9 Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards (May 2026)

With the best 0% balance transfer credit cards, you can tackle existing credit card debt or make a large purchase without taking on the burden of high finance charges and fees. This is one of the most popular promotional offers in the credit card industry because it allows consumers to save money and achieve certain financial goals at the same time.

If you have a large purchase in your future or you currently have credit card debt that is stuck on a credit card with a high interest rate, consider applying for one of the cards listed below. You could save hundreds in finance charges over the life of your debt with a 0% introductory balance transfer card.

Credit card issuers offer intro APR rates and other limited-time offers to entice consumers to apply for credit cards. History has shown that this tactic works.

Banks often adjust their promotional offers based on competition and the current financial climate. If you spot an offer that catches your eye, consider acting on it when you’re ready. Remember, the regular APR kicks in after the introductory period. Here are our top-rated 0% introductory balance transfer cards:

In your review of the best 0% introductory balance transfer credit cards, consider the balance transfer fee you may have to pay to initiate the move. This typically equates to a percentage of the total amount of money you are moving to the new card.

The average balance transfer fee is approximately 3% to 5% of the transferred funds. While that may sound steep, it is actually very little when compared with how much you can save when you do not pay interest of 22% or more over the life of your promotional offer.

A 0% balance transfer credit card is essentially a regular credit card that comes with a special promotional offer for new applicants.

This promotional offer typically consists of interest-free financing on balance transfers for between six and 18 months. Some cards pair this with 0% financing on new purchases as well. Each bank has a unique offer, so the terms and length of the promotion will vary depending on the card you qualify for.

With this kind of promotion, you can shift the balance from your existing credit card—up to the limit provided by your new card—and pay down the balance during the promotional period without incurring interest or finance charges.

This is especially handy if your current balance is sitting on a credit card with a high interest rate. In this case, a large percentage of your monthly payment will go toward interest fees. But with a 0% balance transfer credit card, your payments will go toward your principal balance and pay your debt down faster.

Amount Transferred	3% Balance Transfer Fee	Interest Savings Over 12 Months
$1,000	$30	$200
$2,500	$75	$500
$5,000	$150	$1,000
$7,500	$225	$1,500
$10,000	$300	$2,000

Many credit cards with this promotional period also allow you to transfer the balances from multiple credit cards onto your new card — so long as you do not surpass your card’s credit limit. This form of consolidating debt is very popular among consumers who would rather not pay multiple monthly credit card bills.

Aside from your promotional period, a balance transfer credit card will work the same as any other unsecured credit card. You can use it to make online purchases, pay in-person charges, and carry a balance from one month to the next.

And while you will not have to pay an interest charge for the life of your promotion, this great deal will eventually end, and you will immediately begin accruing interest on the remaining balance you carry. That’s why it’s important to use your promotional period time wisely and pay off as much of the debt as you can.

Depending on your card, you may also have to pay an annual fee. Be sure to read your card’s terms and conditions carefully before you apply so you understand the rules regarding your promotional period. Doing so can eliminate any surprises down the road.

Just as with any other credit card, you have to apply to be approved. Just about every credit card in the marketplace allows consumers to apply online and receive a near-instant credit decision. By clicking the links to each card above, you can find the online application for the card you choose.

The application typically takes less than five minutes to complete. It will ask for your basic identifying information — including your name, address, phone number, email address, and Social Security number. It will also require verifiable income information so the bank can verify that you can afford to repay any debt you accrue with the credit card.

Once you submit your application, the bank will run a credit check to see your credit score and full credit history. Thanks to automated underwriting systems, this process takes a matter of seconds. In most cases, the bank will update your application page with a decision very quickly.

The bank will immediately tell you your new card’s credit limit upon approval. The card should arrive in the mail within seven to 10 business days. Your new card issuer may give you access to your new credit account right away via a temporary credit card number. If not, you will have to wait to receive your card and activate it to begin using it.

If the bank denies your application, you will receive an adverse action letter in the mail within seven to 10 business days. Banks are required by law to send these letters to consumers who have their applications rejected.

The letter will detail the reasons why the bank did not accept your application. In some cases, the letter will also provide tips on ways to improve your credit standing so you have a better chance at approval down the road.

