The Best 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards of 2024
One of the best weapons you have in your battle against debt is the 0% credit card balance transfer. With the right credit card, you can get a 0% rate for a few months.
During this time, it’s possible for the entire amount of your debt payment to go toward getting rid of your balance. This speeds things up since your payment isn’t being eaten up by interest charges. The faster you pay down your debt, and the less you pay in interest, the better off you’ll be.
The best balance transfer credit cards allow you to make significant progress in your debt pay down efforts. Use these credit cards as a tool in your debt repayment plan and they can speed up your debt payoff and save you money over time.
DISCLAIMER: While we attempt to keep all credit card details current, the rates, fees, rewards and benefits may have changed since the last update. Please visit the credit card supplier through the “Apply Now” links to ensure you have the latest details for that card.
Comments
Citi , chase, diiscover and many others credit cards companies are offering 0% for balance transfer but in canada we have nothing.
Is there a one-time transaction fee or administrative fee associated with the MBNA offer?
I had to pay $100. for this mbna 0% so there is an initial charge that is not apparent until you ask.
there is no fee for the card but a transaction fee for the balance transfer. And it is tranoarant not hidden.
there is no fee for the card but a transaction fee for the balance transfer. And it is transparant not hidden.
the 2 he mentions 1)mbna platinum plus and 2)scotia value visa both are for canadians, harder to get though if poor score etc
I have used mbna many times be aware there is a 1% APR, some kind of handling fee. Other than that it is great.
Hi T, the Platinum Plus 0% interest card charges a handling fee .
Even Tom did not know about the $100.
4 BIG DISCLAIMER if you are going to be using this strategy.
1 there is a 1% upfront cost to borrowing, (eg borrow 10,000, there a 100 cost upfront, total borrowed is 10100)
2 if you borrow more than 75% of your credit balance then it will affect your credit rating score (eg 10,000 credit limit, borrow only 7,425P + 74.25I =7499.25)
3- payments are on a 2 tier system. say you borrowed 7499.25 total owed on zero balance. That is a win for you and you can invest/or replay debt it anywhere as long as you get a better than 1 percent investment) However if you purchased something at 100 then that on tier 2 and charge at 18.99%, NOW the C.C. got you you need to pay first tier 7499.25 first while the tier 2 system is revolving at 18.99%. SO DO NOT use this as a purchase card only treat it as a financial institution free borrower.
4- HUGE ONE TO NOTE- IF you EVER MISS 1 payment then you get the whole amount 7499.25 charged pro rated back at 18.99 percent, and in the fine print they can reduce the borrowing total and damage your credit rating.
This aside if you know the risk then take advantage of it.
A 1 percent interest rate certainly sounds great, but I think the bottom line is that there are so many ways you can incur extra charges that on balance it’s really not an attractive offer.
The best way is to set up a preauthorized payment immediately and have a plan to pay the balance in full by the promotion expiry date. I have done this many times over the years but you have to be vigilant and review your monthly statements to be sure that you are charged the appropriate amount.
if you miss a oayment you lose your promotion,but the contractual rate is only for the balance that is remaining.They do not go back to dolkar one. Check the fine print (with a magnifying glass)?
Re: “missing a pmt” Easy way to never miss any pmts is to have an auto payment set up so one never has to
worry.
I did not know about the not going over the 75% of your credit limit scenario
I was in the process of paying off my fIRST MNBA LIMIT OF 8,000 AND I had balance PAID DOWN to 2,000 I applied and got a 2 nd MNBA 0 % CARD aFTER THE FACT THEIR OFFICE WOULD HAVE TRANSFERRED THE UNUSED 6000 CREDIT ON THE First mbna card to the second 8000 limit card @ O% for 1 year
But Now I will just borrow up to 75% of a possible $ 14,000 credit limit of 10.500 instead of the full credit limit for balance transfers
I make two payments per month in mine and apparently they are saying I have 11 missed payments??? I have an excellent credit rating and always pay my Bill’s. Even though I am paying more than the required amount every month it somehow is not counting towards my on-time payments. And now… out of nowhere…they are raising my percentage by 5%. I was a loyal customer for years but now will be moving elsewhere
Hi Tanya,
I’m a banker by profession and I think I may be able to shred some light into the issue with the limited information available in your comment ( without cycle date, due date, time of payment(s), pmt amount, min pmt per stmt etc. it’s a bit difficult to pin point the exact issue).
In the credit card space, payments are handled a bit differently.
To be considered a timely payment a payment needs to be;
1. Equal or higher than the minimum payment as per the statement
2. Should be made after the statement cut off date (cycle day) and before the due date per monthly stmt
If a payment is made during the current cycle – i.e after last month’s statement was printed but before this month’s statement prints – that does reduce your “principal/ account balance” but that does not count as a payment towards the monthly statement.
If, like in your case, multiple payments are made throughout the month but if the sum of the payments made after the statement cut off date (cycle day) and before the due date is less than the minimum payment per the printed statement, it will count as a past due/ late / missed payment.
When there are a certain number of missed payments during a predetermined period ( 6 months, 12 months etc) the account APR is automatically increased ( the good news is you will be able to ask the bank to reduce this rate back to original after 3-6 months of consecutive, timely payments).
The best way to counter this would be to set up automatic/auto/preauthorized payments to cover the minimum payment with the credit card provider (not your deposit service provider). This will ensure your minimum payment per the statement is covered in a fail-proof way and you can keep making as many interim payments to bring down the total balance on the account without worrying about the technicalities of payment processing. Almost all major banks offer this service for free and it’s pretty easy to set up ( call). The only thing you need to make sure is that there is sufficient balance in the deposit account you link to the credit card to avoid any NSF (not sufficient funds) fees.
Hope this helps !
Great article as always. If i may add a little to this, it would be utilizing the balance transfer offers banks you already have credit cards with offer to encourage spending on the card. Unlike applying for a brand new credit card, this option does not affect your credit if you are smart about utilizing these offers.
At the time of writing ( August 2019) a few of the big 5 has BT offers that gives 0% interest for upto 10 months with one time processing fees as low as 1%. Doesn’t hurt to give your bank a call ( be nice to the reps, they can do things for you, you probably wouldn’t even imagine possible if you ask politely and treat them as human beings !) to see what offers they may have going on!