For most people paying off debt, the Citi Diamond Preferred® Card offers one of the longest 0% intro APR periods on balance transfers available — 21 months — for a 5% ($5 minimum) transfer fee and no annual fee. If you want a long 0% period on new purchases too, not just transfers, the BankAmericard® card matches it with 21 billing cycles on both.
Terms verified July 24, 2026 against issuers' own pages, cross-checked against NerdWallet, Bankrate, and CNBC Select. A balance transfer only saves money if you actually pay it off inside the 0% window — the fee is worth it in exchange for stopping interest, not free money.
How the top balance transfer cards compare
| Card | Rating | 0% intro APR (transfers) | Transfer fee | Annual fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Diamond Preferred® PartnerBest for: longest 0% window | ★★★★★4.6 | 21 months | 5% ($5 min) | $0 | See offer |
| BankAmericard® PartnerBest for: 0% on transfers and purchases | ★★★★☆4.5 | 21 billing cycles | 3% intro (first 60 days), then 5% | $0 | See offer |
| Citi Simplicity® CardBest for: no late fees, no penalty APR | ★★★★☆4.3 | ~21 months (check current offer) | ~5% ($5 min) | $0 | Visit site |
| Discover it® Cash BackBest for: earning rewards while you pay it down | ★★★★☆4.2 | ~18 months (check current offer) | 3% intro, then 5% | $0 | See our review |
Balance transfer cards generally require good to excellent credit. Ratings are Wealthward's own — see methodology below.
The math that makes a balance transfer worth it
- Compare the transfer fee to the interest you'd otherwise pay. A 5% one-time fee to escape a 24% APR is almost always a good trade if you can pay off the balance within the intro window — run your own numbers with our debt payoff calculator.
- Set up autopay for at least the minimum immediately. Missing a payment can void the promotional 0% rate entirely on some cards, instantly erasing the benefit.
- Don't keep spending on the old card. A balance transfer without a change in spending habits just moves the debt — it doesn't solve it.
Our pick for most people
If you want one simple answer: Citi Diamond Preferred's 21-month 0% window on transfers gives you the most realistic runway to actually pay off a balance without the pressure of a shorter deadline.
See Citi Diamond Preferred's offerRun your actual payoff timeline with our debt payoff calculator before applying.
How we chose these cards
We compared the length of the 0% intro APR period against the transfer fee cost, using issuers' own pages cross-checked against NerdWallet, Bankrate, and CNBC Select as of July 24, 2026. We did not rank by commission size.
Frequently asked questions
Opening a new card triggers a hard inquiry and a small temporary dip, similar to any new account. Longer term, moving debt to a new card can actually help your score by lowering utilization on your old card, as long as you don't run up new balances on it.
Any remaining balance starts accruing interest at the card's regular ongoing APR, which is often in the 18-29% range — so it's worth tracking your payoff timeline against the deadline, not just making minimum payments and hoping.
Usually no — most issuers don't allow balance transfers between their own cards (for example, you generally can't transfer a Citi balance to another Citi card). Balance transfers work between different issuers.