Citi Clear Card - Balance Transfer Offer
Offer ends 28 April 2022
Eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, fees and charges apply.
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You can use a 0% balance transfer credit card to move debt from a credit card you already have to a new one that charges no interest for an introductory period. This means you could save more and pay off your credit card debt faster. With the table above, you can use the calculator to see how much you could save on interest with each offer.
These cards charge no interest on debt you move to the card for an introductory period, which can last from 6 to 36 months. With no interest payments, you can pay off your debt faster and save money.
But at the end of the interest-free period, any unpaid balance will attract a much higher revert interest rate. To avoid falling into debt, you should aim to pay off your balance transfer in full before the revert rate applies.
If you have multiple credit card debts, you can transfer and consolidate them on one balance transfer card. That way you'll pay no interest on the combined debt and will only need to manage one credit card (and pay one annual fee).
How much you save will depend on the size of your debt, the length of the interest-free offer and whether you can pay it off in full before the revert interest rate kicks in.
As a basic example, let's say we have a $5,000 balance on a credit card with a 19.94% p.a. interest rate and paid $200 off the balance each month. At that rate, it would take 33 months to fully clear the balance and would cost $1,515 in interest.
But if we moved that to a card with a 0% balance transfer offer for 25 months, we could pay off the entire debt without interest charges – assuming there were no other fees or charges on the balance transfer card.
There are many 0% balance transfer credit cards on the market, so here are five important factors to consider when comparing your options.
Compare balance transfer cards by how long the interest-free period lasts for. You should look for a card that gives you enough time to repay the entire debt before the revert rate kicks in.
For example, let’s say you have a debt of $7,000 and are looking at a card with 0% on balance transfers for 18 months. You’d need to pay around $389 each month to clear the entire amount before you're charged interest. If you don’t think you can afford this, you could look for a card with a longer interest-free offer to spread out and reduce your monthly repayments.
Depending on the bank, you can usually transfer between 70% to 100% of the approved credit limit. If you had an approved high credit limit of $20,000 and a maximum balance transfer of 80% of the limit, you could transfer up to $16,000. Refer to our guide on each bank's balance transfer limit and how much they will allow you to balance transfer for more information.
You can't transfer your balance to a new card under the same bank. This means that you also can't transfer balances between banks that are owned by the same provider.
For example, you can't balance transfer between St.George and Bank of Melbourne as they're both owned by Westpac. But you could balance transfer between CommBank and St.George. Refer to our guide on which banks you can balance transfer to for more information.
If you can’t pay your entire balance by the end of the introductory period, any remaining debt will collect the balance transfer revert rate. This is usually the much higher cash advance or purchase interest rate. It’s important to compare this rate and know when it kicks, even if you’re planning to pay the debt in full before interest applies.
While you won’t have to pay any interest during the promotional period, most balance transfer credit cards come with other costs. You may be charged a balance transfer fee when you first move the debt, which is usually a percentage-based fee of between 1% to 3% of the amount you're transferring.
Balance transfer cards often charge high purchase interest rates and your repayments will automatically go towards whichever balance attracts the most interest. Plus, many credit cards do not offer interest-free days on purchases when you have a balance transfer.
So if you're concentrating on paying down your balance transfer during the interest-free period, you should avoid using your card to spend unless you know you can pay it off in full.
Some 0% balance transfer credit cards charge a $0 annual fee and others can range between $29 to $400 or more. Make sure that the annual fee won't cancel out your interest savings before you apply.
If you get a balance transfer card that has an annual fee, it will usually be charged when you first activate the account, then once per year on the anniversary of that date.
As the annual fee is a new charge, it's not eligible for the introductory 0% p.a. balance transfer interest rate and will attract interest charges at the card's purchase rate until you pay it off.
So if you get a 0% balance transfer card with an annual fee, aim to pay it off as quickly as possible so you can focus on clearing your actual balance transfer debt during the 0% p.a. interest rate period.
A 0% balance transfer credit card can be a useful way to get your debt under control and pay off your card with no interest costs.
As there are many interest-free balance transfer credit cards on the market, make sure you compare your options before you apply to find the right one for you.
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A no-frills card offering a $0 annual fee for the first year, $400 back when you meet the spend requirement and a 13.74% p.a. interest rate on purchases.
