Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards

The best balance transfer credit cards have grown to become a typical part of most consumers’ financial strategy over the past several years. With the average American household carrying $6,735 in credit card debt as of June 2025, it’s only natural to look for a way to decrease the cost of eliminating that debt.

When you set up the right balance transfer plan, you can potentially clear your existing high-interest credit card debt without incurring finance charges. But with so many balance transfer offers available, how can you pick the best one? Here’s what you need to know.

The concept is certainly simple enough — you move your existing balances from your current credit cards to a new credit card account with a lower interest rate — which, hopefully, saves you some money in the process. But beyond that, you should become familiar with a number of other details before pulling the trigger on this type of credit card offer.

1. What is a Balance Transfer Credit Card?

As the name implies, a balance transfer credit card offers a straightforward way to shift existing debt from an old credit card with a high interest rate to a new one with a lower rate. If you have multiple balances, it can also serve as a form of debt consolidation by allowing you to move them to a single card.

But these cards aren’t only for balance transfers. They function like any other credit card that allows you to make new purchases, so long as you have the available credit limit to cover the purchase.

Just about any credit card will allow a balance transfer that fits within your available credit limit. What sets the cards on this list apart is that they have special promotional periods for new cardholders that let you transfer your existing balance over to the new card, while paying the debt down without interest charges for a set period of time (typically between six and 18 months). It is a smart means of debt consolidation for those who qualify for 0% interest.

2. How Do You Transfer a Balance to a New Card?

The process of moving your existing balances from an old card to a new card is not difficult, though it may vary slightly from one card issuer to the next. Once you have been approved for a new account, you can contact your new credit card issuer online or over the phone to begin the process.

Before reaching out to your card issuer, it is helpful to gather all of the information you will need in advance.

Make a list of the accounts you want to transfer balances from, including account numbers and amounts for each card. When you contact your new card issuer, be sure to mention your interest in their 0% (or low APR) introductory balance transfer offer.

A customer service rep should be able to walk you through the process step by step. Once the request has been approved, the ball will be in your new card issuer’s court. The new issuer will generally contact your existing credit card company/companies to arrange to pay the amount(s) you have specified.

If your old balances are fully paid off with the transfer, any future payments will go to your new card issuer. However, if the transfer only covers part of your old debt, you’ll need to make monthly payments to both your new and old creditors.

A common pitfall during the balance transfer process is that folks often stop paying on the account they’re transferring from. Remember, these transfers can take a while to finalize.

If you have a monthly payment due while the balance transfer is still taking place — and you don’t pay it — you may face a late fee and damage to your credit score.

The time it takes to complete your credit card balance transfer depends on your new card’s issuer and the bank you’re transferring your old balance from. Based on our research with major credit card issuers, here’s what you can expect regarding the transfer timeline:

American Express: five to 7 business days
Barclays: Up to three weeks
Capital One: Between three and 14 business days
Citi: Between two and 21 business days
Discover: Between four and 14 business days
Chase: Between seven and 21 business days

Keep these time frames in mind when planning your credit card balance transfer strategy. If any payment you make during the transfer exceeds the amount you owe, the credit card company will issue a refund after the balance transfer is complete.

3. What is a Balance Transfer Promotional Period?

You might be tempted by a low introductory interest rate on a balance transfer, but keep in mind these rates only last for a specific time. The promotional periods can vary greatly, depending on the issuer and the specific offer. This period is often called the grace period or promo period.

In general, you can expect to enjoy your lower intro APR on a balance transfer for somewhere between six and 18 months, although the Citi Simplicity® Card currently offers 0% 18 months on Balance Transfers. Six months is the minimum term a card issuer may apply to an intro APR offer, per the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (formerly known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or CFPB).

Once the promotional period has ended, you will be charged your new account’s regular interest rate on any balance left over from your initial transfer of funds.

You should also become aware of the phrase retroactive interest, also called deferred interest. Read the fine print of your new credit card and make sure that there is not a provision that allows the card issuer to charge you interest retroactively to the day you opened the card in the event you have not been able to pay off the balance, in full, by the end of the promotional period.

If you know your new card will charge retroactive interest, make sure to pay it off completely before the promotional period ends.

4. How Can Balance Transfer Cards Help with Credit Card Debt?

For many people, credit card debt is the most expensive debt they will ever service. A balance transfer card can lower your interest rate to zero so you can pay off your debt more quickly — and much more affordably.

The average interest rate on a general use credit card is above 17%, and interest rates on retail store credit cards are almost always well above the 20% range. And while you may be focused on the impact of credit card debt to your wallet, the debt has the ability to cost you money in a variety of ways, including interest fees and lower credit scores.

