4/5
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
- Best for: Moving a large balance from another bank’s card that will take well over a year to repay
- What Sets It Apart: 0% for 21 months on balance transfers, longer than its 0% for 12 months on purchases
- Cost: $0 annual fee; 16.74% to 27.49% variable interest rate after the intro periods; 3% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum) in the first 4 months, then 5%; late fee up to $41
- Features: A 4-month window to complete transfers; intro periods count from account opening; choose your payment due date
- Pros: Long 0% period on transfers; 3% intro transfer fee; no annual fee
- Cons: No rewards; shorter 0% period on purchases; a late payment can end the 0% rate; no transfers from other Citi accounts
The card is built for paying down a large, high-rate balance moved from another bank’s card. Whatever is left when the 0% ends is charged the regular rate, so plan to clear the balance in time.
Key Features
- 0% for 21 months on balance transfers completed within 4 months, counted from account opening
- 0% for 12 months on purchases, also counted from account opening
- Balance transfer fee of 3% ($5 minimum) for transfers made in the first 4 months, then 5%
- Variable interest rate of 16.74% to 27.49% after the intro periods, based on your credit
- No annual fee
Pros
- A long 0% period for paying down a large transferred balance
- A 3% intro transfer fee, $300 on a $10,000 balance
- A payment due date you choose, so it can fall right after payday
Cons
- Each month you wait to transfer is a month less at 0%, since the intro periods start at account opening
- Once the purchase intro ends, new purchases are charged interest from the day they post unless you pay the full statement balance, including the transferred amount
- A late payment can end the 0% rate, trigger a penalty rate of up to 29.99%, and add a late fee of up to $41
- No balance transfers from other Citi accounts
- No rewards
It’s the card for a balance that needs every month of its transfer intro, which runs longer than the Citi Simplicity‘s or the Citi Double Cash‘s. Readers wary of a missed payment still do better with the Simplicity, which charges no late fees or penalty rate, and readers who want rewards do better with the Double Cash, which pays 2% back.
Learn more about the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card or see how it compares to the best balance transfer credit cards.
Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page – including the order in which they appear – but it does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.
Related:
