Our take: The Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card, with its lengthy intro APR offer, is a good option for a balance transfer, but charges an expensive transfer fee.
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If you’re overwhelmed by credit card debt and looking for a good balance transfer card to get some relief from interest charges, the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card can help.

The Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card offers one of the longest introductory APRs on balance transfers cards currently available. The card also offers an intro APR period for purchases, which can help you finance a large expense for over a year without incurring interest charges.

While the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card has a $0 annual fee, it does feature high balance transfer fees. Citi charges Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card. You may want to consider other balance transfer cards that offer comparable intro offer terms but charge balance transfer fees of 3% or less.

The Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card doesn’t earn rewards, so it’s not a great card to keep in the long term. If you want a card that earns rewards, a rewards credit card or cash back credit card is a better fit.

• Long intro APR on balance transfers

  The Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card provides a generous intro APR of 0% for 21 months on Balance Transfers (then a 17.99% - 28.74% (Variable) APR applies). This is one of the longest introductory periods currently available for a balance transfer credit card, making the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card a good option if you need a long period to pay off a balance.

• Intro APR for new purchases

  The Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card also features an introductory APR of 0% for 12 months on Purchases (followed by a 17.99% - 28.74% (Variable) APR). This can allow you to finance large purchases over time while avoiding costly interest charges.

  This is a decent intro period for a purchase APR, especially if you’re searching for a card that offers a combination of balance transfer and purchase intro offers. However, other 0% intro APR cards exist, such as the Wells Fargo Reflect^® Card, that offer longer intro periods on purchases and may be a better option if you want to spread out payments for a longer period.

• Balance transfer fee is through-the-roof

  Citi charges a balance transfer fee of Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card. The average fee on balance transfers offers is around 3%, so you could end up paying much more overall (possibly over $100 in fees) with the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card compared to other cards.

  As you can see from our estimates below, you can find cards with similar intro periods, like the Wells Fargo Reflect^® Card, that can save you some money on a balance transfer.

  Savings on a $6,000 balance transfer

  	Balance transfer fee	Cost of balance transfer	Estimated savings*
  Wells Fargo Reflect® Card	5%; min: $5	$195	$1,180
  Choice Rewards World Mastercard®	$0	$0	$1,222
  U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card	Either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater	$195	$1,161
  Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card	Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.	$325	$1,060

  *We estimate how much the average cardholder might save on a $6,000 balance transfer, assuming the card’s intro period, average APR, a $300 monthly payment and subtracting any fees involved, compared to carrying the same balance on another card.

• High ongoing APR

  If you do use the card’s balance transfer offer, plan on paying off the full balance before the introductory period ends to avoid costly interest charges. Once the intro period ends, an ongoing APR of 17.99% - 28.74% (Variable) will apply to any unpaid portion of the transfer.

• No rewards program

  The Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card is a great tool if you’re focused on paying down a card balance. However, if you’re seeking to earn cash back or points on your spending, you’re out of luck with this card.

  If you want to get rewarded for card spending, you’ll find plenty of balance transfer credit cards that earn rewards, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited^®.

• Foreign transaction fees

  The card carries a 3% foreign transaction fee on each purchase transaction after its conversion into U.S. dollars.

  If you plan on traveling, consider keeping another card in your wallet to use for purchases outside of the U.S. For example, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card may be a better option for travelers because of its lack of foreign transaction fees while still carrying a lengthy intro APR offer on balance transfers and purchases.

• Few other benefits

  Beyond its intro APR offer, there’s little reason to carry the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card. The card offers few other benefits or perks. In comparison, you can find many balance transfer cards with rewards and benefits on top of their introductory offers. For example, the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card, features a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers (followed by a 19.99%, 24.99%, or 29.99% variable APR), up to $600 of cellphone protection, 24/7 Visa concierge service and access to Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection.

 

The Wells Fargo Reflect^® Card comes with a 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers (followed by a 17.99% - 29.99% variable APR). This is the same intro period for balance transfers and a longer period on purchases as Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card. It also carries a lower balance transfer fee of 5%; min: $5.

Like the Citi card, the Wells Fargo Reflect^® Card has a $0 annual fee, but it also includes benefits like cellphone protection, 24/7 roadside dispatch and free FICO score monitoring. With lower fees, a potentially equal intro APR offer and other perks, the Wells Fargo Reflect^® Card simply offers more value than Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card.

For someone looking to save money on interest charges while paying down debt or financing a large purchase, the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card provides a lengthy intro APR on balance transfers and purchases. Because of its pricey balance transfer fee, though, another balance transfer credit card may be a better option to save money long term.

If you’re looking for more value and benefits from a card, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card earns rewards while still allowing you to transfer a balance or make purchases without interest charges for a long period.

The information related to the Chase Freedom Unlimited^® and Choice Rewards World Mastercard® has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.