Here is the estimated minimum credit card APR based on FICO Score)

Credit Tier	FICO Credit Score Range	Estimated APR
Excellent	Above 720	10%-13%
Good	680-720	14%-17%
Average	620-679	18%-21%
Poor	580-619	22%-25%
Bad	Below 580	>25%

A balance transfer is a tool you can use to pay down expensive credit card debt at a lower rate. With a balance transfer, you can pay off existing credit cards or high-interest rate loans with the funds available on a newly opened credit card account.

Consolidating more expensive debt onto a new, lower-interest card can potentially save you a lot of money in interest fees.

Better yet, a balance transfer may also have a positive impact on your credit scores, which we’ll address next. A bonus also worth noting is that consolidating multiple debts onto a new, single account may make managing your monthly payments and your debt elimination strategies a bit easier.

Still, you have to do a balance transfer for the right reasons for it to benefit you financially. If you are simply borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, or in other words, using a balance transfer to make ends meet, it is most likely a bad idea.

Also, if you feel like you can’t commit to aggressively paying off the credit card debt on the new account, you may want to think twice before filling out any new applications for credit.

5. How Do You Find the Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards?

Applying for promotional balance transfer cards just to find out which one gives you the best terms is not a wise financial move. You’d be loading up your credit reports with damaging inquiries and new accounts that will certainly lower the average age of your credit, neither of which is good for your credit scores.

Before applying for a balance transfer card, it’s wise to thoroughly research your options. Doing your homework in advance can ensure you make the right choice.

Online research is the easiest way to find the best available deals on balance transfer credit card offers at any time. When searching for the best offer, pay close attention to all applicable fees, terms, and conditions including:

• Introductory APR and balance transfer APR
• Balance transfer fees
• When your low introductory rate expires
• What your new APR will be on the remaining balances after the intro rate ends
• Credit limits and any maximum transfer caps that may be set by the issuing bank

The comparison boxes provided above can give you a good idea of the terms of the best balance transfer credit cards without your actually having to apply for any of them.

Keep in mind that you can also leverage prequalification forms through many of the biggest credit card issuers. These forms will run a soft credit check on your account that won’t leave a hard inquiry behind. Based on the data provided, the credit card issuer can often make a non-binding decision on whether you qualify for the card before you officially apply.

While prequalification doesn’t guarantee card approval, it usually indicates a good chance once you submit your official application.

6. How Do Balance Transfers Impact Your Credit Scores?

The impact a balance transfer has on your credit scores is going to depend on a variety of factors. Also, because no two people have the exact same credit reports, a new balance transfer may not affect your credit scores the exact same way it affects my credit scores.

Those statements aside, a balance transfer can be a positive move from a credit scoring perspective in many cases. Credit scoring models like VantageScore and FICO heavily consider the balances on your credit card accounts. More specifically, they consider how the credit card balances displayed on your reports relate to your available credit limits.

The higher your balances relative to your credit limits, the higher your credit utilization rate (or ratio), will be. That’s not good for your scores.

A lower credit utilization ratio will often impact your credit scores positively. Provided you leave your existing credit card account(s) open and you don’t run up additional credit card debt, a new balance transfer card should lower your revolving utilization ratio — a potential win-win for both your credit scores and your wallet.

Here’s an example of how to calculate CUR for someone who has three credit cards and a $10,000 overall credit limit:

	Card A	Card B	Card C	Overall
Balance	$500	$0	$2,150	$2,650
Credit Limit	$2,000	$3,000	$5,000	$10,000
Utilization Ratio	25%	0%	43%	26.50%

Opening a new balance transfer card could have a negative impact on your scores a couple of ways, albeit probably only slightly. First, when a lender pulls one of your credit reports as part of the application for your new account, a hard inquiry will be recorded on that report.

That hard inquiry might slightly lower your credit scores linked to that specific report. Generally, a single inquiry isn’t a big concern from a credit scoring standpoint. But if you go overboard and apply for numerous balance transfer cards within a short span, multiple inquiries will have a more significant negative effect on your score.

Opening a new account of any kind can lower the average age of accounts on your credit reports. From a scoring perspective, older accounts generally contribute positively to your credit score.

Lowering this average account age could have a slightly negative impact on your credit scores. And, if you open several cards in a short period, you’ll lower the average age of your accounts considerably.

Despite the factors discussed above, a balance transfer commonly has a positive overall credit score impact. Of course, for any positive impact to stick it is important to lower the amount of your credit card debt.

7. Can You Transfer a Balance to an Existing Credit Card Account?

Although most people associate balance transfer offers with only newly opened credit card accounts, you may be able to take advantage of a balance transfer to your existing credit card account as well.

In fact, if you have an open credit card account with a large available credit limit, your credit card issuer may even offer you lower-interest balance transfer promotions from time to time.

