Can you make purchases on a balance transfer card?

Yes, you can make purchases on a balance transfer card, but it could end up being more expensive than you’d think. If you make purchases on a balance transfer card while you’re still working to pay off the transfer, interest will accrue on the purchases immediately unless you also have a 0% purchase APR.

Fortunately, some of the best balance transfer credit cards offer a 0% introductory APR on purchases in addition to balance transfers.

Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards for Purchases

If you don’t have a credit card with 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers, you could end up paying much more interest than you anticipated on purchases made after you transfer a balance.  

Why You Should Avoid Purchases on a Balance Transfer Card

You could end up paying a lot in interest. The primary benefit of your balance transfer card is the interest-free repayment of your credit card debt. But carrying a balance, even if it’s from a balance transfer, will mean you lose your grace period on purchases. So unless you also have a 0% APR on purchases, any purchases you do make will immediately be charged interest at the regular rate.

Your debt will increase. Even if your card has 0% interest on new purchases and balance transfers, you may still want to avoid purchases. The higher your credit card balance gets, the harder it will be to pay it off, and the increase to your credit utilization could hurt your credit as well.

You may run out of time. One downside of a balance transfer credit card is that when the 0% intro period expires, the issuer applies a regular APR that can be quite a bit higher. If you haven’t paid off your transferred balance by the time your intro period ends, the remaining balance will accrue interest at the regular APR until you pay it off. 

Another thing to consider is you will likely need to have good or excellent credit to get approved for a credit card that offers 0% intro APRs on balance transfers and purchases. To see if you might qualify, check your current credit score online using WalletHub’s free credit score tool.