Best Credit Cards for Balance Transfers
Did you run up large credit card balances during the holidays this year? If you won’t have enough cash to pay them off in full, those interest charges are going to start adding up quickly. One way to save money is by transferring your balances to a credit card that has a lower interest rate (APR).
Chase Freedom, Citi Double Cash, and American Express Blue Cash Everyday are popular credit cards that offer an introductory 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers. Unfortunately, they all charge a 3% transfer fee. If you’re looking to consolidate $2,500 to one of these cards, the fee will cost you $75.
Chase Slate is a credit card that doesn’t get much attention due to its lack of rewards or bonuses. However, it has the same introductory 0% APR as the cards above and it waives the fee for any balances transferred during the first 60 days after approval. For those looking to reduce interest payments, this could be the right card for you.
Card Benefits
- No Annual Fee
- 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on new purchases
- 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers
- No Balance Transfer fee for first 60 days the account is open (3% afterwards)
- Free Monthly FICO Score and Credit Dashboard
There is one caviat to the no fee balance transfer. It’s buried in the terms & conditions, which state:
We will not process any balance transfer requests that are from any other account or loan that we (Chase Bank USA, N.A.) or any of our affiliates issued.
So, if you’re looking to transfer balances from one of Chase’s other credit cards, you’re out of luck.
Chase Slate offers no cash back or points rewards of any kind. It also doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus like other cards, however, those incentives come with a minimum spend requirement. Slate’s bonus comes in the form of the waived fee on balance transfers. For those not looking spend right now, that might be just the right reward.