If you want to find out if any of your card issuers have current transfer offers available for existing customers, try giving your credit card’s customer service department a call. You can find the number on the back of your card.

Remember to thoroughly evaluate any introductory balance transfer offer from your current credit card company as carefully as you would a new issuer’s offer. It’s crucial to ensure the offer is financially sound, taking into account any fees and restrictions that may apply.

8. How Do You Determine the Terms and Conditions of an Introductory Interest Rate?

When it comes to credit cards, there are a number of laws that protect consumers. The Truth In Lending Act (TILA), enacted in 1968, requires lenders to disclose the terms of credit in a standardized way to help consumers better understand what they are signing up for when they apply for a loan or credit card.

When you are considering a new balance transfer card, the terms and conditions associated with the account should be available on the card issuer’s website. The card offer page will generally feature the highlights of the card itself, often including some information about select terms and conditions of the card such as the annual fee, rewards on net purchases or cash back incentives, and the potential range of the annual percentage rate.

Despite the fact that most cardholders don’t read their cardholder agreements, you should at least take the time to become somewhat familiar with them. The full terms and conditions of the offer, including those pertaining to any introductory rates, may be available only through a separate link on the card issuer’s website. And, in some cases, they’ll be mailed to you.

If you have difficulty locating the terms and conditions on a credit card offer, you can always call the issuing bank with questions before applying. Also, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (formerly known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or “CFPB”) maintains a database of credit card agreements from hundreds of different card issuers at consumerfinance.gov.

9. Do You Need Excellent Credit for a Low-Interest Credit Card Offer?

Low-interest cards and qualifying balance transfer deals are normally reserved for consumers who have good credit or excellent credit scores. You will likely need to have good-to-excellent credit if you hope to qualify.

Lenders typically will not extend their most attractive promotional balance transfer offers to consumers they consider to be high-risk applicants, as indicated by their lower credit scores.

Now and then you may come across a balance transfer offer marketed to consumers with fair credit ratings. However, these promotional deals typically are not quite as sweet as the promos you may land if you had good credit, and they may have extra fees, such as a high annual fee.

If your credit rating is not great right now, it’s wise to focus on improving your creditworthiness before applying for new low-interest card offers. Applying for prime credit card offers with a subprime score is almost certain to lead to rejection.

And, to add insult to injury, the credit inquiry may lower your credit score even more.

10. What is a Balance Transfer Fee?

Most balance transfers involve a small transaction fee, typically ranging from $5 to $15, especially for transferring a minor balance that might otherwise have a lower fee. These fees are set by the card issuer for the new account.

Calculate carefully to ensure that moving your outstanding balance to the new account is financially beneficial. Balance transfer fees can reduce your potential savings. However, the bright side is that these fees may not be as impactful if your new card comes with a 0% promotional period.

Before you decide against getting a balance transfer card due to the fee, consider that the card’s benefits are likely to outweigh the costs significantly.

In many cases, balance transfers can save you money despite a transfer fee, but don’t take that for granted — crunch the numbers yourself first.

Here is a look at the potential balance transfer savings for a 0% APR offer vs. a credit card with a 20% APR over 12 months:

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

Let’s say, for example, the balance transfer fee is going to be $75 for transferring a $1,500 balance with a 5% fee. At 17% APR, you’d pay over $1,100 in interest over the life of the card if you just paid the minimum each month.

That’s the value of zero-interest balance transfer cards, you can avoid paying an enormous amount of interest if you’re disciplined and pay off the debt as soon as possible.

11. Can You Earn Cash Back or Rewards on Balance Transfers?

Although every issuer sets its own policies, you typically cannot qualify for cash back, miles, or rewards points on balance transfers. Credit card issuers almost always include language in their agreements that exclude balance transfers from earning rewards or qualifying for a signup bonus and instead limit rewards only to new qualifying purchases.

You typically cannot qualify for cash back, miles, or rewards points on balance transfers.

If you think about it, you likely received some form of credit card rewards when you first incurred the debt. Getting rewarded for it again, without making a new purchase, doesn’t really make sense for the new issuer. If you want to qualify for rewards and signup bonuses, you will likely have to rely on new purchases rather than balance transfers to earn such perks from your card issuer.

Not all credit card transactions qualify for rewards. A cash advance is an example of a transaction that does not qualify because a cash advance is a withdrawal from your credit limit — you’re not making a qualifying purchase.

But here’s my disclaimer: You never know until you ask, and the phone call is free. It’s certainly not illegal for a card issuer to give you rewards on the qualifying balance transfer amount, it’s just not good business for it to do so.