In some cases, the automated underwriting system will not be able to make a quick application decision. This could happen if there are misspellings or inconsistencies on your application. The bank may also require more information from you to make a final decision.

If this happens, the bank will place your application on hold for 30 days and give you a list of the documentation it needs to finalize its decision. If you do not provide the information within the 30-day window, your application will be voided and you will have to start a new application all over again at a later date.

Something to keep in mind when you are applying for credit cards is the number of inquiries you have on your credit report.

The lender will run a credit check every time you formally apply for a= credit card or any other type of loan. To access your credit history, the lender places a hard inquiry on your credit report. This inquiry lives on your credit file for two years.

A few inquiries are fine, but when you start to accumulate several inquiries within a short period, lenders may see you as desperate for money and be less likely to approve your application. You could also see a slight dip in your credit score if you acquire too many inquiries.

Typically, three inquiries are seen as acceptable. Beyond that, you might enter a gray area that lenders tend to avoid.

Balance transfers can have both a short-term and long-term positive effect on your credit score. The impact occurs for multiple reasons.

When you open a new credit card, it increases your available credit, which can improve your credit utilization rate—provided you don’t immediately rack up a large balance.

To figure out your credit utilization rate, simply divide the total of your current credit card balances by the total credit limit available to you from all your credit card issuers.

So, for example, if you have a credit card with a $2,000 credit limit, and you have a $1,000 balance on that card, you have a credit utilization rate of 50% — meaning that you are using 50% of your available credit.

If you add a new credit card — in this case, a balance transfer credit card — with a $1,000 limit, you increase your available credit to $3,000. In this case, your credit utilization rate will decrease from 50% to 33%.

The amount you owe accounts for 30% of your FICO credit score. The lower your utilization rate — or the amount of debt you have — the better your credit score.

It’s crucial that you avoid piling on any new debt. Otherwise, your credit utilization rate could rise, leading to a potential drop in your credit score.

You can also boost your credit score by using your balance transfer offer to eliminate existing debt. Doing so reduces what you owe and can significantly improve your credit score.

And, since you won’t pay finance charges during the promotion, you can eliminate the debt faster and get your credit score back on track in a more orderly fashion. The key to maximizing your credit score benefits from a balance transfer is to avoid the temptation to spend because of the interest-free period.

Transferring a balance from an old credit card to a new one can be tempting. You might feel the urge to use the old, newly paid-off card to make purchases. But remember, doing so only perpetuates the cycle that originally led to debt.

On the other hand, you may be tempted to cancel the credit card that you just paid off through the balance transfer. When you close a credit card, you decrease your total available credit — thus increasing your credit utilization rate. You may also lower the average age of your credit accounts — a factor that makes up 15% of your credit score.

Unless you are paying an egregious annual fee on the old card, you are probably better served by locking it away and forgetting about it for a while. You may have to charge something to the card at least once every six months to a year to keep the account active.

Pay the charge as soon as it posts to your account and lock the card back up. Your credit score will thank you for it.

A 0% balance transfer credit card can be a very good idea — when used properly.

When you transfer your existing credit debt from a high-interest credit card to a new credit card with a 0% balance transfer offer, you give yourself time in which you can pay the debt down with no finance charges. This can save you a tremendous amount of money.

Let’s look at an example to understand how much you can save:

Many balance transfer credit cards charge a balance transfer fee to move money from one card to another. This fee typically equates to between 3% and 5% of your total amount transferred.

Even with this fee, you will still save a substantial amount of money — your $5,000 balance will equate to a fee of between $150 and $250. That is far less than the $859.86 you save in finance charges.

A balance transfer is only a good idea if you maintain discipline with your new credit card. Far too often, people put off paying down their balances until the end of the promotion. Even worse, they succumb to the temptation to place new charges onto their old credit cards that were paid off during the balance transfer.

The point of taking on a 0% balance transfer credit card is to eliminate debt. If you end your promotional period with more debt, all you did was make your financial situation more difficult to fix.

And with that added debt, you will decrease your chances of qualifying for a new balance transfer credit card to move the added debt to. That means you will be stuck with interest charges while you pay down the debt.

Balance transfer credit cards usually have no early payment penalty or other charges for paying off your balance early. You typically have between six and 18 months without interest charges to pay off new purchases or balance transfers. What you do with that window of opportunity is up to you.

Many consumers decide to spread the debt out into equal payments over the course of the promotion so they can eliminate the debt before the intro APR rate expires. Others may pay as much as they can each month with the hope of satisfying the debt early, while others may not be able to pay off the debt before the 0% rate expires.

Since some balance transfer cards provide interest-free financing for new purchases as well, you can continue to enjoy the lack of finance charges on new purchases for the remainder of the promotion — even if you pay off your balance transfer early.

The only catch is that most qualifying balance transfer promotions only apply to transfers initiated during a short window after you activate your card, usually up to 90 days after account opening. After that window expires, you will not be able to transfer money to the card and receive the 0% offer.

If you’re planning to pay off a qualifying balance transfer early, make sure to thoroughly research your chosen credit card offer before applying.

Under the CARD Act, the minimum time a card issuer can extend a 0% financing promotion is six months, though some offers extend as long as 18 months. We’ve seen 0% offers go for as long as 21 months.

Card issuers change their promotions monthly, so keep looking if you don’t see the right deal for you. Make sure you get as much bang for your buck as possible and apply for the card with the longest promotional period. That way, you can pay off your balance transfer early and enjoy the rest of the intro APR period on new purchases.

Balance transfer credit cards have few downsides. That said, you should consider a few things before you apply for one:

• Length of the promotional period: If you cannot pay the debt off in time, you will have to pay interest on the unpaid portion of the balance. A shorter promotional window may not leave you with much time to work with.
• The ongoing APR after the 0% rate expires: All good things must come to an end — and this includes promotional offers. Once your promo expires, your card will transition to the ongoing variable APR for as long as you maintain the account. If the card has a high interest rate, you may find yourself paying more than you should for any balance you carry over. Plus, if the new card has a higher interest rate than your old card, you could wind up in worse shape if you do not pay the transferred balance off on time.
• Other fees charged by the bank: Aside from a balance transfer fee that usually equates to 3% to 5% of your transferred amount, you may have to pay an annual fee or other maintenance charges for your new credit card. Take this into consideration, as annual fees will continue long after your promotional period expires.
• Deferred interest: This is a biggie. Your balance transfer credit card may charge two types of interest, one of which could cost you a lot more than the other. Deferred interest means that the card issuer will freeze interest on the debt during the promotional period. If you do not pay the debt off within the promo period, you will be charged all of the interest accrued during that period. So, if you transfer $5,000 to a new card and pay off $4,999 during the promotional period, you will still have to pay interest on the full $5,000 because you did not eliminate all of the debt in time. The more common form of interest will only charge you finance charges on the portion of the balance you did not pay off in time — though you may have a higher balance transfer APR than your variable APR for new purchases. While you should always try to pay off all of your debt before the end of the promotional period, it is far more advisable to pay interest on the unpaid portion of your balance transfer than on the whole amount.

Don’t let the possible downsides of a balance transfer deter you from considering one of the top 0% balance transfer credit cards. These cards can help you tackle your debt more quickly and achieve financial independence sooner than if you were paying interest on your balances.

Most balance transfers will take up to three weeks to complete, but this depends on the bank issuing your new card and the bank that receives the funds from the balance transfer.

When you initiate a balance transfer, the bank that issues your new credit card sends transferred money to your old credit card to pay all or part of your balance. This takes time to complete. Once the bank that issues your old card receives the funds, it can take a few more days for the bank to reflect the payments on your account.

Each bank handles balance transfers and payments differently and at different speeds. Here’s a breakdown of how long the major credit card issuing banks say they need to complete a balance transfer, according to their websites:

• American Express: A minimum of five to seven business days and a maximum of six weeks
• Barclays: Up to four weeks
• Bank of America: Up to two weeks
• Capital One: Between three and 14 days
• Chase: Between one and three weeks
• Citi: Up to two weeks
• Discover: Between one and two weeks
• U.S. Bank: Up to two weeks
• Wells Fargo: Between one and five business days

While these time frames are just estimates, some banks might process your balance transfer much quicker. In fact, some reviewers have noted transfers being completed in just a few business days.

