No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Cards

A balance transfer fee is a fee charged for transferring a debt from a credit card or loan to a different credit card. More than 7 in 10 0% balance transfer credit cards charge a balance transfer fee, according to WalletHub data. The average fee is equal to about 3% of the amount transferred, with a minimum of $5 or $10. A balance transfer fee of 3% would cost the average household over $270, if they were to transfer their roughly $9,000 in credit card debt.

A balance transfer can be a great way to pay down debt with a lower interest rate, but balance transfer fees can add up. Needless to say, they are important for anyone with debt to consider. That includes the millions of Americans with credit card debt, plus people with high-cost auto loans, personal loans, private student loans, etc. You can use a balance transfer credit card to repay most types of consumer debt, after all.

Below, you can learn more about how balance transfer fees work, how they’ve changed over time and the best ways to avoid them.

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A balance transfer is when you repay existing debt with a new credit card. This moves, or transfers, the balance to the new card for future repayment, usually adding a balance transfer fee of around 3% in the process. The point of a balance transfer is to get a lower interest rate, save money on finance charges and pay off what you owe much faster.

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Key Things to Know About Credit Card Balance Transfers

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A balance transfer is a good idea if you have good or excellent credit and make an affordable payment plan prior to applying. You generally need good credit or better to get a 0% balance transfer credit card, though these introductory periods are temporary. Most balance transfer cards have very high regular APRs, making it important to repay what you owe before the 0% period ends.

You’ll also want to make sure the new card’s balance transfer fee is as low as possible. The average fee is just under 3%. But, from time to time, there are credit cards that have both 0% APR on balance transfers and no balance transfer fee.

You can use WalletHub’s balance transfer calculator to compare the cost of repaying what you owe with your current card versus taking advantage of the best balance transfer offers. You can also check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site with free daily updates.

The best balance transfer credit card is not one-size-fits-all. The answer depends on how much you owe, how quickly you’ll be able to repay it and what your credit score is. Those factors will tell you which cards are attainable and help you figure out how much each will save you. But we can certainly point you in the right direction.

WalletHub’s editors compared hundreds of credit cards based on their balance-transfer appeal. In the end, five cards in particular stood out. None of them charge annual fees. Most of them require at least good credit for approval. And you can get the rest of the particulars below.

Here are the best balance transfer credit cards:

To learn more about the cream of the transfer crop, check out WalletHub’s full review of the year’s best balance transfer credit cards. And if you’re not sure whether you can qualify for one of the top transfer cards, check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub.

A balance transfer does not cancel a credit card. You are not required to close the account once a balance transfer is complete, either. It may actually be a good idea to keep your old credit card account open, even if you don’t plan on using it. Closing a credit card account after a balance transfer could have a negative effect on your credit score.

When you close a credit card, it reduces your total available credit and drives up your utilization ratio. It’s best to maintain a debt level of less than 30 percent of your total credit limit. Also, the average age of your accounts may decrease, particularly if you close a card that you’ve had for a long time. Potential lenders like to see a lengthy history of credit accounts when reviewing applications for additional credit.

The exception to the rule, when it comes to cancelling a credit card after a balance transfer, is if the card has an annual fee. You could pay the fee once a year to keep the card active. Or, if you don’t plan on using the card anymore, you may consider closing the account to save money.

The average balance transfer offer is 0% for 12.21 months, according to WalletHub’s Credit Card Landscape Report. In addition to an introductory APR of 0% for 12.21 months, the average balance transfer offer includes a balance transfer fee of 3.04%.

The length of a balance transfer offer is important because balance transfer credit cards tend to have high regular interest rates that take effect after their introductory APR expires. Furthermore, the length of the average balance transfer offer is a good indication of how attractive balance transfer credit card offers are overall. For example, the average 0% APR balance transfer period grew over 60% longer between 2010 and 2020.

The simplest way to avoid balance transfer fees is to apply for a credit card that does not charge any fees on balance transfers. Getting a credit card with no balance transfer fee that also offers a low balance transfer APR is actually the best overall way to reduce the cost of existing debt and pay off what you owe sooner.

One potential problem, though, is that low interest credit cards with no balance transfer fees are usually reserved for people with good or excellent credit, if such offers are even available at all. You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub to get a sense of whether you’re likely to qualify for one of the market’s best balance transfer credit cards, as well as check out other strategies for minimizing transfer fees below.

Best Options for Avoiding Balance Transfer Fees

• Find a low APR credit card with no balance transfer fee. The best credit card with no balance transfer fee is the SunTrust Prime Rewards Credit Card because it offers a $0 balance transfer fee along with a balance transfer APR of 3.25% (V) for 36 months.
• Compare personal loans with no origination fee. No-fee personal loans for debt consolidation are available to people with fair credit or better, though people with bad credit scores might also be able to get one if they have a cosigner.
• Make a budget and a debt-payoff plan. The best way to avoid transfer fees is to avoid having to do a balance transfer in the first place. With that in mind, make a budget that maximizes monthly debt payments in order to pay off what you owe now as quickly as possible, then focus on keeping your spending in check to avoid racking up a big balance again in the future.

