments.
If you’re unable to pay off a transferred balance within the given time frame, the balance will begin to accrue interest at the standard APR.
To make sure you can pay off the balance in time, divide the balance by the number of months you have to pay it off. For example, if you’re working on a balance of $3,000, and the intro balance transfer offer lasts for 18 months, divide 3,000 by 18. As long as you’re paying at least $167 monthly, you shouldn’t have any issues. However, if you want to be sure, pay a bit more than that.
*All information about 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.