No matter how long your balance transfer takes, make sure that you continue to make your on-time monthly minimum payment during the process.

Your old credit account will still require payment until your balance is reflected as $0. If you do not make your monthly minimum payment during the balance transfer process, you will be subject to a late fee and the negative credit score reporting that comes from a late payment.

If the payment you make, combined with your balance transfer, results in you paying more than you owe, your credit card issuer will send you a refund for the overage.

To avoid this potential issue, you can consider scheduling your balance transfer at the beginning of a billing cycle in hopes that you can clear your balance before the next bill is due.

Just keep in mind that most card balance transfer offers only work for balances transferred within a short window after you activate your card. This means that you may get as many as 18 months of interest-free financing, but only on balances transferred within six months of your card’s activation.

The length of your promotion will depend on the card you apply for. Check with the card issuer before applying to get a clearer idea of how long you have to transfer your balance and still enjoy the promotional rate.

You have to consider a balance transfer fee when calculating the savings you would gain when taking advantage of a 0% balance credit card transfer offer.

While the lack of interest charges can save you thousands — depending on the amount of your current credit card balances — you may still have to pay hundreds of dollars to transfer the balances to your new card.

A balance transfer fee typically equates to approximately 3% of 5% of the total amount of money you transfer. While that is substantially lower than the interest rate you will likely pay if you keep the balance on your current card, it is still an expense that you may not want to pay.

Sometimes, you can negotiate with your credit card issuer to lower or waive the fee. Here are some tips that could help you succeed in these negotiations:

• Call the card issuer and ask the representative if the bank has any current offers or deals that may eliminate your balance transfer fee. If the bank does not, ask to be transferred to a supervisor. Most call center representatives do not have the authority to waive fees. Speaking directly with a supervisor who can will increase your odds of success.
• Leverage your credit history in negotiations. Banks like as little risk as possible when lending money. If you have good credit or excellent credit, you may be able to use that to your advantage if you say that the credit card balance transfer fee is a dealbreaker in your applying for the card.
• Research the competition. If you see a competing bank offering free or reduced balance transfer fees, mention that to the supervisor on the phone. In many cases, these employees have the authority to match a competitor’s promotion.
• Negotiate in person. If the bank that issues your credit card has a local branch near you, head down there and speak to a loan officer. Many consumers do not realize that a loan officer has the authority to reduce or erase fees as well. Sometimes, putting a face to a voice can help you in negotiations.

If all else fails, you can either decide to apply for a different credit card, pay the balance transfer fee with your card of choice, or consider another option for eliminating your debt. This could include a consolidation loan or personal loan that rolls all of your debts — credit card or otherwise — into one loan.

Just remember these loans charge interest from the day you sign for the loan. That makes them a more expensive option than paying a credit card balance transfer fee for access to a 0% balance transfer credit card.

Credit card companies design their promotions based on the latest market trends. These offers typically change every few months to stay competitive.

The length of your introductory APR offer will vary depending on your credit card. By law, a card issuer has to provide at least six months of 0% APR during an interest-free promotion.

The exception to this is if the cardholder is more than 30 days late on a payment. In that case, the credit card company can cancel the offer altogether.

Some card issuers will extend the introductory APR promotion for as long as 18 months. On a few rare occasions, some banks may even offer up to 24 months of interest-free financing.

But the length of your promotion is not the only potential difference between different offers. You may also find:

• Your 0% APR may not be for everything. Oftentimes, the promotion applies to new purchases and qualifying balance transfer transactions. The offer will rarely apply to any cash advances and you likely will not accrue any rewards for funds you transfer.
• Your 0% APR offer could be canceled. Banks treat late payments differently. Some may cancel your promotional offer if you are late by 30 days or more with a payment. Other banks may allow you to continue with the promo, but impose a hefty fee for the late payment.
• You may not be able to transfer all of your balances over. Different cards will offer different credit limits — and some banks will also limit the amount you can move in a balance transfer. Just because a credit card gives you a $10,000 credit limit does not mean you can transfer over $10,000 in balances from other cards. You may find that your balance transfer limit is substantially less than your new purchase credit limit.
• Your interest charges will vary after the promotion expires: Some banks only offer deferred interest. This means that you will pay interest on all of the money you transfer over if you do not pay the debt in full during the promotional time frame. So if you transfer $10,000 over and pay all but a dollar of it off during the promotion, you will still have to pay interest on the entire $10,000. Other banks may only charge you for the amount of debt you did not pay off in time.