Contact your card issuer and suggest transferring your balance in return for rewards. The worst that can happen is the customer service agent says no. However, don’t let this be your sole deciding factor, as their response might not meet your expectations.

12. Do Balance Transfer Credit Cards Require a Monthly Payment?

When you transfer an existing balance from one credit card account to another, you will be required to make at least the minimum payment due on the account each billing cycle moving forward to avoid incurring an interest charge and late fee during the promotional period.

Of course, for you to really benefit financially from a balance transfer, you should plan to follow a much more aggressive repayment schedule.

If you transfer $5,000 onto a credit card with no interest for 12 months, it’s wise to make payments of at least $417 each month. Otherwise, you might end up with a balance at the end of the low-interest period—a balance that could then incur higher interest rates. Plus, you might face a retroactive interest charge on the full $5,000 if it’s not fully paid off by the end of the promotional term.

Most of the really good balance transfer cards will offer you 0% interest on both the balance transfer amount and new purchases, but they will not offer you $0 payment required. And, frankly, if you’re looking for a deal that allows you to avoid payments, you’re swimming in dangerous waters.

Before you decide which card you want to apply for, be certain that you understand the full time frame for the card’s interest-free promotion. At times, a card may offer two different 0% APR windows — such as 18 months for new purchases and six months for balance transfers. Don’t assume that the window is the same for both types of transactions.

Credit card companies are not in business to be altruistic. They’re in business to make money. Zero-interest balance transfer cards have become popular and almost every bank offers them because they are profitable.

Balance transfer cards are designed to look like a fantastic deal for you. And, when used wisely, they truly are a great deal.

But, if you are fortunate enough to qualify for a balance transfer card and then you rack up a much higher balance or you miss payments or you charge up the pre-existing card, then you’re going to find yourself in trouble twice over.

13. What Happens if You Make a Late Payment on a Balance Transfer Credit Card?

This is a very bad idea. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with a new balance transfer card is to miss your payments. Credit card issuers will generally revoke your low introductory interest rate if you make a late payment during the promotional period.

According to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s website, “The introductory APR has to stay in effect for at least six months, unless you are more than 60 days late on a payment.”

You might be offered an introductory rate on a new card or for a balance transfer. The introductory rate has to stay in effect for at least six months, unless you are more than 60 days late on a payment. — CFPB

If you make late payments, your card issuer might charge a late fee. These fees can be up to $27 for the first offense and as much as $38 if you’re late again within the next six billing cycles.

To add insult to injury, if you fall a full two payments behind, your card issuer can hike your interest rate on your existing balances, which often hovers near 30%.

Make it a point to always pay your minimum payments on time, no matter what. Missing payments, whether it’s a balance transfer card or another credit type, never leads to anything good.

14. Do You Need to Pay Off Your Full Balance Before the End of the Promotional Period?

If you want to get the most bang for your buck, then, by all means, you should aim to pay off your full balance before the end of the intro period. Failing to eliminate your credit card balance during the promotional period negates some of your potential savings from a lower-rate or 0% introductory APR.

Not only can paying off your full credit card balance save you the most potential money, but once the account shows a zero balance on your credit reports, it will bring your balance-to-limit ratios on the card down to 0%. This is great for your credit scores.

Clearing the balance by the end of the promotional period also removes any chance you’ll have to pay retroactive interest from the day you initially transferred the balance. While this doesn’t boost your credit score, it’s definitely a financial advantage.

If you are nearing the end of your promotional period and still have a large balance that you feel you can not pay off in time, you have three options:

• Apply for another balance transfer card and move the existing debt to the new card to restart the clock: This may be difficult if you have too much debt or if your credit score has changed since you applied for the first balance transfer card.
• Find a way to come up with the money to pay your balance before the promotion expires: This may include working extra hours, pawning an item of value, or borrowing money from a friend or family member. All of these options include inherent risk, so proceed with caution.
• Keep the debt on the existing card and pay the interest charges: This may be your only option if the two choices above are not viable. While you will have to deal with the finance charges added to your account, don’t let that discourage you from continuing your mission to eliminate your debt.

And, once your balance is zero, keep it that way. Only charge what you can afford to pay off every single month. That way, the interest rate on your credit card becomes immaterial because you’ll never pay interest and will have no need for the best balance transfer credit cards!

Editorial Note: Our site content is not provided or commissioned by any credit card issuer(s). Opinions expressed on CardRates.com are the author's alone, not those of any credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by credit card issuers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information; however, all credit card offer details, including information about rewards, signup bonuses, introductory offers, and other terms and conditions, is presented without warranty. Clicking on any offer on CardRates.com will direct you to the issuer's website, where you can review the current terms and conditions of the offer.

The information on this page was reviewed for accuracy on June 3, 2026.

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