Finally, don’t rule out cards with balance transfer fees completely. If the card has a long-lasting introductory 0% balance transfer APR, it might be the option that saves you the most money overall, even considering the transfer fee. You can use WalletHub’s balance transfer calculator to help determine which option is best for you.

Balance transfers don’t hurt your credit, but transferring a balance can indirectly cause credit score damage. When you apply for a balance transfer credit card, it will generate a hard inquiry on your credit report, causing a slight dip in your credit score. If you transfer a balance to an existing credit card account, however, there is no hard inquiry and no credit score damage.

Balance transfers don’t hurt your credit score directly. But when you apply for a balance transfer credit card, it will generate a hard inquiry on your credit report, causing a slight dip in your credit score. If you transfer a balance to an existing credit card account, however, there is no hard inquiry and no credit score damage as a result. A balance transfer could still result in high credit utilization, though, and even allow you to rack up more debt than you can afford, if you’re not careful. Both of those things can hurt your credit score.

So, the act of transferring a balance itself won’t affect your credit, but it will indirectly alter several key components of your credit profile, from utilization to the age of your accounts. These changes might lower your score a bit in the short term. But over time, interest savings and the ability to pay off your debt faster should make transferring a balance a net positive for your credit score.

Here is how a balance transfer could hurt or help your credit:

• Balance transfers can take up to three weeks, or be completed in just a few days, after you make a request or apply for a card. Transfers to new accounts may take longer than existing accounts. Continue making payments on your original account in the meantime to avoid hurting your credit score.
• If you apply for a new balance transfer card, the resulting hard inquiry will likely cause a slight dip in your credit score for up to 12 months.
• Adding a new balance transfer card will reduce the overall age of your accounts, which can have a slight negative impact on your score.
• Keep an eye on how the transfer affects your account’s credit utilization. Making a transfer will usually add 3%-5% to your debt due to balance transfer fees. If your utilization is over 30% of your credit limit, that’s not good for your score.
• If you leave your old credit card(s) open, adding a new card will reduce your utilization ratio across all accounts, assuming no additional spending. The utilization on the card you transferred the balance from will drop, and it will increase on the card you transferred the debt to.
• Balance transfer cards often have 0% introductory APRs. This gives you the chance to pay off your balance faster, since the full amount of your payments will go to the principal rather than interest. This is good for your score long-term.

Balance transfers won’t hurt your credit by themselves. But they affect other elements of your credit that could bring your score down a little temporarily. Still, the benefits will outweigh the negatives in the long run, as long as you plan to repay most, if not all, of your balance during your card’s low introductory APR period.

Where people get into trouble is trying to use a balance transfer to support unsustainable spending habits, thinking 0% balance transfer credit card offers are always available. They’re not, and learning that the hard way is a very expensive mistake. So make sure to use a balance transfer calculator to make a payment plan.

The easiest balance transfer credit card to get approved for is the Keypoint Credit Union Visa Classic Credit Card because applicants only need limited history credit to qualify. The Keypoint Credit Union Visa Classic Credit Card offers an introductory balance transfer APR of 0% for 16 months and charges a balance transfer fee of 2%. Easy approval balance transfer credit cards typically don’t measure up to the best balance transfer credit cards in terms of interest rates and fees, but this offer comes close.

Best Easy Approval Balance Transfer Credit Cards

• Keypoint Credit Union Visa Classic Credit Card – Limited History
• OneUnited Bank Unity Secured Credit Card – Bad Credit
• Aspire Federal Credit Union Platinum Mastercard® – Fair Credit
• Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students – Students
• TDECU Classic Mastercard® – No Transfer Fee

Easy approval generally means being able to qualify for a credit card with fair, bad, or limited credit. Balance transfer credit card options are limited for people in those credit-score tiers, however, and a balance transfer might not make financial sense as a result. The point of a balance transfer is to get a lower interest rate and pay off existing debt faster. It’s unlikely you’ll be offered a low enough rate until you have good credit or better, unless you qualify for membership with the right credit union.

You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub to see where you stand. If you discover that you have less-than-good credit, you might want to consider getting a secured credit card instead. Using such a card responsibly will help you build a good enough credit score to easily get approved for a great balance transfer credit card in the future.

You can keep transferring credit card balances as long as you’re able to qualify for a good deal. But it’s best to use the transaction to save money and get out of debt sooner, rather than to prolong unsustainable spending habits. Low interest balance transfer credit cards are not always available, and nearly all balance transfer credit cards charge a fee equal to 3% - 5% of each balance you transfer. Plus, balance transfer cards can be the hardest to get approved for when people need them the most, as credit card companies get more conservative when the economy is doing poorly.

Given that you’re not assured of being able to transfer whatever balance may remain at the end of one balance transfer card’s low-interest introductory period to another balance transfer card with a low APR, you should aim to at least have the money needed to bring your balance to zero (or close to it) before regular interest rates take effect. Getting caught with a big balance when the music stops could be really expensive. The regular APRs on even the best balance transfer credit cards can be as high as 28% right now.

That’s the best approach. But things happen, and you may find yourself facing a 0% APR period that’s coming to an end with a bigger balance than you’d like to expose to the card’s regular rate. In that case, you can explore the balance transfer credit card offers available to you. There’s no rule against transferring a balance that previously was transferred. Your options will again depend largely on your credit history, income and amounts owed.