Never make assumptions when dealing with finances. Banks have different methods of making money, but each views you as a customer — not an individual.

With that in mind, you should protect yourself by carefully researching any credit card you consider applying for. Do not assume that the rates and terms are the same across the board. That type of mistake only brings on more debt and even more regrets.

There is no rule that states you can not transfer your unpaid balance to a new credit card after your current balance transfer offer expires.

If you have a large balance currently sitting on a high-interest credit card, you may need more than six to 18 months to eliminate the debt. If that’s the case, you may want to maximize your time frame by utilizing a balance transfer credit card and paying down as much of the debt as possible during your promotion.

If you have remaining debt once the promotion expires, you can either begin paying interest on that amount while you pay it down or move it over to a new balance transfer credit card that offers a fresh promotional window. Just remember that to transfer your existing balance to a new balance transfer credit card, you have to qualify for that new credit card.

If you frequently open credit cards or carry high balances on your current cards, you might find it challenging to qualify for a new card when you need it. This could also affect your eligibility for certain balance transfer promotions.

Capital One, for instance, does not allow you to transfer balances from one Capital One card to another card issued by the same bank. Plus, Capital One only allows you to have two of its cards active at one time. If you already have two Capital One cards, the bank will reject your application for a third — no matter how great your credit.

Other banks may also limit how often you can take advantage of new customer promotions.

Wells Fargo has, perhaps, the vaguest of all balance transfer rules. According to the bank:

“You may not be eligible for introductory annual percentage rates, fees, and/or bonus rewards offers if you opened a Wells Fargo Credit card within the last 15 months from the date of this application and you received introductory APR(s), fees, and/or bonus rewards offers, even if that account is closed and has a $0 balance.”

In a nutshell, you can keep transferring your balance to new cards until the debt is cleared. Just be sure you qualify for the promotion—and the card—before you delay paying off the debt by the end of your current promotional period.

In most cases, you will start accruing interest on the remaining part of the balance at the rate of your regular purchase APR. Your first interest charges will appear on the first statement you receive following the end of your promotion period.

However, some credit cards charge a trickier form of interest that can cost you a lot of money if you are not prepared for it. Deferred interest is somewhat rare, but not impossible to find when looking at credit balance transfer promotional offers.

In essence, deferred interest freezes your interest charges but continues to calculate them in the background. If you pay off the entirety of your balance transfer debt during the promotional period, the bank will waive all of the interest charges. If you do not pay it all off — even if it is just a few cents left unpaid — the bank will add all of the interest charges that accrued in the background to your remaining balance. That means you never saved any money at all.

Many people enter a balance transfer promotion without fully grasping the type of interest the issuer might charge. As the promotion nears its end, they might struggle to pay off the debt, assuming they’ll only incur interest on the remaining balance.

It’s quite a shock for many when they discover hundreds of dollars in interest charges have accumulated during what they believed was an interest-free period.

Before you apply for a balance transfer credit card, make certain that you understand the terms of the interest you are charged by the bank. Also, ask the bank what will happen if you do not pay the debt off during the promotional window.

Use a balance transfer calculator to determine the minimum payment you must make each month to pay the debt off during the promotion. If you cannot afford that payment, you may want to consider a different option for consolidating your debt. If you can afford it, make sure you stick to the plan and remain diligent in your payments.

You will not pay interest on the funds you transfer during the promotional period if you have a 0% balance transfer credit card. That window can range from six to as many as 18 months or longer. The length of your promotion will depend on the card you apply for.

If you do not have a 0% APR promotion for balance transfers, you will begin accruing interest charges as soon as the funds are transferred to your new account.

Remember that some credit cards charge a different interest rate for new purchases than they do for balance transfers. Without a promotional period, you could pay a higher APR for your balance transfer than you would for everyday purchases, though this isn’t very common. And if that’s the case, a balance transfer may not be worth it — especially when you factor in the balance transfer fee.

Although you may like the thought of making one monthly payment instead of multiple payments to different credit card issuers, the convenience could cost you a lot more if the balance transfer interest rate on your new card is higher than the ongoing variable APR on your current card.

As we mentioned in the question above, your bank could charge you two different forms of interest once your 0% APR promotion expires. One form is a traditional ongoing APR that charges you for any portion of the transferred funds you did not pay off during the promo period. Deferred interest will charge you interest for your entire balance transfer amount — including the portion you paid off.

Your best bet is to pay off your entire debt during your 0% APR promotional period. That way, you will not have to worry about interest charges or other hidden fees.

Each credit card issuer has its own specific guidelines for balance transfers and the amount you can transfer from your existing cards to a new one.

In some cases, you can transfer as much as your credit limit will allow — minus the balance transfer fee.

Other cards may set your balance transfer limit well below your credit limit. Part of the reasoning for this rule is that the bank cannot make any money off a customer if they max the new card out with an interest-free balance transfer.

The hope is that you will transfer your balances over and continue to make new purchases on the card. Even if you also have a 0% promotional period for new purchases, the bank can still make money on your charges via transaction fees. There are no such fees when you transfer a balance — aside from the initial balance transfer fee.

Even if you are not given enough room on your new credit card to transfer all of your existing credit card debt, you can still transfer a portion of it over to the new card to receive interest-free financing. The remaining balance will still earn interest on your old card, but you will accrue less interest with a smaller balance.

You have a short window after initiating a balance transfer in which you can cancel the transaction. According to HelpWithMyBank.gov:

“Generally, you have at least 10 days after the bank sent the account-opening disclosures (not the day you received them) to call the bank and stop the balance transfer.”

This window can vary depending on your bank. Some banks, including Wells Fargo, process balance transfer requests within four to seven business days. A bank like Capital One could process it in as little as three days.

Once your transfer request is approved and the funds are sent to your old credit card, there’s no turning back—you can’t cancel the transaction.

Please note that some credit card issuers may still charge you a balance transfer fee or cancellation fee if you void your transaction while it is processing.

A balance transfer essentially means your new credit card company is sending money to your old credit card issuer to pay off some or all of your balance. You will then pay the new bank in installments.

Two things happen to your credit cards when you transfer a balance: The new card gains the debt, and the old card loses it. If you have a $3,000 balance on your existing card and do a $3,000 balance transfer to a new card, the new card will have a balance of $3,000 (plus any balance transfer fees,) and your old card will have a balance of $0.

If you have that same $3,000 card and only initiate a balance transfer for $2,000, your new card will have a balance of $2,000 (plus any balance transfer fees), and your old card will retain a balance of $1,000.

Even if you completely pay the old card off through your balance transfer, the account will remain open, and the card will stay active.

A lot of folks think it’s a smart move to close the account once it’s paid off and seemingly unnecessary. However, that’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make right after a balance transfer.

Tip: Keep your old account open to help your credit utilization ratio and credit scores.

Approximately 30% of your credit score is based on the amount of money you owe in relation to the total amount of credit issued to you. This is also called your credit utilization rate. When you cancel a paid-off credit card, you lower the amount of credit available to you. This instantly increases your credit utilization rate and can drastically lower your credit score.

Instead of canceling the account, lock the card up in a lockbox, and keep the account open. Taking it out of your wallet will limit your temptation to spend, but keeping the account active will still give you positive credit score benefits.

Just remember that most credit card issuers can cancel an account that has no activity on it within a six- or 12-month period. You can keep your account active by placing a small charge on it every six months and paying it off as soon as the charge posts to your account.

That may seem like a hassle to remember, but the small bit of work is worth the benefits you will receive on your credit report.

You may not be able to change your entire financial profile by adding one of the best 0% balance transfer credit cards to your wallet — but you can come close to it.

With one of the cards listed above, you can move your debt from an existing high-interest credit card over to a card that provides interest-free financing for a limited time. You can eliminate all or part of your credit card debt without paying the hefty finance charges that keep people in a continuous debt cycle.

Even a $5,000 balance transfer paid off over 18 months could save you nearly $900 in finance charges. That’s money you can put toward other debts — or a congratulatory treat for yourself. Vacation, anyone?